Malagasy funerals

Within my first month at site I witnessed 2 funerals, including one for someone who was apparently well-known and important in the community. A Malagasy funeral is quite the event and lasts a long time. After the person dies, they clean the body and dress it in white and lay it on a bed with a white veil over it. Then, the family and community sit and wait with the body, anywhere from 1-3 days. For one funeral they waited 3 days; the first 2 days they were waiting for the body to arrive from Diego and then the family/friends to arrive from far-away villages. The people literally sit together all night and day. The family sits inside the house with the body and they build a covered structure outside for everyone else to sit under. They even string up lightbulbs and run those off a generator at night. The night before the last day of waiting, they have a sort of funeral service. People sing and pray and there are also speeches (speeches seem to be a given in all Malagasy customs). The young girls prepare coffee and serve it to the people who are waiting.

The next day the family of the deceased prepares a huge meal and everyone eats lunch together. The young women cook the rice in the biggest pots that you have ever seen. The young men prepare the side dish that goes with the rice (“ro”). Once the meal is ready, everyone eats together. Also on this day, they build the coffin. After everyone eats together, they have a small service then take the body to the tomb to finish up the ceremony.

People also bring gifts of rice and money, which is all recorded in the “boky mena” (red book). There are rules for how much each person should give and who must give and who can give if they want to. They write down everyone’s donations and I am told that they will actually consult these books when someone dies. If you didn’t give when there was a death, the people will not come and give to your family when you die. The various organizations in the community, like the women’s groups or sports clubs, also donate to the family.