Page:The Pima Indians.pdf/198

] neys were prescribed by the length of the rope which was attached by one end to his doorpost. His food was cooked by some of his adult grandchildren who occupied a house near at hand. His time was spent absolutely alone in the shelter, which was as devoid of utensils or furnishings as any dog kennel. And yet, with a pride that is deathless in the human soul, he boasted of the time when he was a man among men and overcame the ferocious Apaches on the latter's own ground.

The usual primitive views of death—that it was not a natural event, but a result of magic influences brought to bear by enemies, human or superhuman—prevailed among the Pimas. In the legends the first death that occurred in the history of the human race is attributed to the venom of Soft Child, the rattlesnake, who was given the power of death to protect himself from unmerited abuse by man. The legends also indicate a disposition to view the Destroyer philosophically, inasmuch as the predecessors of the present race are regarded with commiseration on account of their becoming so crowded because of none dying to give place to the oncoming generation.

Again and again the information was elicited that those who died during the day were killed by the Sun, while those who died during the hours of darkness were killed by Night. This the author interprets to mean that the prayers that were regularly addressed to Sun and Night were for preservation, and that death resulted from some lapse or inattention on the part of these two deities. This agrees with the equally emphatic statements that "death is always due to magic, to animals, or to neglect of the ceremonies or tabus."

At the moment of death the friends of the dying flee from them as if to avoid the magic that may not be satisfied with one victim. The near relatives cover the face of the corpse and bind the body in a bundle, with the legs drawn up. Before the Pimas obtained horses the body was borne to the grave on a litter. With primitive tools the graves were not dug as deep as at the present time, and to this burial in shallow graves is attributed the cause for covering the graves with the timbers of the sheds or storehouses of the deceased (see pl., a, b, c). Now a round hole is dug to a depth of 5 or 6 feet, then a small chamber is scooped out on the west side, in which the body is extended, with the head to the south. Billets of wood are then placed so as to lean against the roof over the body, so that in filling the grave no earth falls upon it. Medicine-men are buried in a sitting position, and in several instances have been buried in isolated places which have acquired special sacredness. 26 —08——15