BELIEFS AND RITES (_continued_)
The origin and observance of funeral rites--The ceremony of the
Commemoration of the Dead--Burial rites and various methods.
All students of primitive man have observed that egoism is one of his
most prominent characteristics. Hence it is not difficult to believe
that the extravagant attention he pays to the dead is due not so much
to any sentiment of reverence as to the necessity of looking after his
own interests.
Among primitive races the general idea is that after death man has
exactly the same feelings and necessities as during life. Accordingly,
his spirit will have to seek food for itself if the living fail to
provide it, and this will always be the case where the deceased has
been buried without the proper funeral rites. The dead man must then
take by force what has been denied him. In this way many common thefts
are accounted for. The loss to the owner is a vivid reminder that he
has been neglecting his duties and a warning that further disaster
will overtake him unless he mends his ways for the future. The fact is
that the spirit has not yet been received into the society of the
dead because the deceased has not yet been officially buried, and, on
the other hand, he has ceased to belong to the company of the living.
In this painful and anomalous position he conceives a great hatred of
those who are responsible for it and wages war on them.
The folklore of all countries shows traces of this belief. In every
country the most fearsome ghosts are the spirits of those who have
died a violent death, for example by fire or drowning.
At a later stage, fear of the vengeance of the dead is a less powerful
motive to the living than the hope of obtaining favours from those who
regard their late companions with a feeling of gratitude, a feeling
which the departed spirit manifests by granting his protection to the
living and interceding for them with the gods.
In Egypt the development of this last idea coincides with the
inception of the practice of building the immense tombs in which we
find innumerable inscriptions detailing the end in view.
"He who guards and cherishes my double shall find favour in the
sight of the Great God, and shall become a liegeman. He shall
not die save in the plenitude of years." (Dehasheh, Fifth
Dynasty.)
From that time forward the living believed that material prosperity on
earth was a reward for their devotion to the departed, and they spared
no pains to make them as comfortable as possible in the life beyond.
We have abundant proof of this in the objects found in the tombs.
Nothing that could conduce to the well-being of the deceased has been
omitted. He was supplied not only with all the luxuries to which he
was accustomed in life, but also with companions of both sexes,
attendants, slaves, and even women of the harem. As these persons were
unable to enter the abode of the Spirits, they were ruthlessly
sacrificed in order that their double might rejoin their master and be
at his service in the new existence. This idea of the necessity of a
change of state before entering the spirit world was so fundamental
that even the domestic utensils destined to the service of the
deceased were broken to signify a symbolic death.
In Egypt also, as in many other countries at a similar stage of
development, we find the practice of offering up sacrifices of animals
and fruits which were intended as nourishment for the dead. By degrees
the sacrifice is replaced by a symbol, and finally gives way to the
mere recital of a set formula, which is considered to have as much
validity as the original ceremony. This seems obvious from the fact
that at this later period a word or a look was reputed to have special
magic powers. Thus eyes are painted on the sides of the coffins to
ward off malevolent spirits, and even to-day no Chinese junk that
sails the seas is without an enormous eye painted on each side of the
prow to protect it from the attack of the Dragon.
There are some names which no man may utter, such is the magical
power attributed to them. In Egypt, for example, even the gods
themselves refrained from pronouncing the dread words "Ra" or
"Osiris."
Our knowledge of ancestor-worship in Egypt is singularly full, thanks
to a century of archæological research, and we should be fortunate if
even half the efforts had been expended on investigating the same
phenomenon in the Far East. In the circumstances it is impossible to
advance any conclusions as final, though it is certain that
ancestor-worship throughout the Far East plays a part, the importance
of which it is difficult to overestimate. Indeed, it is not too much
to say that in all probability it has been the basis of most of the
religions to be met with in this region. At the moment ethnologists
are in doubt as to the exact nature and extent of the native belief in
the physical needs of the dead. They have not even settled on the
precise location of the spirit world, nor on the amount of influence
exercised by the dead over the acts of the living. It has been
established beyond dispute, however, that certain funeral rites in the
Far East are based upon the same conceptions as those we have seen
obtaining in the West.
Thus, for example, we find food and domestic utensils left in the
tombs for the use of the deceased, and the same fear of being deprived
of proper burial. What further proof could be required that man is
regarded as possessing a double personality and that the soul is not
deprived of physical needs by its separation from the body?
Even in the details of the burial ceremonies in Indo-China we find
striking resemblances to those with which we are familiar in
civilizations now vanished. The sacrifice made in honour of the
deceased, and obviously with the end of furnishing him with the means
of existence in his new life, is still observed by the Moï in a manner
almost identical with that which prevailed in the land of the
Pharaohs.
