インドネシアの「マネネ」　先祖のミイラ清める伝統儀式

【ティカラＡＦＰ＝時事】インドネシア・スラウェシ島で、先住少数民族トラジャの儀式「マネネ」が数日間にわたって行われた。先祖の魂をたたえるため、ミイラ化した親族の遺体を墓から出して清め、供え物をささげる儀式だ。（写真は先祖のミイラを清める儀式「マネネ」に向け、親族の遺体を運び出す少数民族トラジャの人々。インドネシア・スラウェシ島で）
　マネネは通常、夏に行われる。遺体が納まるひつぎは山の中腹に掘られた埋葬窟から取り出される。
　数百体がひつぎから出されるトレア村では、ミイラとなった先祖に服を着せて一緒に写真撮影する様子があちこちで見られる。
　「マネネを行うときは、まず初めに墓室とその周辺をきれいにします」と親族の一人が説明した。「それから遺体を日光の下で干して服を着替えさせます」
　スラウェシ島には、約１００万人のトラジャの人々が暮らす。死者の魂をたたえるのは「安全で平和、そして幸福に満ちた生活にずっと恵まれるようにです」とトレア村の村長が説明する。
　「マネネの儀式では最大の敬意を持って遺体を扱わなければなりません」
　「親族は両親や祖先に敬意を払います。敬意を欠けば大変なことになるのです」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/09/05-11:00）

A family on an Indonesian island poses for a photo with an elderly relative no longer able to smile, while another clan tries to dress one of their eldest forebears in khakis and a shirt.
But the eldest generation isn't stuck in a retirement home or harbouring a grudge against their younger kin -- they are dead.
In two small towns on Indonesia's Sulawesi island, residents are celebrating a days-long ceremony called the Manene.
Hundreds of corpses are pulled out and dressed in the village of Torea as part of the ritual to honour their spirits and provide offerings.
When we do Manene, we would start by opening the grave chamber and cleaning it and its surrounding area, one of the family members, Sulle Tosae, told AFP.
Then, we would dry the bodies under the sun before [we] change their clothes, he said.
Coffins holding the preserved bodies of their loved ones are pulled from a burial cave carved into the mountainside.
The offerings are a symbol of gratitude from the children and grandchildren to the departed ones, Torea village head Rahman Badus told AFP.
They honour their spirits so they can always bless the living with safety, peace and happiness, he said.
One family offered their freshly exhumed relative a cigarette, while another affixed a pair of stylish sunglasses.
A few of the bodies remain relatively intact from the mummification process while others have deteriorated to skeleton remains.
- Spirits of the dead -
Torajans are an ethnic group that numbers about a million people on Sulawesi island.
They have few qualms when it comes to talking with an embalmed corpse, dressing them up, brushing their hair or even taking pictures with a mummified relative.
Depending on the village, the Manene is usually held every few years in July or August.
The Torajans believe spirits of the dead will linger in the world before their funeral ceremonies and will begin their journey to the land of spirits after their souls are immortalised.
The families will preserve the body until they have saved enough money for an elaborate funeral.
The deceased were previously mummified through an embalming process using natural remedies such as sour vinegar and tea leaves.
But many families now take the shortcut of injecting a formaldehyde solution into the corpse.
The disinterring is a shocking and gruesome scene for onlooking Western tourists, yet residents are more than happy to clean out the bodies, take pictures and pray for their souls.
But the village chief says some locals have gone too far.
The bodies must be treated with the utmost respect in the Manene ritual, Badus said.
Relatives are paying respect to their parents or ancestors and disrespect has consequences.