Page:The sexual life of savages in north-western Melanesia.djvu/194

Rh relics is an act of piety; the process of detaching them from the putrefying corpse, a heavy, repugnant, and disgusting duty. The sons of the deceased are expected by custom to curb and conceal their disgust, and to suck some of the decaying matter when they are cleaning the bones. Speaking with virtuous pride they will say: "I have sucked the radius bone of my father; I had to go away and vomit; I came back and went on." After they have cleansed the bones, which is always done on the seashore, they return to the village, and the dead man's kinswomen ceremonially "wash their mouths" by giving them food and purify their hands with coconut oil. The bones are converted to various purposes, serviceable and ornamental: the skull is made into a lime pot to be used by the widow; the jaw-bone is turned into a neck ornament to hang on her breast; the radius, ulna, tibia, and some other bones are carved into lime spatulas to be used with betel and areca nut.

A curious mixed sentiment underlies this complex of customs. On the one hand, it should be the wish of the widow and children to keep a part of the beloved dead. "The relic (kayvaluba) brings the departed back to our mind and makes our inside tender." On the other hand, the use of these relics is regarded as a harsh and unpleasant duty, as a sort of pious repayment for all the benefits received from the father. As it was explained to me: "Our mind is grieved for the man who has fed us, who has given us dainties to eat; we suck his bones as lime spatulæ." Or again: "It is right that a child should suck the father's ulna. For the father has held Rh