Namira Abdulgani

An immersive walk-through of the Torajan death parade (Rambu Solo') from inside of a casket.

https://itp.nyu.edu/thesis2016/project/namira-abdulgani

Description

The Land of the Hanging Graves transports a New York audience 9,693 miles away to Tana Toraja to witness its extraordinary funerary ritual, the Rambu Solo’. This rare and unique funeral tradition from the highland region of Indonesia’s Southern Sulawesi is the most complex death ceremony in the world. The ritual lasts three to seven days and requires months or years of preparation. Hanging Graves is a participatory documentary about the Torajan death ceremony in the form of an immersive walk-through where the participant experiences their own death. The casket is covered and the ceremony and celebration is heard as the community carries them from their home to their final resting place.

Classes

Thesis