Ma'nene, the Toraja rite for the dead
- Origin
- A rite of the Toraja people, part of the rambu solo funeral rites that a Torajan speaker traces to Aluk To Dolo, the old Torajan belief. Jawa Pos quotes Bumbungan as saying the rite has been Christianised because most Torajans are Christian. The earliest written account found is a Liputan6 report from 2005, which also records the oral story of how the rite began. No older written account was found.
- How we treat it
- The label covers a living family rite of cleaning, re-dressing and honouring the dead, as Torajans practise and describe it. It makes no claim that the dead return or act. It does not cover the rest of rambu solo.
- Routes out
- No source written by a Torajan community body or Torajan writer was found in readable form. Torajan voices appear quoted in Indonesian media, so Indonesia Kaya, with a Torajan speaker on the rite's roots, comes first, then Jawa Pos, National Geographic Indonesia and Liputan6, with English Wikipedia last.
Ma'nene is a rite of the Toraja people in which the bodies of the dead are taken from the grave, washed, groomed and dressed in new clothes. One Torajan quoted in the press says it also brings together relatives who live far away.
Sima, a Torajan speaking to the Indonesia Kaya cultural portal, says ma'nene is part of the Toraja funeral rites known as rambu solo, which come from Aluk To Dolo, the old Torajan belief. English Wikipedia describes the rite: the dead are taken out, washed, groomed and put in fresh clothes.
The sources disagree on how often it happens. Wikipedia says it is held every year in August. Pieter Rayub, quoted by Kompas.com via National Geographic Indonesia in 2018, said his community holds it once every three years, as agreed in the village (Lembang) council, and that it also serves to bring together relatives who live far away.
Liputan6 in 2005 recorded an origin story set hundreds of years ago. A hunter in the forests of the Balla mountains came across the body of someone who had died, lying on the path and reduced to bones. Moved by what he saw, he wrapped the bones in his own clothing and found them a fitting resting place before going on with his hunt.
Jawa Pos reported in 2017 that the rite today carries little of the mystical. Bumbungan told the paper that since 90 percent of Torajans are Christian, ma'nene itself has been Christianised.
"In the ritual called Ma'Nene, that takes place each year in August, the bodies of the deceased are exhumed to be washed, groomed and dressed in new clothes.[43]"
- Ma’nene, Cara Orang Toraja Mengenang Leluhurnya, Indonesia Kaya (Djarum Foundation cultural portal)
- Ma`nene, Tradisi Mengenang Leluhur, Liputan6 (2005)
- Ma’nene di Toraja, Cara Yang Hidup Tunjukkan Kasih kepada Yang Wafat, Jawa Pos, Debora Danisa Sitanggang (2017)
- Ma'nene, Ritual Mengganti Pakaian Mayat Nenek Moyang di Toraja, National Geographic Indonesia, Nesa Alicia (2018), citing Kompas.com