Page:The Native Tribes of South Australia (1879).djvu/78

 20 FUNERAL RITES. in order that he may be led to dream who is the sorcerer that caused his death. The next day the corpse is elevated on men’s shoulders on a sort of bier called ngaratta. The friends of the deceased then gather round, and several names are called out to try if the mention of them produces any effect on the corpse. At last the nearest relative calls out the name of the person of whom he has dreamed, and then an impulse towards him on the part of the dead body is said to be felt by the bearers, which they pretend they cannot resist, and consequently they walk towards him. This impulse is the sign by which it is known that the right name has been called out. The deceased, still lying on the ngaratta, is then placed over a slow fire for a day or two, until the outer skin blisters. This is removed with the hair, and all the apertures of the body are sewed up. It is then rubbed over with grease and red ochre, and set up naked on a sort of stage inside the wurley in a sitting position. A great lamentation and wailing is made at this time by all the relations and friends of the dead man. They cut their hair off close to the head, and besmear themselves with oil and pounded charcoal. The women besmear themselves with the most disgusting filth; they all beat and cut themselves, and make violent demonstrations of grief. All the relatives are careful to be present and not to be wanting in the proper signs of sorrow, lest they should be suspected of complicity in causing the death. A slow fire is placed under the corpse, in order to dry it. The relations live, eat, drink, and sleep under the putrefying mass until it is dried. It is then wrapped up in mats and kept in the wurley. During the time in which it is drying the female relatives relieve one another in weeping before the body, so as to keep some women always weeping in front of it. All this has very much the appearance of idolatry. The smoke rising around the red sitting figure, the wailing women, the old men with long wands, with a brush of feathers at the end, anointing it with grease and red ochreall these contribute to give one this impression of the whole scene. When any one leaves the wurley where the body is for a few days, they are