The Order of The Good Death

Omo Masalai Are Skeleton Dancing Better Than You

The Omo Masalai are a tribe in Papua New Guinea.  I don’t know much about Papua New Guinea except that when I was 8 my good friend’s father went there for months at a time to collect tree frogs for a museum.  Apparently it’s the most culturally diverse nation in the world (and now we know).

Apparently, for a tribal festival called Sing Sing, the Omo Masalai get their skeleton paint on and perform dances and generally look like the biggest bad asses in all the land.  Seriously though, look at these pictures and tell me if you can argue with that?

The fact that the ecstatic dance of death shows up (independently) in culture and art around the world speaks well for the theory that humans have a similar relationship with death the world over.  We may have different rituals, but our emotional processing is the same.

Hat Tip to Kerianne Armelli for sending me a picture that set me down the Omo Masalai rabbit hole.

Posted on August 28, 2012 by caitlin
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  • http://twitter.com/stephsparkle Stephanie Davis

    throw in some New Orleans jazz and you’ve got one heck of a party!

  • http://www.facebook.com/dantalion.jones Dantalion Jones

    Do you think cannibalism should be legalized… or at least institutionalized?

    Seriously, how many cannibals do you know? Not many because they are all hiding in the closet because of the fear and judgement of being necrophages. Can you recommend how to best practice funereal cannibalism in this culture?

    Dantalion Jones