Famadihana

Famadihana

Between June and SeptemberThe Malagasy people of Madagascar, an island off the southeast coast of Africa, believe that their deceased ancestors have become intermediaries between the living and God. Because they will spend eternity in their new existence, tombs are built to be much sturdier and more elaborately decorated than houses. The Famadihana is a celebration in which people exhume the remains of their ancestors, treat them to a grand feast and party, replace their burial clothes, and then reintern them. The specific date of a family's Famidihana is determined by a spiritual leader, but, for hygenic reasons, it always takes place sometime during the winter months, when the weather is dry.
SOURCES:
FestWrld: Madag-1999, p. 14