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Greece · Traditions · Hard

What is the name of the custom in the Mani Peninsula where the bones of the deceased are exhumed after three to five years, washed with wine, and placed in an ossuary?

'Ektafi' (exhumation) is practised across Greece but is particularly solemn in Mani; after decomposition, the bones are cleaned with wine by family members and placed in the village ossuary, a ritual of respect and acceptance of mortality.

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