DEATH OP A CHIEF CUSTOMS. 225 



however, the chief, should he have expressed a wish to that 

 effect, instead of being buried, is placed in a reclining posi- 

 tion on a slightly raised platform in the centre of his own 

 hut, which, in such a case, is surrounded by stout and strong 

 palisadings. 



When a chief feels his dissolution approaching, he calls his 

 sons to the bedside, and gives them his benediction, whicli 

 consists solely in wishing them an abundance of the good 

 things of this world. 



The eldest son of the chief's favorite wife succeeds his fa- 

 ther; and as soon as the obsequies are over, he quits the 

 desolate spot, remaining absent for years. At last, however, 

 he returns, and immediately proceeds to his parent's grave, 

 where he kneels down, and, in a whispering voice, tells the 

 deceased that he is there with his family, and the cattle that 

 he gave him. He then prays for long life, also that his herds 

 may thrive and multiply ; and, in short, that he may obtain 

 all those things that are dear to a savage. This duty being 

 performed, he constructs a kraal on the identical spot where 

 once the ancestral camp stood ; even the huts and the fire- 

 places are placed as much as possible in their former position. 

 The chief's own hut is always upon the east side of the in- 

 closure. 



The flesh of the first animal slaughtered here is cooked in 

 a particular vessel, and, when ready, the chief hands a por- 

 tion of it to every one present. An image, consisting of two 

 pieces of wood,* supposed to represent the household deity, or 

 rather the deified parent, is then produced, and moistened in 

 the platter of each individual. The chief then takes the im- 

 age, and after affixing a piece of meat to the upper end of it, 

 he plants it in the ground on the identical spot where his 

 parent was accustomed to sacrifice. The first pail of milk 

 produced from the cattle is also taken to the grave, a small 



* Each caste has a particular tree or shrub consecrated to it. Of 

 this shrub, a couple of twigs or sticks represent the deceased. 



K2 



