Exhuming and re-wrapping dead relatives every nine years, five unique customs in Madagascar you need to know

Ancestors are wrapped every seven or nine years

The Madagascan custom known as “famadihana”, which literally translates “to return a deceased person’s body” is one of the biggest family gatherings aside from weddings and funerals.

With this Malagasy custom, the relatives of the deceased come together to organize a big ceremony where the body of the dead relative is exhumed and re-wrapped. This is seen as a celebration of life and parenthood.

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