
An Indonesian community has begun celebrations of an annual festival honouring the dead which sees hundreds of centuries-old corpses exhumed, dressed in clothes and put on display.

The preserved bodies of ancestors of the Toraja, an ethnic group from the mountains of South Sulawesi in Indonesia, are lovingly dug up from their graves as part of the ancient Ma'nene festival.

The annual festival, which translates to 'the Ceremony of Cleaning Corpses', then sees the dead groomed, washed, dressed in fashionable new clothes and even sunglasses and paraded round the village.

All dressed up: A Toraja woman has dressed the corpse of a relative in a fashionable snapback cap and sunglasses for the village's annual Ma'nene festival

Bizarre tradition: After the corpses are removed from their graves, they are groomed and dressed before paraded round the village

Joining the fun: Centuries-old corpses are exhumed, dressed in clothes and put on display in the Toraja ritual honouring the dead

The scenes might appear gruesome but for the Toraja people, who consider funerals the most important event of their lives, the festival is a celebration.

Photographer Herman Morrison made the trip from Indonesian island Lombok, where he lives, to capture the peculiar ceremony on camera.

Mr Morrison, 33, said: 'I live in Lombok, Indonesia, and I travelled to Sulawesi to photograph the Ma'nene festival.

'The ritual is held yearly and is regarded as a manifestation of the Torajanese's love for their ancestors, leaders and relatives who have died.

'The age of the corpses varies, but some are more than 100 years old. The bodies are taken from their graves by their families then cleaned and washed. Their clothes are replaced and then the bodies are put back in the ground.

'Some of the deceased men are dressed up in suits and ties. It was an amazing sight to witness.'

The corpses of a woman and a child have been dressed and propped up, left, and right, a man takes a corpse round the village

Ma'nene, which translates to 'the Ceremony of Cleaning Corpses', sees the dead groomed, washed and dressed in fashionable new clothes

Tradition: Relatives are seen removing the corpses from their graves in the side of the mountainous hills

Preparations: A woman is cleaning the corpse of a long-since departed male relative to prepare the dead body for the festival