Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 1.djvu/180

Rh The revenues of the clan lands are also applied to meet expenses. The keeper usually farms the clan lands, and his services are therefore remunerated.

Meeting-place of the Council.—The clan house may be situated in any part of the country, but usually it is located at the capital. The care of the house devolves on the keeper, who is not necessarily a member of the clan.

Business of the Council.—Meetings are called on many matters connected with the interests of the clan, such as the death of a prominent member, congratulations on the advancement of members of the clan, questions relating to burial grounds over which disputes may arise, or for the expulsion of members from the clan, etc.

Burial Grounds.—It should be explained that the clan cemetery is located at one place, to which the remains of all deceased members are taken for interment. The tombs of the ancestors are kept in repair by the clan, each existing family unit caring for the graves of its own immediate dead. In case of the decline or extinction of a family, the clan provides for the care of the tombs. The selection of a cemetery in Korea is a complicated proceeding, and is the result of a great deal of research by an "earth doctor," who chooses a place free from evil influences (feng shui of the Chinese) by means of geomancy. This earth doctor is an important personage, as he is supposed to be familiar with the place-spirits and earth-spirits, which among primitive peoples are believed to vivify inanimate matter. The graveyards are located usually in the mountains, and they form one of the chief obstacles to mining or railroad enterprises, so great is their number and extent.

If a clan should wish to buy a portion of the unoccupied burial ground of another clan and be refused, secret burials are sometimes made on such land. The removal of these intrusive remains has often led to friction between the clans, for interments of this kind are believed to affect the fecundity of the clan.