| caption: |
Chapter One. The Material Background |
| caption: |
belt of forest; cemetery; funeral platforms |
| text: |
A broad belt of forest separated the spring from the village and concealed the houses from all who approached. Here, trees were only felled for building purposes and the forest was, in striking contrast to the shrubby bushland which clothed the lower slopes, tall and well grown. Beyond this belt of forest lay a cemetery where, from the hollows of stone receptacles, bleached skulls grinned at passers-by. Funeral platforms carried the bodies of those recently deceased, and on days following a funeral the stench of rotting flesh often caused even the Konyaks to hold their noses as they hurried past. |
