Sombim-piainako

Somary lavalava moa ilay article nalefako farany ka izay no naha elaela indray ny fandefasana ny tohiny. Indro ary alefa indray ny manaraka. Ny fahazoana ny fiainana aorina'ny fahafatesana voalaza ao @ tesatamenta talohaindrya ary no arosoko eto.

Ialana tsiny fa ireo naoty rehetra sy ny loharano nanampy t@ fikarohana, fa mbola hapetrako daholo kosa rehefa vita ny famoahako ny lahatsoratra rehetra.

THE AFTER-LIFE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

The belief in the Old Testament is that life comes from God, and when we die, it goes back to God. Our life comes from the breath of God as it is said in Genesis 2:7: "then Lord God formed man of the dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." It is also said in Job 33:4: "the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life." This breath leaves us and goes back to God at the hour of our death (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

When man dies there is nothing which continues about him, his thinking ends and he cannot plan anything anymore (Ps 145:4). Dead persons know nothing and even the memory of them are lost (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6). Following all these passages, a broad conclusion can be drawn: the after-life is not believed or does not exist in the Old Testament.

However, some passages talk about the Sheol, a place which is depicted as in the depth of the earth. There where go all dead people. In this place the dead person is half alive, because they can see God as it is said in Job 19: 25-27; "for I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth, and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side and my eyes shall behold, and not another." Only a living person is able to see. A complete died one cannot do anything, especially the act of seeing. But those who are in Sheol cannot praise God and thank him. Only the living people can do that as Isaiah says in Is38:18-19: "For Sheol cannot thank thee, death cannot praise thee…, the living, the living, he thanks thee as I do this day." What is important for the people is to praise and to thank God, as a living person, not to see him only. And "those who believed in Sheol thought that the half alive were worse off than the living."

As all dead people go to the Sheol, God can deliver the righteous from there: "But God will ransom my soul from the power of the Sheol, for he will receive me." (Ps 49:15). Also, another passage shows that Samuel appears to Saul, the king, when the medium at Endor brings him up. He is coming up out of the earth and he speaks to Saul. But he is not happy because Saul disturbs him. So he predicts the death of the king Saul in the following day (cf. 1Sam 28:8-19). These conceptions of the Sheol and this story of the king Saul and Samuel show that even those who were died are not completely died. They still live somewhere but their life is not a full life, it is a half-life. And we can draw that at least the Old Testament believes in the after-life even if it is not better than the earthly life.

Some scholars try to deepen the investigation when they see these righteous men who were killed or suffering. Paul Badham quotes Professor Bright and says:

The after-life is the continuation of one’s personally relationship with God in his or her earthly life. The analysis of the life of Job shows that. Job’s prayer tries to recall that his relationship with God is always there and he was not missed by God. These following passages show that: Job 10:8, 10-13; 35:18; 29:2-3; 23:11-12; and also some passages in Ecclesiastes (3:19; 9:1; 2:11; 2:17). The belief tries to present that:

The relationship cannot be destroyed by death. Even death is supposed to be the one which is most powerful enemy of human being, it cannot harm our relationship with God. God does not allow death to destroy what he cherishes. Ps 73: 23-28

So when the Old Testament looks at man, it concludes "he cannot live beyond the grave but when it looks towards God and ponders over the relationship between God and man, it moves in a direction which must, and which did, lead men towards a future hope." But in the Old Testament, it is not really said where the souls of the dead go after death. It is only said that they will go back to God.

Inty indray ary ny tohin'ny lahatsoratra. Hiresaka ny momba ny famadihana indray aho eto, ary tsoriko fa izay niainako nandritra ny famadihanay mihitsy no zaraiko eto. Rehefa izany de arosoko koa ny fifandraisany @ finoany ny fiainan-ko avy.

This is one of the Merina’s tribe which is practiced everywhere in Imerina enintoko (the six province of I Merina) which includes Avaradrano, Vakinisisaony, Vakinakaratra, Marovatana, Vonizongo and Ambodirano. This customs is to wrap again the corpses with new clothes or bringing some members of the family who were died far from the family tomb and buried there. It is generally performed during the cold season in Madagascar, from June to August. In a family, if it is a question of wrapping again new clothes of the corpses, it is repeated every five or seven or nine or eleven years. The odd number is considered as good and lucky number by the Malagasy. To do a "famadihana" is not an easy thing. The family prepares it months or years before because of the expenses. The Merina do many expenses to perform a "famadihana". They buy and kill cattle and pigs, many drinks, rice to feed the people during the feast. They call it "vary be menaka", rice full or plenty of oil. It lasts two or three days and it is not only the family who rejoice but the entire village. All are invited to join the family. Also, there is sometimes more than one family who perform a "famadihana" in a village. They ask traditional musicians to warm the feast during these three days and, nowadays, they use tape player or disk player and amplifier to dance during the night.

