Where do people go when they die? To many older people on the island of Sumba, the answer is to Parai Marapu, the village of they dead. In Sumba , the belief is still widely held that the souls of the ancestors who reside in Parai Marapu determine the well-being of those whoa re still alive on earth. Those ancestral souls have the power to protect the living and know what is hidden to ordinary mortals. It is to please and appraise those ancestral souls that people built altars to worship the Marapu and to bring them offerings. Certain places in the house are reserved for them and at certain times animals are slaughtered and offered to them. However, how is it possible for people to interpret their messages? The answer lies in the innards of the animals offered – the liver of a pig or the intestines of a chicken. To communicate with the ancestor’s souls , a Marapu priest performs gratitude’s festivities that refer to the Mawali Tau-Majii Tau (the creator ).
In eastern Sumba, or the urrata in the western part of the island. A spear or a piece of string may be used as the device of communications. If a spear is used the head is thrust in to a selected structure of the house. The priest holds the other end of weapon , he will feel the vibrations of the ancestor’s voice and interpret them. Whatever the truth may be , there can be little doubt that at least for believers the practice of Mawali or Urrata gives the assurance that there is life after death. Some elders in eastern Sumba say the word Marapu simply means the spirit who live on a Higher place of existence and may act as intermediaries between humans and their creator. 
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