| caption: |
pollution of death washed off ; feeding of the dead |
| text: |
(135) There the old men who have touched the dead and carry the coffin now clean their hands with rice husks. The house of the deceased is genna for three days. During this time the relatives of the dead man supply the survivors with food, water and wood. The corpse is offered food as many times per day as he used to have it while living until his skull can be separated from the body, and is then placed into a stone box. After this event they feed him regularly for three years, then only at the 'Ou-ling-pu' ceremony (Spring Festival) the 'Pong-long-pong-lu', during weeding to ensure a good rice harvest and the 'Ou-ui-on', the beginning of harvest. |
