VIDEO. In some parts of India, marrying the dead is a tradition.

“It’s not really sad. It’s not like a funeral, it’s a party, everyone is in a good mood, making jokes.“In some parts of India, it is customary to marry off the dead when they come of age. A way for the family to mourn and to perpetuate the memory of their deceased children.

“We believe that they live among us, even after their death, and we want to offer them that, even in the afterlife, so that they are happy..” Marrying two people who died more than twenty years ago is a common practice in this close-knit community in the Indian state of Karnataka. However, this practice is gradually being lost over time.

For Arun, the disappearance of this tradition is linked to the reduction of infant mortality in his community. Indeed, if hospitals were once inaccessible in this region, access to care has been greatly facilitated in recent years. After attending the wedding, Arun, the deceased’s cousin who died years earlier, understands that the practice is a way to help bereaved families move on. “It helps the family grieve. Parents can never forget their child”.