SIAM 



103 



The burial customs of the Shans are sufficiently interesting to be briefly described. When 

 a person dies, the corpse is washed, dressed in a new suit, and some money is put into the 

 mouth; this "passage-money" is considered to be necessary, in order to prevent any let or 

 hindrance to the transmigration of the soul. The priests recite prayers over the body daily, 

 until the day of the funeral, when the corpse is carried out in a coffin highly decorated with 

 coloured paper and tinsel, tinder a gaudy canopy. The eldest son heads the procession with a 

 naked sword in his hand, in order to clear the way, which is supposed to be barred by evil 

 spirits, and the relations dance as they go along. Presents for the priests, such as yellow 

 robes, handkerchiefs, and umbrellas, are carried to the grave. Arrived there, the wife or 

 wives, and children, and the brother's wife or wives, all go in procession round the coffin, 

 carrying lighted candles as a last sign of respect for the departed; the priests then recite a 

 few prayers, and the body is buried; sometimes a rocket is fired. Priests and chiefs are 

 burned, not buried, since burning is considered more honourable. 



Both Shans and Burmese believe that a man's spirit takes the form of a butterfly, which 

 leaves him when he is asleep or unconscious. Hence they are unwilling to awaken any one 

 suddenly, "for fear," as they say, "that his butterfly may not return in time." Nominally 

 Buddhists, they are given to the worship of spirits, or Nats, the genii supposed to reside in 

 all natural and material objects stones, mountains, rivers, trees, clouds, winds, etc. In some 

 places buffaloes are sacrificed to the spirits; and there are Nats which can only be appeased 

 by human sacrifices. The guardian spirit of a certain ferry, for instance, claims a victim every 

 year, preferably a Chinaman; and if no one is obliging enough to be accidentally drowned 



Photo by Mr. Itonaga] 



[lianykok. 



A TYPICAL SIAMESE NOBLEMAN AND FAMILY. 