Generally, the process of the "famadihana" is like the following in my area, in the South West of Imerina. Members of the family inform the entire village that they are going to do a "famadihana" on a determined date. Then they inform the neighboring village and al the extended family. When the date is arrived, the place for dancing and eating is already prepared. The first day is the day of welcoming those who live far from the village. Since this moment, they already feed the people. I also remember that every time we do a "famadihana", the elders go to the tomb in the evening of the first day to "talk" to the ancestors and ask them "not to go for a walk" during the following days because their descendants will come there to give them new clothes and to ask them blessing. They second day is the day for the exhumation. Most of the time, it is performed in the afternoon. So since earlier in the morning, the feeding of the people goes on and it does not stop until the time to go to the tomb. The great moment is coming now and all the people are gathered around the tomb. This latter is already opened by all sons-in-law. They take out one after one the corpses in the tomb, call their name and ask the descendants to take their ancestor. The descendants receive them in straw mats. They bring them around the tomb and dance with them. After dancing with the ancestor – a sign of rejoicing – the daughters and the daughters-in-law have the "opportunity" to hold them and to put them on their lap. There, they wrap the corpse - which is now only bones and dusts (or sometimes a kind of mud, if the time of its burial was less than four years) – with the new clothes that they bring. During this moment, all the descendants are around the corpse, their ancestor, and they "talk" to him or her, ask blessing, renew the relationship among the descendants if there was quarrel. They stay there till the sunset and they put again the corpses in the tomb. It is always the duty of the sons-in-law who put all in order before leaving the place. When the ancestors rejoin their places, the feast continues in the village during the night. On the following day, the feeding of the people continues, and the time of the "show" for the family comes. This is the moment that the family shows to the people their unity and their wealth. They show that they are blessed and they can do something great. They invited traditional artists, called "mpihira gasy" (Malagasy singers) to give a spectacle to the entire village. They must be two groups and each group tries their best to tell a message of unity for the family and for the village in their songs and stories. It is good to mention that it is too expensive to invite traditional artists. But people do it to show that there are wealthy.

This customs shows that for the Merina, those who were died are still alive in another life. That is why they can talk to them and ask them blessing. The famadihana is a way of presenting respect to the ancestors. For them, the ancestors are the elders, the source of life. It is an occasion for all members of the family to renew their relationship. If there is fight or dispute in the family, this is the occasion for them to "swear" in front of the ancestors that they are going to live in peace and in harmony to be worthy receive their blessing. They know that all that they say are heard by this "person" (the ancestor) in front of them, so they do their best to keep it. Not to obey what you have said to the ancestor is worse than not to obey a living person. The ancestors live in their own life but they have power in our earthly life. That is why the Merina ask blessing and pardon from them.

Curious enough, the Merina believe that the ancestors can ask them something, material things and they obey their requests. Sometimes, some elders say that one of the ancestor asks him a hut because their place is too sunny; some ask for clothes because they are cold; some ask for drinks because there is a long time that they did not drink; some ask for sweets or honey because their mouth is bitter… when they obey on these requests they believe that they will receive blessing from them. And if they do not obey, there will be a disaster which may happen to the family. So, if they ask a hut or honey, or sweets, they bring these things to the tomb and talk to the ancestors not to disturb them (because they have done their duty) but to give them blessing. If the ancestors said that they were cold, it is a big case. All the family should have a reunion because there should be a "famadihana" before the regular time. For example, the family is used to have "famadihana" every nine years, but it is only in the sixth, so they have to plan to do it the following year. It is not good for the ancestors to be cold for a long time like all living persons. They should be given new clothes. When they obey all the requests of the ancestors, they feel happy because they accomplish their duty as "zana-drazana" (sons and daughters of the ancestors) and they believe that the blessing will come.

Before the "famadihana", when the elders ask the ancestors "not to go for a walk", they show their belief that the ancestors have the habit to go for a walk to visit their descendants, or to see how they take care of the land that they leave for them. These acts manifest their belief in the existence of the after-life.

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