The dead are usually burnt with the head to the north. Children whose
ears have not been bored and adults who die of smallpox or leprosy are
buried, and members of poor families who cannot afford firewood. If a
person has died by hanging or drowning or from the bite of a snake,
his body is burnt without any rites, but in order that his soul
may be saved, the _hom_ sacrifice is performed subsequently to the
cremation. Those who live near the Nerbudda and Mahanadi sometimes
throw the bodies of the dead into these rivers and think that this will
make them go to heaven. The following account of a funeral ceremony
among the middle and higher castes in Saugor is mainly furnished
by Major W. D. Sutherland, I.M.S., with some additions from Mandla,
and from material furnished by the Rev. E. M. Gordon: [66] "When a
man is near his end, gifts to Brahmans are made by him, or by his son
on his behalf. These, if he is a rich man, consist of five cows with
their calves, marked on the forehead and hoofs with turmeric, and
with garlands of flowers round their necks. Ordinary people give the
price of one calf, which is fictitiously taken at Rs. 3-4, Rs. 1-4,
ten annas or five annas according to their means. By holding on to
the tail of this calf the dead man will be able to swim across the
dreadful river Vaitarni, the Hindu Styx. This calf is called Bachra
Sankal or 'the chain-calf,' as it furnishes a chain across the river,
and it may be given three times, once before the death and twice
afterwards. When near his end the dying man is taken down from his
cot and laid on a woollen blanket spread on the ground, perhaps with
the idea that he should at death be in contact with the earth and not
suspended in mid-air as a man on a cot is held to be. In his mouth
are placed a piece of gold, some leaves of the _tulsi_ or basil plant,
or Ganges water, or rice cooked in Jagannath's temple. The dying man
keeps on repeating 'Ram, Ram, Sitaram.'"