A row of skulls in Bori’ Parinding in Tana Toraja, Indonesia.
Bori’ Parinding is a ceremonial ground where extravagant death rituals are performed.
In Toraja, locals believe that the dead continue to watch over their families as deified ancestors.
Because it would be inappropriate to bury the dead beneath the ground, locals are traditionally interred in large family coffins that are placed in tombs, natural caves, or on wooden stakes hammered into the side of a cliff.
But these wooden caskets decay over time and eventually spill their grisly contents.
Burial sites such as this one in Bori’ Parinding are strewn with human remains, and are difficult places to visit if you’re uncomfortable around the dead.
But Torajans aren’t creeped out by the bones, and often visit Bori’ Parinding to leave gifts for the dead – most commonly cigarettes, which are carefully inserted into ancient jaws.
