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Chapter Three. Phases of Life |
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the land of the dead and death journey |
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Konyaks had very clear ideas about the fate that awaited them after death. Old men often spoke without any sign of emotion of their entry into Yimbu, the land of the dead. For their journey they needed their weapons, for on the way to Yimbu they would meet all those men whom they had killed in battle and would have to fight them once more. Life in Yimbu was thought of as similar to life on this earth. The departed cultivated the land, celebrated the annual feasts, married, and had children. People who had been married on earth lived in the land of the dead with their original spouses. Even if a marriage had never been consummated and both spouses had subsequently contracted other marriages, it was the partners of a first marriage who would be rejoined and live together in Yimbu. |
