The Jongmyo Daeje Ceremony, Seoul
Officials carrying the written prayers and gifts used in the earlier stages of the ritual, to be burned, as the last procedure in the Jongmyo Jerye ceremonies, Mangryorye, the ritual for sending off the spirits. It was believed that the ancestral spirits, who had been to Jongmyo, would return to Heaven with the smoke and, now that they had been entertained and worshipped in utmost sincerity, they would take care of the country and people to be happy and prosperous.
Photo by Ludo Kuipers, Sun May 04, 2014