The Egyptian sacrifice was attended by the following circumstances.
The animal was first caught with the lasso, a method which does not
imply that it was wild, for at that period the herds were allowed to
roam at large, and even domestic animals had to be taken in this
fashion. The victim was secured by an approved method and its carotid
artery severed, invariably in the same manner and with the same
instrument. The blood which flowed from the wound was carefully
collected in a jar which an assistant then handed to the "Sounou"
(doctor) with these words:
"Taste this blood."
The Sounou wetted his lips with it and answered:
"It is pure."
This tasting of the blood was necessary to demonstrate that the beast
had been well chosen. Finally the animal was cut in pieces, beginning
at the thigh, which was considered the choicest part, and to crown
the occasion its lungs and intestines were removed.
I myself can bear witness, after seeing many similar ceremonies
observed by the Moï during their festival of the Commemoration of the
Dead, that the proceedings show no substantial variation from those I
have just recounted. The fifty centuries which have intervened might
as well be fifty days, so perfect is the resemblance.
All religions afford many illustrations of the ability of certain
rites to defy the hand of time. Among the ethnographical collections
in the British Museum are a large number of instruments of stone used
for the purpose of sacrifice by peoples who had long since abandoned
stone as a material for all other weapons.
The great festival of the Commemoration of the Dead is celebrated by
the Moï in June of every year, in a manner which varies little in the
different tribes. I was always invited on these occasions and never
failed to attend, for the occasion is one of the highest interest.
The previous eight days are spent by the women and children in
collecting bamboos on which to hang garlands of leaves and flowers. At
intervals tall poles are erected from which various trophies are
suspended, and the whole village exchanges its usual dirt and squalor
for an appearance of irresponsible gaiety. The thatched roofs of the
huts are the only sombre note in the variegated colour-scheme. The
small canals which intersect the plain seem to be engaged in a
perpetual chase and in the distance the lofty Annamite chain rears its
proud head as if to shut off this smiling land from the rest of the
world.
As soon as the day breaks every family rises and proceeds in Indian
file along the high banks guarding the ricefields to the family tomb,
where the loved dead are resting. The sepulchre is a small building
not unlike a hut from a distance, but distinguished from it by the
line of the roof, which is curved instead of straight, a peculiarity
which produces the form of a pagoda. The relatives renew the thatch of
the tomb where necessary, sweep the floor with the most elaborate care
and replenish the store of victuals with fresh supplies. A few prayers
are uttered and then they continue in silence to the place of
sacrifice. This is a vast clearing on which several lofty poles have
been erected. Securely tied to the foot of each pole is a young
buffalo, selected by the warriors from the tribal herd. The number of
victims to be sacrificed is determined by the number of males who have
died in the previous year, the loss of females being reckoned, with
true oriental gallantry, as a matter of no moment.
The moment the sun appears from behind the curtain of mountains four
assistants drag one of the clumsy beasts to the ground in such a way
as to expose its throat to the priestly executioner, a man of great
size, who promptly thrusts in a long, shining blade. The blood spurts
into a wide-necked copper jar, produced for the occasion. The sword
flashes once more and a groan escapes from the victim in its death
agony. The great body oscillates and falls to the ground with a thud.
The ceremony is consummated. One of the assistants now dips a small
broom in the jar and takes up some of the blood, and the members of
the family gather round the carcase. The women crouch on the ground
with their hands before their faces and utter hollow groans. The dead
beast is now covered with the clothing of the deceased, consisting of
the cloak, the skirt, a pipe, or some other object he has cherished in
life. The Sorcerer in the role of High Priest advances and commences
to recite the virtues of the dead hero in a hollow voice.
"He was strong."
"Strong," repeat the company in chorus.
"His arrow was both swift and sure."
"Swift and sure," comes the echo.
Each time the Sorcerer's words are repeated a terrific bang on a gong
makes the distant mountains ring. The litany proceeds until the
catalogue of the great departed's deeds is complete.
This ceremony recurs without variation until all the victims have
perished.
The first time I witnessed such a scene no less than nine animals were
sacrificed, though the village boasted of only twenty-five families.
When the last rite has been accomplished the assistants drag away the
carcases and proceed to the distribution of the haunches and
intestines, after which the remains are hoisted to poles adorned with
garlands. The horns are severed from the base of the skull and
suspended from the sacrificial post until the same ceremony in the
next year.
