lo4 cook's voyage to march, 



their slower movements ; and after this performance 

 had lasted an hour, more mats were brought and 

 spread upon the area, and four or five elderly women, 

 amongst whom I was told was the dead chief's wife, 

 advanced slowly out of the house, and seating them- 

 selves in the front of the first company, began to cry 

 and wail most bitterly, the women in the three rows 

 behind joining them, whilst the two men inclined their 

 heads over them in a very melancholy and pensive 

 attitude. At this period of the rites, I was obliged 

 to leave them to attend at the observatory, but re- 

 turning within half an hour found them in the same 

 situation. I continued with them till late in the 

 evening, and left them proceeding with little varia- 

 tion, as just described, resolving, however, to attend 

 early in the morning to see the remainder of the ce- 

 remony. On my arrival at the house, as soon as it 

 was day, I found to my mortification the crowd dis- 

 persed and every thing quiet, and was given to un- 

 derstand that the corpse was removed, nor could I 

 learn in what manner it was disposed of. I was in- 

 terrupted in making farther inquiries for this pur- 

 pose by the approach of three women of rank, who, 

 whilst their attendants stood near them with their 

 fly-flaps, sat down by us, and entering into convers- 

 ation soon made me comprehend that our presence 

 was a hindrance to the performance of some neces- 

 sary rites. I had hardly got out of sight before I 

 heard their cries and lamentations; and meeting them 

 a few hours afterward, I found they had painted the 

 lower part of their faces perfect black. 



The other opportunity I had of observing these 

 ceremonies was in the case of an ordinary person, 

 when, on hearing some mournful female cries issue 

 from a miserable-looking hut, I ventured into it, and 

 found an old woman with her daughter weeping 

 over the body of an elderly man who had but just 

 expired, being still warm. The first step they took 

 was to cover the body with cloth, after which, lying 



