As regards the belief in the hereafter Mr. Gordon writes: [69] "That
they have the idea of hell as a place of punishment may be gathered
from the belief that when salt is spilt the one who does this will
in Patal or the infernal region have to gather up each grain of salt
with his eyelids. Salt is for this reason handed round with great
care, and it is considered unlucky to receive it in the palm of the
hand; it is therefore invariably taken in a cloth or vessel. There
is a belief that the spirit of the deceased hovers round familiar
scenes and places, and on this account, whenever possible, a house
in which any one has died is destroyed or deserted. After the spirit
has wandered round restlessly for a certain time it is said that it
will again become incarnate and take the form either of man or of
one of the lower animals." In Mandla they think that the soul after
death is arraigned and judged before Yama, and is then chained to
a flaming pillar for a longer or shorter period according to its
sins. The gifts made to Brahmans for the dead somewhat shorten the
period. After that time it is born again with a good or bad body and
human or animal according to its deserts.