| caption: |
Chapter Three. Phases of Life |
| text: |
All morning the dead body of Chinyak lay in the house in which he had died; men of the Oukheang morung built a corpse platform close to the rear veranda of Chinyak's own house; Chinyak's widow, his mother, and his sisters sat wailing close to the corpse. Singly and in small groups clansmen and friends of the dead man entered the house, bringing betel leaves and small gifts of food, which were later tied to the funerary platform. Among the mourners were men as well as women and, as they left the house, they dipped a finger into a bamboo vessel filled with water, which had been specifically placed in front of the dead man's house for the purpose of this ritual purification. |
