Plague alert in Madagascar over ‘turning’ ritual that raises the dead from their tombs
The ritual can be shocking for some but for those taking part it is an intense celebration accompanied by music, dancing and singing
In Madagascar, ceremonies in which families exhume the remains of dead relatives, rewrap them in fresh cloth and dance with the corpses are a sacred ritual.
But an outbreak of plague sweeping the Indian Ocean island nation has prompted warnings that the macabre spectacle, known as the turning of the bones or body turning, presents a serious risk of contamination.
On a recent baking hot Saturday in Ambohijafy, a village outside the capital Antananarivo, a “turning” procession snaked through the streets in a fevered carnival atmosphere bound for the cemetery.
For the community’s few hundred residents, the time for “famadihana” – the local name for the ceremony – had arrived.
The unique custom, originating among communities that live in Madagascar’s high plateaux, draws crowds every winter to honour the dead and to honour their mortal wishes.
It’s one of Madagascar’s most widespread rituals. It’s necessary to assure cosmic harmony
“It’s one of Madagascar’s most widespread rituals,” historian Mahery Andrianahag said. “It’s necessary to assure cosmic harmony … it satisfies our desire to respect and honour the ancestors so that they can be blessed and one day return.”