Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/774

* BURIAL. 690 BURIATS. players, to whom, on special occasions, singers, buffoons, and actors were added. Tlic giowinj; umvillingness of parents and friends to walk in the funeral procession — in iniiierial times — is shown by testanienlary inducements to do so. The proper mourninf; costume was prescribed. The procession went directly to the tomb, in case of inhumation, or to the funeral pyre, in case of cremation. Arms, ornaments, favorite animals, and numerous presents were thrown into the burning pyre. The tombs where many persons were buried together by the rite of cremation were called columbaria. In both rites the tombs were ordinarily on the person's private property. Elaborate ritual and memorial ceremonies fol- lowed burial. The Eakly Christians. Christianity abol- ished cremation. The belief in the resurrection of the body made inhumation preferable. Em- balming was not practiced, except occasionally, thimgh spices and unguents were used to retard decay. Several of the Roman burial customs survived in certain regions until the Middle Ages, such as the placing of a small coin (obo- lus) in the mouth and the use of charms. The use of separate tombs was abandoned in favor of cemeteries. These were either subterranean — a class popularly called catacombs (q.v. ) — or above ground {sub dio) . The catacombs could be used only where the sub-soil contained strata of rather soft, friable rock, like tufa. They consisted of narrow galleries cut in the solid rock, in which the side walls were honeycombed with rows of narrow niches just long enough and deep enough to receive the body or bodies, the opening being then closed with a slab on which the name of the deceased was usually inscribed. The more distin- guished persons were buried in chambers opening out of these passages in marble sarcophagi, often carved, or in table tombs under aiched tops. AVith the close of the era of persecution in the Fourth Century, these subterranean cemeteries wore discontinued, and as all the burial cere- monies were in the hands of the clergy-, it became natural to attach the cemeteries, wherever pos- sible, to the churches, especially to suburban churches. Often there were built parallel brick walls with rows of shelves for the bodies. There were no sepulchral chanibei-s, but the bixlies were laid in regular rows of trendies, sometimes merely excavated, sometimes constructed of brick or stone work, while at other tiim-s the trenches contained plain sarcoi)liagi of different materials. This custom has continued with but (me impor- tant variation, the introduction during the Jlid- dle Ages of the custom of burying within the church itself, and in the cloisters attached to it. This led to the use of magnificent sepulchral monuments, which became an important part of church ornament. Each monastery also buried its members in a cemetery attaclicd to its church. Often the space under the pavement of chiirches was lioiicycombed with tombs, freipiently marked by sepulchral slabs. Certain cliurches. such as Westminster Abbey and Saint Denis, became national funerary Halls of Fame. There were also, from an early date, special sepulchral chap- els and oratories for saints, martyrs, and other personages. The Northern nations, such as the Goths, pre- served after their conversion some of their old funeral customs, such as the burial of arms, jewelry, and other objects of value in great numbers with the deceased. As a rule, however, the ancient custom of burying articles of value in the tomb gradually ceased during the poverty of the early Aliddle Ages, and was never revived. The ceremonial connected with Christian burial is a regular part of the liturgy of the ditl'erent branches and denominations, and took definite form at an early date. (See Liturgy.) While at first the dead were buried at the cost of the Church, after the Fourth Centni-y this was done only for the ]ioor. The eyes and mouth were closed by the nearest relative, the body washed and anointed — a custom which became obsolete after the Tenth Century. The ointments used were for partial preservation of the body. The body was then closely swathed in white linen and bound. Very soon the custom was intro- duced, especially in the case of the clergj' and the nobility, of burying in the richest vestments, and the finest examples of early stuffs have been found in tombs. After the exposure of the body in the house — usually in an upper or inner cham- ber — the bishop, with his clergy, visited the house, recited prayers, and sprinkled it with holy water; and the ceremony included a eulogium of the deceased, which was often pronounced in the church. Alost of these early customs have survived. For further informatiim as to burial rites, see JIa.n. paragraph liophioloyn ; Mohtiarv Cus- toms. See also Cemetery Laws; Coki'se. Bibliography. Maspero, The Dawn of Civili' zation (Eng. trans.. New York, 1894) ; Wilkinson, }Janners and Customs of the Ancient Ei/itptinns, Vol. III. (New York, 1879); Guhl and Koner, Life of the (Ireeks and Romans (Eng. trans.. New York, 1876) ; Wagner, "Death and Burial," in Manners, Customs, and Obscrrnnces (London, 189.5) ; Hasenclever, Der altchristliche Qriiber- sclimuck (Brunswick. 1886); Vucasovie, "Fu- neral Customs and Rites Among the Southern Slavs in Ancient and Jlodern Times," in Archires of the International Folk-Lore Association (Chi- cago, 18i)S) ; Preuss, Jjic Begrabnissarten der Amerikaner xind Xordusiaten (Kiinigsberg, 1804) ; Yarrow, "Mortuary Customs of North American Indians," First i^mithsonian Report, Bureau of Kthnoiopi/ (Washington, 1881); Walker, Oathcrinultiire: Its Methods and Requisites (Phila- delphia, 1884) ; Brand, Popular Antiquities- (Londim. 1877). BURIATS, boo're-.ats' (in Russ. bunjati/, from their ancestor Barriubator, or, according to another legend, liuriiaduy). A Jlongol people numbering some 250,000, inhabiting the region about Lake Baikal (particularly the Irkutsk country), in Southern Siberia. In their less marked Mongolian physical characteristics, their tendency to bc<iimc farmers, and the preserva- tion by a considerable portion of the primitive Shamanism of (he original stock, the Huriats differ from their kindred, the eastern and west- ern Mongols. In some branches of industry {metal-work, etc.) they .show much skill, and certain members have even acquired some scien- tific education. Before Russian contact the Biiri- ats were subject more or less to Chinese influence and intermixture with other Siberian peojiles. The best account of these people is that of Dr. N. JlelnikofV in the Internationales Arehiv fiir Ethnographie for 1899, where the good and bad