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It is said that Torajans are people who “live to die”. For this Indonesian ethnic group, funerals are such extravagant events that they sometimes attract tourists. Families can postpone burials years (and the deceased are considered sick and hosted at home until the funeral) until the family can raise enough money and gather as many relatives as possible. And then it’s a jubilant multiday social event with a parade, dances and animal sacrifices. Agung Parameswara photographed these funerary practices when he traveled to South Sulawesi province, where the Torajans live. But often, their funeral isn’t the last time the dead are seen. In August, crypts are opened, coffins are slid back out and bodies delicately unsheathed. This tender ritual is known as Ma’Nene, which is customarily performed every few years. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/The Washington Post)

It is said that Torajans are people who “live to die”. For this Indonesian ethnic group, funerals are such extravagant events that they sometimes attract tourists. Families can postpone burials years (and the deceased are considered sick and hosted at home until the funeral) until the family can raise enough money and gather as many relatives as possible. And then it’s a jubilant multiday social event with a parade, dances and animal sacrifices. Agung Parameswara photographed these funerary practices when he traveled to South Sulawesi province, where the Torajans live. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/The Washington Post)
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06 Oct 2016 09:15:00
A jockey falls from his buffalos during Barapan Kebo or buffalo races as part of the Moyo festival on September 30, 2014 in Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A jockey falls from his buffalos during Barapan Kebo or buffalo races as part of the Moyo festival on September 30, 2014 in Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The traditional Buffalo races, known as Barapan Kebo, are held by Samawa tribes in muddy rice fields to celebrate and provide entertainment ahead of the annual planting season. Jockeys secure themselves on a wooden structure attached to the buffalo, and maneuver across the mud in a race to the finish line. The jockeys weild long sticks, in a similar style to jousting, and direct them towards targets called “Saka”. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
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04 Oct 2014 11:58:00
An officer reviews members of the honor guard as they line up before a welcoming ceremony for visiting Mozambique's President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

An officer reviews members of the honor guard as they line up before a welcoming ceremony for visiting Mozambique's President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
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19 May 2016 11:56:00
An exile Tibetan monk gestures as he makes a point in a dialectics debate with another monk, sitting right, at the Kirti monastery in Dharmsala, India, Monday, January 18, 2016. The debate is an essential part of their training as Buddhist monks. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo)

An exile Tibetan monk gestures as he makes a point in a dialectics debate with another monk, sitting right, at the Kirti monastery in Dharmsala, India, Monday, January 18, 2016. The debate is an essential part of their training as Buddhist monks. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo)
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19 Jan 2016 13:45:00
Former NBA player Yao Ming (R), a member of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, is seen during an interview in Beijing, China, in this picture taken March 9, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

Former NBA player Yao Ming (R), a member of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, is seen during an interview in Beijing, China, in this picture taken March 9, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)
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11 Mar 2016 15:02:00
A commuter exits a closed off station after a subway train derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway line. The Fire Department of New York said a handful of people were treated for minor injuries at around 10 a.m. It said there was smoke but no fire. Delays were reported throughout the subway system. (Photo by Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)

A commuter exits a closed off station after a subway train derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway line. The Fire Department of New York said a handful of people were treated for minor injuries at around 10 a.m. It said there was smoke but no fire. Delays were reported throughout the subway system. (Photo by Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)
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18 Jul 2017 08:48:00
Chinese Kazakh eagle hunters sit on horseback as they travel to a local competition on January 29, 2015 in the mountains of Qinghe County, Xinjiang, northwestern China. The festival, organised by the local hunting community, is part of an effort to promote and grow traditional hunting practices for new generations in the mountainous region of western China that borders Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Chinese Kazakh eagle hunters sit on horseback as they travel to a local competition on January 29, 2015 in the mountains of Qinghe County, Xinjiang, northwestern China. The festival, organised by the local hunting community, is part of an effort to promote and grow traditional hunting practices for new generations in the mountainous region of western China that borders Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia. The training and handling of the large birds of prey follows a strict set of ancient rules that Kazakh eagle hunters are preserving for future generations. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
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07 Feb 2015 14:11:00
Graffiti is painted on the bathroom walls at a restaurant in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn borough in New York, United States, October 1, 2015. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Graffiti is painted on the bathroom walls at a restaurant in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn borough in New York, United States, October 1, 2015. Some 2.4 billion people around the world don't have access to decent sanitation and more than a billion are forced to defecate in the open, risking disease and other dangers, according to the United Nations. To mark World Toilet Day on November 19, Reuters photographers captured pictures of toilets in cities, towns and villages around the globe. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
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18 Nov 2015 08:06:00