The Kunbis either bury or burn the dead. In Berar sepulture is
the more common method of disposal, perhaps in imitation of the
Muhammadans. Here the village has usually a field set apart for
the disposal of corpses, which is known as Smashan. Hindus fill
up the earth practically level with the ground after burial and
erect no monument, so that after a few years another corpse can be
buried in the same place. When a Kunbi dies the body is washed in
warm water and placed on a bier made of bamboos, with a network of
_san-_hemp. [34] Ordinary rope must not be used. The mourners then take
it to the grave, scattering almonds, sandalwood, dates, betel-leaf
and small coins as they go. These are picked up by the menial Mahars
or labourers. Halfway to the grave the corpse is set down and the
bearers change their positions, those behind going in front. Here
a little wheat and pulse which have been tied in the cloth covering
the corpse are left by the way. On the journey to the grave the body
is covered with a new unwashed cloth. The grave is dug three or four
feet deep, and the corpse is buried naked, lying on its back with the
head to the south. After the burial one of the mourners is sent to
get an earthen pot from the Kurnhar; this is filled with water at a
river or stream, and a small piece is broken out of it with a stone;
one of the mourners then takes the pot and walks round the corpse
with it, dropping a stream of water all the way. Having done this,
he throws the pot behind him over his shoulder without looking round,
and then all the mourners go home without looking behind them. The
stone with which the hole has been made in the earthen pot is held to
represent the spirit of the deceased. It is placed under a tree or on
the bank of a stream, and for ten days the mourners come and offer it
_pindas_ or balls of rice, one ball being offered on the first day,
two on the second, and so on, up to ten on the tenth. On this last
day a little mound of earth is made, which is considered to represent
Mahadeo. Four miniature flags are planted round, and three cakes of
rice are laid on it; and all the mourners sit round the mound until
a crow comes and eats some of the cake. Then they say that the dead
man's spirit has been freed from troubling about his household and
mundane affairs and has departed to the other world. But if no real
crow comes to eat the cake, they make a representation of one out
of the sacred _kusha_ grass, and touch the cake with it and consider
that a crow has eaten it. After this the mourners go to a stream and
put a little cow's urine on their bodies, and dip ten times in the
water or throw it over them. The officiating Brahman sprinkles them
with holy water in which he has dipped the toe of his right foot,
and they present to the Brahman the vessels in which the funeral cakes
have been cooked and the clothes which the chief mourner has worn for
ten days. On coming home they also give him a stick, umbrella, shoes,
a bed and anything else which they think the dead man will want in
the next world. On the thirteenth day they feed the caste-fellows and
the head of the caste ties a new _pagri_ on the chief mourner's head
backside foremost; and the chief mourner breaking an areca-nut on
the threshold places it in his mouth and spits it out of the door,
signifying the final ejectment of the deceased's spirit from the
house. Finally, the chief mourner goes to worship at Maroti's shrine,
and the household resumes its ordinary life. The different relatives
of the deceased man usually invite the bereaved family to their house
for a day and give them a feast, and if they have many relations this
may go on for a considerable time. The complete procedure as detailed
above is observed only in the case of the head of the household, and
for less important members is considerably abbreviated. The position
of chief mourner is occupied by a man's eldest son, or in the absence
of sons by his younger brother, or failing him by the eldest son of
an elder brother, or failing male relations by the widow. The chief
mourner is considered to have a special claim to the property. He has
the whole of his head and face shaved, and the hair is tied up in a
corner of the grave-cloth. If the widow is chief mourner a small lock
of her hair is cut off and tied up in the cloth. When the corpse is
being carried out for burial the widow breaks her _mangalsutram_ or
marriage necklace, and wipes off the _kunku_ or vermilion from her
forehead. This necklace consists of a string of black glass beads
with a piece of gold, and is always placed on the bride's neck at
the wedding. The widow does not break her glass bangles at all,
but on the eleventh day changes them for new ones.