Turning of the Bones

Today was a crazy day. I woke up at 5am to leave for Ivato near the airport with my host family. We left in a pickup truck with a wooden frame attached to the back truckbed and a tarp cover. We all sat in the back of the truck for an hour long ride going over crazy bumps, and inhaling tons of black exhaust. My host sisters cousin and her infant sibling both puked. Twice each. Yes, I said infant. The first time she puked in a hat.. the second off the back of the truck. After driving 45 mins we stopped to pick up 15 more family members while the grandma peed on the side of the road. Now on our way, we had 6 new babies on board.. and 25 poeple total in the back of the truck. Picture people sitting on each other, with women breast feeding their babies while going over huge bumps and dips on a horrible secondary road. When we finally arrived to our destination I was extremely surprised I hadn't puked myself. We were headed to a famadihana, which is a turning of the bones ceremony here in the highlands of Madagascar. We walked up to the extended family's house and were hurried into a dining room wtih a super long table and seated. Each family introduced themselves to remind them all of who they were.. since there are SO many relatives here. Think Christmas on my mom's side of the family... times 4. I was introduced with my family and everyone was eager to greet me, and some children were scared I was going to eat them... seriously. Some poeple here tell their kids that white people will eat them if they don't behave. I haven't been that hungry yet though. KIDDING! So, we were served a huge mound of rice each person and then a laddle of broth and chunks of beef, which were mostly peices of fat. They love to eat the fat here.. its crazy. So they slaughter tons of cows or pigs for these events and then cook it in oil and its the traditional meal. So everyone ate and went outside to watch the start of the band. THe band consisited of a male ensemble of trumpets, clarinets, and drum players. They played songs while people danced around a table that had a white cloth on it. Two pictures of people were sitting on the table to honor the ancestors they were having the famadihana for. So for about three hours we sat and watched poeple dance around the box while holding up the pics and new cloth they had bought for the ancestors. When one of the alive relatives dreams about an ancestor who tells them they are cold, they throw this huge party to bring them cloth to warm them up. Finally they decided to walk to the tomb.. and a parade like procession danced the entire way there. The music was still played once at the tomb and after a short speech, the males started digging for the entrance of the tomb. Once opened.. they took out the bodies of the ancestors, one by one. You could see the hair and outline of the bones through the old cloth. A group of people would be singing and dancing as they started to rewrap the bodies in their new cloth. I decided not too get too close, and actually was pretty freaked out.. and amazed at the same time. After they were tightly wrapped.. they put them on their shoulders and danced around the tomb 6 times for good luck. Then they brought them back into the tomb and said their wishes to them. This entire thing lasted about 6 hours. It was definitely a surreal experience.. and I am extremely fortunate to have experienced it. The entire day was filled with happiness and joy.. no sorrow... and all of the elderly relatives were even up and dancing!! This is practiced mainly on the highlands and costs the host family a lot of money to host. Each family that comes has to bring a gift of money to help buy cloths and pay for the food. It is an opportunity to ask ancestors for advice about living peoples lives and to see relatives that live far away. It is a large part of the Merina tribe's tradiation.