This dudes family weren't the people who buried him after he croaked. So they dig him up to conduct a series of tests to make sure he's dead and to also make sure his soul is blessed. I guess there's a problem in Portugal with people being buried without first having been proven dead and secondly having their evil spirits removed. I don't get the reason why they spread his legs wide open though. I can't figure out if doing that's supposed to be part of the blessing or part of proving he's dead.