Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/56

40 house with food on the mourning days. These relatives are the fathers or fathers-in-law (or the nearest male relatives in that direction) of the sons who perform the funeral rites. If the person who died has seven sons, the duty of supplying the mourning house with food falls on the fathers-in-law of all the seven sons, if they are all married, or, if not, on those of the sons who are married. The outside supply of food is necessary for the first, second, tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth days. If there are six different parties to undertake this kind of supply, they do it in turns. If their number is insufficient, some of these days are left out and only important days, as the first, tenth and the thirteenth, are chosen, or any one or two of these days. So far as the rule goes, it is a wise provision, for when the house goes into mourning, its comforts in the direction of feeding will be neglected unless some outside relation is chosen for the occasion. This duty of supply is called sar vaikkiradu, which means the supplying of food with pepper water; only simple food is meant, and that was the rule in ancient days. But the modern Hindu custom is to supply a grand