A unique custom exists to honor and pay respect to the razana where the bodies are taken out of the tombs. The tombs and bodies are cleaned. This day is a festival among the Madagascar people in which they cook the best foods, sing and dance. Quite interesting is when the bodies of the family are laid out on the ground to participate and enjoy the festival. This festival is called famadihana. The old lamba cloth which was given to the ancestors before is taken off and a new one put on, as a gift to the razana during this festival.
Some websites that I found interesting on the subject of the burial rituals of the Madgascar people and their reverence for their ancestors are as follows:
1Up Info.com contains a country study of Madagascar and a description of this festival and explains why the ancestors in Madagascar are so highly revered at http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-stu... .
"Digging Up My Best Friend's Granny - The Famadihana" by Julia Spencer at Feedback Madagascar.com http://www.feedbackmadagascar.org/en/htm... ,describes a young girl's unique experience with a Madagascar family at the famadihana festival. I read where not many people are invited to witness these burial rituals, so she is definetly a lucky girl.
The "Culture of Madgascar" at an Australian Government site http://archive.dstc.edu.au/AU/staff/andr... explains the religious beliefs of Madagascar and the importance of their ancestors.
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