Tuesday and Did You Know.....

Malagasy people in Madagascar celebrate a tradition called Famadihana or the turning of the bones. In this ritual, people dig up their relatives and bring them to this celebration where the bodies, or bones for that matter, are re-wrapped in fresh cloth. After the re-wrapping, the family members that are alive, um yeah duh, dance with the corpses, or the bones for that matter, around the tombs to live music.

~*The sorting of the bones from the old cloth and the re-wrapping in the new cloth.*~

Famadihana is still practiced in present day and only happens once every seven years. The Malagasy people believe that this custom joins the spirits join the world of the ancestors after it's completely decomposed and after the appropriate ceremonies take place. This may take several years.

~*Family reunion, I mean the celebration*~

Even though this is still in practice, it is on the decline due to the price of silk shrouds and well yeah some of the Christian organizations are not very fond of digging up dead people and dancing with them at their grave site. Party poopers is what I say! I guess the Catholics finally came around and was all, "yeah it's cool since it's all cultural and not really regligiony and stuff." All the Malagasy people want to do is respect their dead and it's a great way to get everyone to come to the family reunion.

Oh yeah, and that old shroud that the dead bodies, or the bones for that matter, were wrapped in? It is given to a newly wed couple that doesn't have any kids yet. It is used to cover the marriage bed. I mean nothing says sex like having it on some dead persons shroud.

I am here to just enlighten and provide information into other things. Though I poked fun at this, I do not mean to demean or belittle anyone's customs or beliefs.