The reason why this people gash and bury the bodies of those whom they
murder, is as follows. They say that the goddess used to save them the
trouble of burying the corpses of their victims by eating them, thus
screening the murderers from all chance of being found out. Once, after
the murder of a traveller, the body was, as usual, left unburied. One of
the Phansiagars employed, unguardedly looking behind him, saw the
goddess in the act of feasting upon it. This made her so angry, that she
vowed never again to devour a body slaughtered by them; they having, by
this one act of curiosity, forfeited her favor. However, as an
equivalent for withdrawing her patronage, she plucked one of the fangs
from her jaw, and gave it to them, saying that they might use it as a
pickaxe, which would never wear out. She then opened her side and pulled
out one of her ribs, which she gave them for a knife, whose edge nothing
could blunt. Having done this, she stooped down and tore off the hem of
her garment, which she gave to them for a noose, declaring that it
would never fail to strangle any person about whose throat it might be
cast. She moreover commanded them to gash and bury the bodies of those
whom they destroyed.
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