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“(Wallace: 228). Ritual Practices Death ritual begins when a person stops breathing, or is otherwise identified as dead. Treatments of the body, disposal of the remains, and the behavior of close kin and others for a specified period of mourning are spelled out by society. The body may be washed, anointed, shaved, combed, painted or perfumed. It is left naked or dressed, covered with a shroud, and sometimes adorned with jewelry. The mouth, nose, vagina, urethra and rectum may be stopped up, perhaps to prevent evil spirits from invading the body. Today it is intended to check the seepage of body fluids. Coins or weights are placed on the eyelids to keep them closed, to keep the corpse from "staring" at the living. As the death is announced, family, friends and neighbors draw together. People express grief: they weep, wail, scream, sing dirges, beat the breast, tear the hair, or otherwise mutilate themselves. The closest kin effect changes in costume. They wear white, black or red, or paint their bodies; they rend their clothes; they cover their bodies with ashes or dirt; they cut their hair, or let it grew, altering their normal appearance. At a death vigil preceding the burial (or other form of disposal), mourners sit with the corpse. Originally the intent may have been to ensure their presence if the dead stirred and tried to return to life; or if he attempted t: identify the witch responsible for his death. Perhaps living wished to protect against a spirit attack, or to assist the poor soul, recently separated frog: its bodily home. Inhumation was probably the most widespread disposal pattern. Originally earth burial might have been designated to protect the living from contamination, or to prevent wild animals from molesting the body, or, as a sympathetic rift, to promote rebirth. The position in the ground varied: prone, supine, lateral, sitting, or flexed. Often the dean person was interred with grave goods, e.g., ornaments, tools, or weapons. Among some groups, a body was temporarily buried, exhumed after a specified time, and then reinterred in a second burial. Lessa describes cremation as an ancient and widespread ritual, standard among the Hindus. He lists several motives: unwillingness on the part of nomads to leave their dead behind; fear that the dead might return; a desire to free the soul for departure to the afterworld; to protect against wild beasts, or evil spirits; a desire to provide warmth and comfort in the afterworld. (Lessa 1971: 761). Exposure to the elements was practiced by the Eskimos probably out of necessity, as they were unable to dig in the frozen ground. The Plains Indians wrapped the dead person in a blanket or robe, and lashed the body high in a tree, or set it on a raised platform. The Parsees of India, descendants of the ancient Zoroastrians of Persia, traditionally left the corpse in "towers of silence" where vultures and other birds of prey would strip the bodies of flesh. Contact of the impure corpse with the sacred elements, earth, fire, and water, was thus avoided. All societies prescribe a period of mourning for close relatives and other kin of the deceased. A beginning and an end are specified. The duration depends upon tire relationship with the dead: the closer the connection, the longer the mourning period. The mourners are segregated physically from other members of the group. During the mourning period, society permits, or requires, an expression of grief. The depth and duration vary from group to group and are contingent On kinship connection. Widows must deny themselves food, ornamentation, and amusement for, an extended period. Normal activities are curtailed, or set aside, until all obligations have been fulfilled. Ritual purification is required before the mourner can resume normal social relations. Among the lugbara of Uganda, lineage sisters must wash in the nearest stream after the burial; then they can mingle with others. (Middleton: 67). HERTZ: COLLECTIVE REPRESENTATIONS OF DEATH The Indonesian ritual of double burial is embedded In a complex of ides, sentiments, and values which assume the interrelationship of the body, soul, bereaved, and society. These links are emphasized in an intermediary period, a transitional stage between a first and second burial. Although the ceremonies appear to focus on the disposal and transformation of the body, they also involve the destinies of the soul and survivors. Using cultural data on the Dayak of Borneo, Hertz describes their activities at dean. The body is washed, the eyes closed, and the orifices plugged with coins or beads. The corpse is placed in a sealed coffin, except for an opening which allows the drainage of putrid matter into the earth. sometimes the fluids are collected by the mourners for ritual use. A sealed container is used, they say, to guard against the escape of evil power. The body is temporarily buried in a deserted place in the forest. Between this first, or provisional disposal, and the final burial, an extended period elapses, ranging from eight months to six years, an average of two years. This span is required, say the Dayak, to allow the decomposition of the body and the drying of the bones. Fear and pity are characteristic during this intermediate stage. All attempt to avoid the contagion of the corpse; its evil power can strike down the living. The dead man's clothing and possessions are destroyed, his house and trees
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