Ivi

Pronunciation: i-vih
Language: Samoan
Also known as: bone; skeleton. May refer to animal bones or ancestral remains

Description

In Samoan culture, ancestral remains are sacred, and are kept and looked after by the families and descendants of the deceased. Attitudes toward these remains can be seen in a community’s approach to liutōfaga* (transferal of deceased), during which ancestral remains are exhumed. This may occur for various reasons, for example when another family member passes away, and the family wishes for them to be buried with the already deceased. The bones are removed from the burial site, washed in fresh or sea water, cleaned with fagu’u (ylang-ylang and coconut oil), and wrapped in siapo (tapa) before reburial. A ceremony takes place to mark the reburial.
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Date of entry: July 30, 2022
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