Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/52

* MORTUARY CUSTOMS. 40 MORTUARY CUSTOMS. efforts of tlic niayiciiin and friends arc put forth to e.xorcise thf di-stroj'iii^ aiigrl and thus to re- store the patient. The moment hope lias de- parted, the preparations for hurial arc begun almost before the breath has left the body. So strong is the belief in the necessarj' connection l)etveen magic and death among the Australians that when a man believes he has been 'pointed at' or run through with a magic spear that has been 'sung' he fre(piently dies. Vell authenticated cases are on reeor<l in which the slightest ailment or wound has resilted fatally, because the vic- tim was convinced that the instrument had been charmed by magic. l'"or many forms of conjuring there is no remedy. In others a cure is possible by the aid of a magician belonging to Die totem of the person who 'pointed' at the sick man. The practices of the medicine men are almost universally the same. They make the same passes, suck the wound, and nmtter incanta- tions, and the imagination of the patient often effects a cure.

Treatment of the Corpse. No sooner has life become extinct than the preparation of the body begins. For economy's sake most primitive tribes double the corpse into the smallest com- pass, the chin resting on the knees. Even among such an advanced people as the ancient Peruvians this custom of packing the body into the smallest compass prevailed, a strong rope being used to draw the limbs into place and bind them fast. It has been said that the motive in this is to imitate the posture of the unborn infant, but aside from the fact that crouching is a common position in life among savages, economy of space in the grave or tomb has much to do with the custom.

Embalming the dead was at first only a natural process. There are regions where the arid climate desiccates all flesh, as on the plains of the West, and in Peru, Egypt, and Arabia. Here, the drying up of the body suggested to the primitive mind religious ceremonies which found their culmination in the all-absorbing mortuary cult of Egypt. The Polynesians when First discovered had an elaborate ceremony of embalming their dead priests. The brains and intestines were removed, and all moisture was carefully wiped from the body, which was anointed with fragrant oils and dried in the sun. It was then clothed and seated in a little house erected for the purpose, where a table was set before it for food, fruits, and flowers. Here also belong such ceremonies as calling the dead, anointing, closing the eyes and lips, bathing, kissing, placing coin in the mouth, all of which have symbolical meanings with reference to the future well-being of the dead, as well as to the immediate relations of the ghost with the living.

f'rx)TiiiNO on Wrappin'o.s of the Corpse. Scarcely any people consigns its dead to the last resting jilace naked. The corpse is clad cither with the clothing worn in life, or the best attire, or s|)ecial grave cloths, shrouds, or winding sheets. Fnthermore, masks are frequently placed over the whole body or over the face. .Among the very lowest peoples the corpse may be put away naked, but this takes place only among those tribes that wear no clothing. The prepa- ration of a special shroud has its prototype even among very primitive races, and begins with the chiefs or leading men, who in life wear an ollicial or professional dress. Tlic order of the development of cerements seems to have been first, the disposal of the body naked ; second, dressing the corpse as in life in order to take up the new life in the spirit world at once; third, arraying it in its best ilothing. to make a good impression on the ghosts among whom it goes; fourth, wra]>ping it in a shroud for .senti- mental reasons. .Among the lOgyptians the corpse was wrapped with narrow strips of linen. In Turkestan a similar |)ractice is now in vogue, in Ivimbtindo leather is used, and in Mashona- land the toes an<l lingers are tied up each in a se])aratc piece of cloth. Inca.sement of the Corpse. The receptacles for the dead body are of many sorts. Among the ancient .leuts the corpse was doubled up and fully clothed. It was then crated, hung on the wall of a cave, or set in a safe place on the floor. The Eskimo employ tough walrus hide as a case for the dead. The Pacilic Coast tribes, wherever the giant cedar grows, make boxes or hollow logs for the corpse. The Plains Indians crated the bodies of the dead and all their belongings be- fore placing them on the platforms, and the old cave people of I'tah packed Ihem in burden baskets. The Southern Indians made hurdles of cane and rolled them about the corpse. Farther south no coIRn was needed, for the bodies were exposed in qmohorioyix or dead houses until the iiesh was gone, after which the bones were liuried in the earth or in jars. Some of the ancient mound- builders made a stone box or coffin in the grave for the bones. A common motive among primitive tribes in using the coffin was to hold the bones together for burial. Custom demanded it. and the ever watchful and jealous ghost required it. Again, the coffin or its substitute guarded the corpse from ravenous beasts and l)irds of prey, and it may also be possible that among some tribes the dead are boxed uj) to prevent them from escaping or l)eing spirited away by unfriendly ghosts. In many tribes the baliitation motive prevails: the coffin or tomb is regarded as the liouse of the dead. Watching the Corp.se. Between death and burial the spirit or the double of the dead hovers around the body, and expects the most rigid ad- herence to custom. This belief is the origin of the widespread custom of lykcwake, or watch- ing the corpse, . iong many ]irimitive tribes till' dead arc not hurried to burial, but the cere- monies of UKUirning begin around the corpse. The Polynesians placed the body of the dead on a bier-like frame covered with white tapa, which wa.s dec(natcd with flowers, or ufon a bed of fragrant leaves, Relatives sat around lamenting and cutting them.selves with sharks' teeth. Vigils about the dead are widespread among the white races. The folk-lore of the civilized abounds in I'ustcmis during the day or two that intervene between death rind burial. The watch feast, or wake, has dwindled to a company of a few frienils. Salt is placed on the breast of the dead, a candle Inirns night and day at the head of the collin. The sin-cater takes bread and publicly <lcvours it for the misdeeds of the deceased, Pemovixc the Corpse to the Place Tntrnoei) FDR I r. The funeral proper is one of the most solenm of rites the world over, .mong many trilies the corpse must he taken out of the dwell-