The only variation I have ever been able to discover on these
occasions is the following. Among certain groups the buffalo is
stricken down by the warriors who stand round it in a ring and hurl
their javelins in turn. Once down, however, the death-blow is
administered exactly as I have described above, and the blood allowed
to flow to the last drop. This last incident is of the utmost
importance in all ritual sacrifices, for all primitive races agree in
regarding blood as the most acceptable offering to the gods.
Ceremonies of a ritualistic character also take place when a death
occurs. The corpse is immediately propped up against one wall of the
hut, a little rice is thrust into its mouth, and each member of the
family bawls into its ears in turn. One of the women goes out to the
nearest stream with a jar and brings back some holy water. The body is
then laid out in a somewhat summary manner and sewn up in a sack of
coarse cloth which serves for shroud, after which a few branches are
strewn over it. The children begin a melancholy chant accompanying
themselves on gongs and wailing women take up the refrain. The house
is lit day and night by torches which emit a strong resinous odour.
If the dead man is a person of importance the inhabitants of the
neighbouring villages are invited and the funeral ceremonies may last
several days. A huge metal pot is then placed under the open piles on
which the hut stands. Its purpose is to catch the liquids which may
exude from the putrefying corpse, for the belief is general that
malevolent Spirits are particularly fond of this form of nourishment.
When all the mourners are assembled the interment proper begins. With
the first signs of day the bearers take up the body, convey it rapidly
through every room of the house, and after wrapping it in large palm
leaves secure it to a stout bamboo pole. The next matter is to get it
out of the house in such a way that it will never know the point of
exit. Otherwise the Spirit will surely find its way back and continue
to haunt the living. Accordingly, an opening is very carefully made in
the thatched walls or roof, so that the breach will close of itself
when the corpse has passed through. The next stage is the procession
to the burial ground. The mourners and relatives form up in Indian
file and the whole party proceeds in a direct line westwards. After
marching a few miles the bearers stop short in the depths of the
forest. They proclaim that the corpse has suddenly become heavier by
way of asserting its predilection for that particular spot. In truth
and fact this piece of pantomime is merely set form, for in nearly
every case the presence of several newly-made graves indicates that
the family burial-place has been reached. The bearers now choose a
tree, which they proceed to cut down, hollow out, and transform into a
rude coffin. At the same time others of the party dig the grave
itself, which is only deep and wide enough to accommodate the bier.
The body is always placed in such a way that the head points
westwards.
The women gather round the corpse, crouching on the ground, wailing
and tearing their hair. The men stand about, affecting an air of utter
indifference. The deceased is now placed in one half of the hollowed
trunk, into which the relatives throw amulets, domestic utensils
(carefully broken first), rice, maize and various kinds of fruit.
Sometimes a hollow cane is passed through the lid of the coffin and
the earth above, ending in a small funnel through which liquids can be
poured.
As soon as the earth has been returned the bearers stamp it down with
their feet and cover the spot with brambles to keep off marauding
beasts. A kind of roof of palm leaves is erected over the tomb and on
this are placed the broken pieces of the deceased's cooking-pot and
cup and a further supply of provisions which are renewed at each new
moon during the first year but less frequently afterwards. The
mourners now leave and strive to forget their grief in a feast which
varies in magnificence with the influence and social position of the
departed brother.
Apart from the renewal of the provisions and the annual commemorative
festival, I noticed no other particular mortuary observances among the
Moï. The individual gravestone which is met with everywhere in China
and Annam seems to be unknown among the uncivilized groups of
Indo-China.
The chief sign of mourning is to keep the hair cropped quite close for
a period varying from one to five years. The return to ordinary life
is marked by a ceremony, in the course of which some animal is
sacrificed. The liberated mourner boils its head and carries it to lay
on the tomb of the deceased, after which all are at liberty to make
short work of the rest of the animal.
It is hardly surprising that mourning is not expressed by any change
of dress, for the scanty supply of flimsy wrappings does not permit of
much variation.
This is perhaps a convenient moment to mention certain burial rites,
which seem peculiar to the savage tribes of Tong-King, where the
influence of Chinese customs and manners is easily traceable.
When a Tho dies the family strew the floor of the house with a vast
number of minute pieces of gold and silver paper. These baubles
attract the Spirits, which can then be easily captured. A cloth mask
is placed over the dead man's face and goose feathers are fastened
into his clothing to enable him to soar over the rivers which might
otherwise impede his progress in the world beyond. A complete set of
writing materials is put in the coffin so that he may have no
difficulty in communicating his ideas and experiences to the living.
