Although the family may shed some tears over the remains of their loved ones, crying soon turns to smiles.
It’s a little like a party, but one where the guests of honor are corpses. There is a definite festive atmosphere in the crowd as the tomb is opened. By the light of candles, close relatives enter the dark, earthy-smelling crypt to retrieve the remains of their ancestors. The dead emerge wearing their shrouds, known as lambas, and are laid out on the ground ready to be unwrapped — the bones lovingly cleaned, and the remains rewrapped in their new burial cloths, ready to join in the celebrations.
Corpses are identified by labels written onto their shrouds.
To those of us more accustomed to somber and sometimes almost clinical memorial services, Madagascar’s Famadihana (translated as “turning”, of the bones) ceremony may seem odd or even ghoulish. However, to those who take part in the ritual, it is a joyous occasion. Friends and relatives are reunited, there is food, drink and music, and beloved family members who have passed away are honored and celebrated.
The party begins even before the exhumation, with the attendees (“mourners" does not seem to be the right word) gathering to drink and dance to a live band that will continue to play for almost the entire ritual. Music is a very important part of the ceremony. The jaunty sound of the mainly brass instruments has been described by one observer as “distinctly reminiscent of the ragtime music that was the precursor to jazz in New Orleans.”
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Once everyone is ready, the boisterous gathering walks — and dances — its way to the designated tomb accompanied by the playing band, sometimes for quite a distance. There is a cheerful mood, no doubt brought on partly by the local hooch (moonshine), which many have been drinking, but also by the music and the occasion itself.
The carnival atmosphere continues at the burial site, where vendors may have even set up stalls to sell cigarettes and ice cream to the growing crowd. The tomb itself is a lovingly maintained cement, stone or marble structure, the material used depending on the wealth of the family. Once everyone is in place, it is time to bring out the most important participants in the festivities: the departed.
First, stonemasons unseal the door to let in a few close relatives. The shrouded bodies, generally only bones by now, are identified by labels on their ‘bunk beds’ in the tomb and are brought out one by one by family members. This is the most somber part of the ritual as holding the remains of their loved ones brings some participants to tears. Even the band is quiet.
The bones are carefully unwrapped from their old lambas, any accumulated filth is cleaned off, and they are rewrapped in their new cloths. Pieces of the old lambas may be kept by women who will either swallow them or put them under their mattress in the hope that this will help them conceive.
As this unwrapping and rewrapping happens, the dead are spoken to and brought up-to-date on the latest news and gossip. Then, once the corpses are in their new lambas, the band strikes up again, the tears are wiped away, and the celebration continues. To the tune of folk songs, the bones are carried, or ‘danced’, around the tomb amidst much chatter and laughter.
Like Cinderella, the ancestors’ remains must be back in their homes — the crypts — by an exact time, usually just before sunset. Before being returned to their stone beds, the corpses may be sprayed with perfumes, then laid back to rest with gifts of flowers, alcohol and even money. The door of the tomb is re-sealed and the family can return home knowing that they have appeased the dead.
Restored attachments:
scary 
