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The refusal to accept death as an end to life is evident in Malagasy funeral rites, especially if the deceased was elderly. An elderly person was seen to have lived a full existence on earth and to have earned the right to rise to a higher state. An old man has reached a stage of life called hasina, wisdom or sainthood, that everyone acquires with age. So his death is no reason for tears (as it would be for a youth). It is, rather, cause for rejoicing: for days or even months, depending on the customs of the region, people dance, laugh, drink liquor, and eat the meat of the zebus that belonged to the deceased and are slaughtered for the occasion. They talk to the dead man, and tell him risqué jokes. Finally, the body is carefully wrapped or placed in a coffin made of special wood, and buried among relatives in the family grave.
Throughout Madagascar, funerary monuments are granted greater respect than houses.
Prior to 1870, stone was used exclusively for tombs, while houses were made entirely of vegetable matter.
Funerary architecture is extremely varied and often includes symbolic ornaments (figures, statues, cattle horns). The aloalo (high carved wooden stake) is typical of the funerary style of the Southwest. The bucranes (cattle skulls) of zebus slaughtered for the mortuary rites are placed on the tomb during the burial ceremony. Their number reflects the wealth of the deceased.
In several regions, the dead rest in sacred sarcophagi, sheltered by rocks.
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