After every preparation is made to bear away the corpse, the person who
is to conduct the funeral, with the assistance of some relative or
friend, strips it of its clothing and jewels, and covers it with a
handkerchief provided for the occasion. The corpse is then placed on a
litter. Those who die in a state of marriage, have their faces left
uncovered. The litter, adorned with flowers and foliage, and sometimes
decked with valuable stuffs, is borne by four Brahmins. The procession
is arranged as follows.
The chief of the funeral marches foremost, carrying fire in a vessel.
The body follows, attended by the relations and friends, without their
turbans, and with nothing on their heads but a bit of cloth, in token of
mourning. The women never attend the funeral, but remain in the house,
where they set up a hideous cry when the corpse is taken out. While
advancing on the road, the custom is to stop three times on the way,
and, at each pause, to put into the mouth of the dead a morsel of
unboiled rice, moistened. The object of stopping is considered to be
very important. It is not without reason; for they say that persons
supposed to be dead have been alive, or even when lifeless have been
restored; and sometimes, also, it has happened that the gods of the
infernal regions have mistaken their aim, and seized one person instead
of another.
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