Dead and Alive Project

A project about death rituals and how we relate to death around the globe.

[deadandaliveproject]

Varanasi, India. At Manikarnika Ghat, at the brink of the holy river Ganges, a dead man is having water from the river poured into his mouth. The water from the river is believed to be cleansing and to remove all sins from the dead before the cremation. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #mementomori #deathritual #funeralrites #dead #burialrites #varanasi #india #cremation #anthropology #hinduism #religion #documentaryphotography #manikarnikaghat #postmortem #documentaryphotography https://www.instagram.com/p/BmaNk1LAC1a/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=f9n5xaf2kf8b

[deadandaliveproject]

Tana Toraja, Indonesia. At a Ma'nene ceremony, the married couple, Toding (died at 80 in 2013) and Duma (died at 75 in 2008) has been cleaned and dressed up in new clothes and are left to dry in the sun for a few hours. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #mementomori #deathrituals #deathrites #culture #anthropology #fujifilmnordic #tanatoraja #manene #indonesia #explorer #deathculture https://www.instagram.com/p/BkUWmAOgPEy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cc5j4zck0q0d

[deadandaliveproject]

Early morning in the highlands of Madagascar. A person who died far from the family’s tomb is carried through the landscape and will become part of the coming Famadihana. The Famadihanas (turning of the bones) is usually held every seven years to celebrate the ancestors. It is believed that the ancestors haven’t left earth until their bodies are fully de-composed. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #death #deathrituals #deathrites #mementomori #postmortem #religion #culture #madagascar #anthropology #visualanthropology #explorer #fujifilmnordic #xt1 https://www.instagram.com/p/BtxzjU8H47S/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1hjbfyz05jf4a

[deadandaliveproject]

Tana Toraja, Indonesia. Ripka died of a liver failure at the age of 52. She is kept in the family's home and fed foid every day until the funeral ceremony takes place. She is not considered dead, a but sick person/dying person (a To Makula) until the first buffalo is sacrified and her spirit and the spirit if the buffalo go to "paradise" (Puya) together. The picture is from 2017. This year I was back, and now the coffin is closed, but it is still kept inside the family's home until the funeral is held. Funeral ceremonies in this area are extremely expensive and families are often saving up money for years to honour the "dead" by prestigous ceremonies. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #death #dead #deathrituals #deathrites #culture #anthropology #religion #tanatoraja #sulawesi #indonesia #mementomori #postmortem #animism #funeralrituals https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnna2E6Aplp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=nkoe3bekafsc

[deadandaliveproject]

At Manila North Cemetery in the Philippines, an estimated 10.000+ people are living among and on the graves and even inside the mausoleums. A young mother with her baby an early morning. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #mementomori #death #deathrites #deathrituals #explorer #anthropology #philippines #manila #graveyard_dead #cemetery #poverty https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj_xiJ0AyWM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ewhq2evzthfj

[deadandaliveproject]

Tana Toraja, Indonesia. After cleaning and re-dressing his father, who died a year ago, Tandi is having a moment of thought before the coffin is closed again. Tandi was happy to see his father again during the Ma'nene ritual and would like to perform the ceremony every year if he can afford the pig he must sacrifice every time they do the Ma'nene. The Torajans in this area believe that death is merely a transition into another state than being a definite ending. Honouring the ancestors during th Ma'nene ritual is believed to bring luck. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #anthropology #death #reburial #deathrituals #tanatoraja #indonesia #mementomori #postmortem #culture #animism https://www.instagram.com/p/BnX3IBYAhGv/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1m2a5weem0mjo

[deadandaliveproject]

Tana Toraja, Indonesia. I'm still extremely fascinated by the death rituals in the jungle in Tana Toraja. During a Ma'nene ritual, Tandi is cleaning his father who died one year ago. Tandi was happy to see his father again even though it's a costly affair since he must sacrifice a pig during the ceremony. The Torajans in this area believe that death is merely a transition into another state than being a definite ending. Honouring the ancestors during the Ma'nene ceremony is believed to bring luck. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #anthropology #death #deathrituals #reburial #tanatoraja #indonesia #mementomori #postmortem #culture https://www.instagram.com/p/BnOCVjmAWcN/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1x6udlg5kq429

[deadandaliveproject]

Tana Toraja, Indonesia. At a Ma'nene ceremony, the married couple, Toding (died at 80 in 2013) and Duma (died at 75 in 2008) has been cleaned and dressed up in new clothes and are left to dry in the sun for a few hours. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #mementomori #deathrituals #deathrites #culture #anthropology #fujifilmnordic #tanatoraja #manene #indonesia #explorer #deathculture https://www.instagram.com/p/BkUWmAOgPEy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1btj51052clp4

[deadandaliveproject]

I'm back in Tana Toraja in Indonesia filming amazing death rituals with Bjarke Ahlstrand from @oneofmanycameras. The image of Ditha, who died four years ago, and her parents, cleaning her dead body at a Ma'nene ceremony, is from my trip to the same region in 2017. The Torajans in this area believe that death is merely a transition to another state, than being a definite ending. Honouring the dead family members during the Ma'nene ritual is believed to bring luck. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #tanatoraja #toraja #indonesia #dead #deathrituals #mementomori #anthropology #postmortem

[deadandaliveproject]

Upernavik, Greenland. Just went through my archive and found another shot from the amazing cemetery in Upernavik, north of the arctic circle. Here the soil is too hard to bury the dead. Instead, they are laid to rest in concrete and stone-covered coffins above ground. Often, these coffins face the ocean, so that the dead sealers can watch the they once worked. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #funeralrites #anthropology #dead #death #mementomori #funeral #culture #upernavik #greenland

[deadandaliveproject]

Varanasi, India. At Manikarnika Ghat the brink of the holy river Ganges a dead man is having water from the river poured into his mouth. The water from the river is believed to be cleansing and to remove all sins from the dead before the cremation. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #mementomori #deathritual #funeralrites #dead #burialrites #varanasi #india #cremation #anthropology #hinduism #religion

[deadandaliveproject]

Accra, Ghana. Joseph Huno Nomo is laying in state in the family's home while his wife is mourning.

[deadandaliveproject]

Tana Toraja, Indonesia. At a Ma'nene ceremony, the married couple, Toding (died at 80 in 2013) and Duma (died at 75 in 2008) has been cleaned and dressed up in new clothes and are left to dry in the sun for a few hours. #deadandalive #deadandaliveproject #mementomori #deathrituals #deathrites #culture #anthropology #fujifilmnordic #tanatoraja #manene #indonesia #explorer #deathculture https://www.instagram.com/p/BkUWmAOgPEy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=j518ay4q9tkw