Page:History of Corea, ancient and modern; with description of manners and customs, language and geography (1879).djvu/365

 EVERLASTING SEPARATION. 337 before the coffiD, incense burnt, a libation poured out, and then the chanter, looking north, kneels and says : " For ever must you be sent away, according to the rule of propriety ; not even over this forenoon can you be left here. To-day, according to the laws of our ancestors, the coffin cart will surely come.'' He then slowly rises, his eyes bent to the ground, and *all below the Shangjoo weep and wail and twice bow to the ground. This takes place before sunrise, and before thestretcherhas come. When the coffin frame or stretcher is brought, the appointed man places edibles before the coffin, and then takes them away. At sunrise, offerings are again made ; the chanter, facing north and kneeling, chants, saying : " To-day the stretcher is come to the door, I make bold to inform you." Then a table (Lingdso) is placed beside the coffin ; all the women retire out of sight, and the waiters approach and place the coffin on the stretcher or cart. The proper man then places the Lingdso before the coffin — ^the Lingdso facing south — and orders presentation of the offerings. Its bearer now approaches with the Title-banner, and stands at the left of the coffin ; placing food,* spirits, meat and soup, burning incense, and pouring out spirits. The chanter kneels and says : " The cart is now ready, and is about to start towards the grave. All the necessary arrangements are made, and we can never see each other's face again." Then all under the Shangjoo weep and waU, and twice bow to the ground. The proper men then remove the sacrificial things, with the papers on which the chants were written, and place the Title-banner in the centre of the cart over the coffin. On reaching the grave the Lingdso is placed before the coffin, which is set down on a mat south of the grave, the head of the coffin pointing northwards. Spirits, fruit, meat, and soup, are information given, is to make sure that the spirit in the Yin or Negative state of existence will know whither the body goes, and where it rests. For though it leads to no good practical results, the belief that the spirit is undying has a most powerful hold of all the nations of the east. And all these punctilious observances are to ensure a quiet rest to the departed, so as not to trouble the living; quite as much as from respect or affection for the deported. w
 * Repetition is necessary, as a long journey is to be made. The frequent