In the village of Tana Toraja in Indonesia, babies who die before they begin teething are buried inside a tree trunk that is carved out for the purpose, in the belief that they can be re-absorbed by nature.
The village of Tana Toraja is located in the mountainous region of South Sulawesi, 186 miles north of the province’s capital of Makassar.
This is done in the belief that the deceased babies can be re-absorbed by nature, through the trees.
The babies are first wrapped in fine clothes before interment, the tree trunks are carved, the infants are placed inside and the gaping hole is then covered with palm fibre, in the , in the belief that the wind takes away their souls.
As many as twelve infants can be interred inside a single tree.