2408 - Tana Toraja

Just when you think you've heard everything something new (or old) comes along and surprises you. In Tana Toraja they unbury the dead and dress them in new clothes every year or so.

Here is a comment from the post where I found this.

This ritual is known locally as Ma'nene and is performed in the village of Baruppu in the depths of southern Sulawesi. According to local belief, should they fail to perform the ritual prior to the harvesting season, a crop failure will occur. It is performed once every three years, especially in the month of August. Why August? Because the harvesting season coincides with the month of August.

The ritual may be traced to the story of Pong Rumasek. One day while hunting, he stumbled upon a badly mangled corpse in the middle of the forest. He later brought the corpse home and took it upon himself to dress the corpse appropriately in fine clothing and bury it as he thought that it deserved better. Since then, his farm was always blessed by a bountiful harvest and he goes as far as to claim that the spirit of the person who he buried helped him when he hunts, allowing him to guide him to his prey. And so what Pong did became a ritual performed by the people of Baruppu.

And of course there is a Youtube VIDEO showing this activity.