In Patna State a pregnant woman must not cross a river nor eat any
fruit or vegetables of red colour, nor wear any black cloth. These
taboos preserve her health and that of her unborn child. After
the birth of a child a woman is impure for seven or nine days in
Chhattisgarh, and is then permitted to cook. The dead are either
buried or burnt, cremation being an honour reserved for the old. The
body is placed in both cases with the head to the north and face
downwards or upwards for a male or female respectively.