The Sorcerer furnishes the deceased with a passport and complete
directions as to his behaviour in the new existence. The grave is not
dug until the Geomancer has determined the exact spot by means of two
sticks and a piece of cord. An immense catafalque painted in five
colours is raised over the corpse, and under this imposing arch the
dead man's sons pass in procession, leaning on their "Weeping Sticks"
and preceded by an attendant who throws handfuls of maize into the air
to distract the attention of evil Spirits.
When the interment is over the Sorcerer proceeds to burn the
catafalque, which, being no more than a slender framework of bamboo
covered with sheets of paper or flimsy material, offers no resistance.
A few days after this ceremony those of the dead man's sons who have
founded a household of their own raise a small hut near their own
establishment to accommodate the personal belongings of the deceased.
Lest the soul should grow weary in its new abode pipes of opium are
constantly prepared for it and placed in this hut. Further, occasional
diversion is provided by organizing a ritual dance, in which many
persons take part. To complete the entertainment of the Spirit, the
dancers wear quite special costume, consisting of a mask representing
the marabout stork. From this mask falls a long veil which completely
conceals the dancer's body and produces a resemblance lively enough to
give to this ceremony the name of "The Dance of the Marabouts."
The burning of the catafalque by the Tho calls to mind a curious
burial rite observed in some places in France. When a Savoyard dies
his relations put on gloves, fasten an armlet on their sleeves, and
themselves carry the coffin to the cemetery. Before the earth is
returned to the grave they throw these gloves and armlets into the
bier and take back the pall to the curé, who burns it. If this custom
is originally due to the fear of contagion from anything which has
come into contact with the coffin it can hardly be disputed that we
are face to face with a true prophylactic rite.
Among the Meo, when a man dies the relatives tie a lacquer dog to the
end of a string, which is put in his hand. The reason for this is the
belief that the animal will lead its master through the tangled
by-paths of his new domain. The corpse is taken to the tomb seated in
a chair. A plank is laid at the bottom of the grave and the body
lowered on to it.
A similar custom is found among the Indians of British Columbia, who
believe that the dead warrior must never be put in his coffin in the
house, lest the relatives should lose their souls which would be
attracted by the bier and try to get into it. They also follow the
practice I have described above of taking the corpse out through the
roof or a hole made in the walls.
[Illustration: Funeral Rites: The Body in a Coffin made from the
Hollowed Trunk of a Tree.]
[Illustration: Funeral Rites: the Body by its weight has indicated its
wish to be buried in this Spot.]
Another custom popular in Tong-King is for the mourners, as soon as
the funeral rites are accomplished, to walk through a narrow passage
made between trees or bushes set very close together. By rubbing
themselves against these obstacles they shake off any Spirit which
might have attached itself to them during the interment.
The direction in which the corpse faces is everywhere considered a
matter of the utmost importance. Certain races of the Congo, for
example the Bongo, have one rule for the men and another for the
women, the former facing north, the latter south.
The Moï cemeteries vary greatly in different regions. Some tribes
favour a kind of family burial hut, on the floor of which the coffins
are laid in rows. The interstices of the coffin are then carefully
filled up with cement made of clay and pulped leaves. This mausoleum
is always in the middle of a rice or maize field at a convenient
distance from the village. As a rule the edifice has no distinct
decorative features, but is usually surrounded by a wooden palisade
carved with rough figures. A circular ditch, a yard wide and two yards
deep, is dug round the cemetery. The earth thus removed is accumulated
on one spot and gradually forms a conical mound. I have occasionally
seen such a mound surrounded by a palisade of which each post had
received individual artistic treatment.
A common feature of all cemeteries is a wooden shanty looking like a
European pigeon-house, in which are stored the bones of the victims
offered up in sacrifice for the dead. These charnel houses are often
painted with the blood of slaughtered animals.
A funeral pyre is reserved only for the Kings of Fire and Water.
Burial in the earth is the rule among all branches of this group.
Among a few tribes the coffins are hoisted to the branches of trees
and secured with rattan threads. Pieces of coarse cloth wrapped round
the corpse are considered sufficient to protect it from the weather.
These aerial cemeteries are also found in Borneo.
In all parts of the country the natives displayed the greatest anxiety
that we should not disturb their tombs. We paid due regard to their
susceptibilities, carrying our respect for their customs even to the
length of abandoning a valley which seemed an ideal site for the track
of the Trans-Indo-Chinese railway, but which was honeycombed with
graves.