Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 3 (Celtic and Slavic).djvu/355

 CHAPTER II WORSHIP OF THE DEAD, ESPECIALLY ANCESTORS

T first the pagan Slavs burned their dead, but later they practised burial as well as cremation. $1$ With singing and wailing the corpse was carried to the funeral-place, where a pyre had been erected; and this, with the dead body laid upon it, was set on fire by the relatives. The pyre and the body having been consumed by the flames, the ashes, together with the charred remnants of bones, weapons, and jewels, and with all sorts of gifts, were collected in an urn and placed in a cairn. If the chieftain of a tribe had died, one of his wives was burned along with him, as is amply attested by the traditions of the Elbe Slavs, the Poles, the Southern Slavs, and the Russians; and in similar fashion animals that had been especial favourites of his were killed and cremated. At the grave there were obsequies of a martial character (tryzna), followed by a noisy banquet (strava).

A vivid description of a Russian chieftain's funeral was given by the Arabian traveller Ahmad ibn Fadlan (922). $2$ When a nobleman died, for ten days his body was laid provisionally in a grave, where he was left until his shroud was prepared for him. His property was divided into three parts; one third was given to the family, another served to defray the funeral expenses, and the remainder was spent on the intoxicating drinks which were served at the funeral banquet. On the day appointed for the final obsequies a boat was taken out of the water, and round it were placed pieces of wood shaped to the form of human beings. Then the corpse was removed