Clara poses with her dead sister while staring directly at the camera for a picture.
It has the makings of a sweet family mantelpiece portrait – however, one of the girls is dead. Clara sister Arel died when she was six years old and since then she has been keeping the dead body with her as a death ritual.
In a mountainous area of Indonesia, the Toraja people mummify the bodies of the deceased and care for their preserved bodies as though they are still living.
There are around one million Torajan people, most of whom live in the South Sulawesi region, who believe that after death the soul remains in the house so the dead are treated to food, clothing, water, cigarettes.
Their skin and flesh are preserved from decaying and rotting – which begins within days of death – by a coating of a chemical solution called formalin, which is a mixture of formaldehyde and water.
The stench is strong, so the family will store lots of dried plants beside the body to mask the odour.
The dead relatives of the Toraja people are kept at home or in special ‘ancestral’ homes until their funeral.
According to their belief, a well-preserved body brings good fortune so family go to great lengths to ensure those who have died remain in the best possible shape.
They are then kept wrapped up in blankets in a bed in a room of the house or in wealthier homes, they’ll rest in a tongkonan – a traditional Torajan ‘ancestral’ house with a distinctive boat-shaped roof so the rain water runs off.
These funerals tend to be more of a celebration than a sombre event.
Even after the dead have been buried in a mausoleum or stone grave, it won’t be the last time their relatives will come face-to-face with their body.
In a ritual known as Ma’nene – which means “care for ancestors” and traditionally takes place in August – the dead are brought out from their graves, taken out of their coffins, washed of insects and dirt, given new clothes and brought down to the village to enjoy a cigarette in their favourite spot or visit their old home.
Friends and family will travel miles to be reunited with their deceased loved ones and enjoy a feast to mark the occasion. It is also a time when younger generations can meet their ancestors for the first time.
They will often pose for photographs with the bodies, or take a selfie.
Eventually, the dead will be returned to their coffin and relatives will leave them with new gifts – such as watches, glasses or jewelery.
