B II R I A I,. 



117 



Burul. serving a variety of ceremonies, he proceeds to the 

 : where the pile stood, adores the divinities wlm 

 preside over countries, deposits the bones of llie de- 

 ceased in a casket, rnmpoM-d <>f the leave* of the 

 liutca I rondos/I, and intrrs them in a profound exca- 

 vation. To cover the spot where the funeral 

 stood, a tree should be planted, or a mound of ma- 

 sonry be raised, or a pond be dug, or a standard be 

 [.d. At a subs'-ciiiu.t time, the casket is dug 

 up, and thrown into the Ganges. 



Among the Turks, and other Mahometans, when 

 any person is to be buried, it is usual to bring the 

 corpse, at mid-day or afternoon prayers, to one of 

 their mosques, from whence it is accompanied by the 

 greatest part of the congregation to the grave. Their 

 processions, upon these occasions, are not so slow 

 and solemn as in most parts of Christendom ; for the 

 whole company make what haste they can, singing, 

 as they go along, some select passages from the Ko- 

 ran. That absolute submission which they pay to 

 the will of God, allows them not to use any conso- 

 latory words upon such occasions ; no loss or mis- 

 fortune is to be regretted or complained of; and in- 

 stead of such expressions of sorrow and condolence, 

 as may regard the deceased, compliments are paid to 

 the person who is the nearest concerned. The ceme- 

 teries of the Turks are commonly planted with cy- 

 press trees ; and for the space of two or three months 

 after any person is interred, the female relations of 

 the deceased go once a week to weep over the grave, 

 and de'ck it with flowers and green leaves. Shaw's 

 Travels. 



A very full account of a Mahometan funeral is 

 given by M. Guys, in his Lettrcs sitr la Grece ; and 

 another by a later traveller, Dr Griffiths, in his Tra- 

 vel, in Europe, Asia Minor, and Arabia. 



The funerals of the Persians are conducted in a 

 manner similar to those in other Mahometan coun- 

 tries. They are, however, strangely superstitious about 

 the burial of their kings. For, tearing lest by some 

 magical art, any enchantments should be practised 

 upon their bodies to the prejudice of their children, 

 they conceal, as much as possible, the real place of 

 interment. For this purpose, they send to different 

 places several coffins of lead, with others of wood, 

 and bury all alike with the same magnificence. In 

 this manner they delude the curiosity of the people, 

 who cannot discern, by the outside, in which of 

 the coffins the real body should be. See Chardin. 



The Russians, who profess the religion of the 

 Greek church, entertain many fantastic notions with 

 regard to the state of departed souls ; and their fu- 

 neral ceremonies are therefore attended with some 

 singularities. After the dead body is dressed, a priest 

 is hired to pray for his soul, to purify it with incense, 

 and to sprinkle it with holy water while it remains 

 above ground ; which, among the better sort of people, 

 it generally does for the space of eight or ten days. 

 When the body is carried to the grave, which is done 

 with many gesticulations of sorrow, the priest pro- 

 duces a ticket, signed by the bishop and another 

 clergyman, as the deceased's passport to heaven. 

 When this is put into the coffin, between the fingers 

 of the corpse, the corr.pauy return to the deceased's 

 house, wiicre they drown their yorrow in intoxica- 



, which it sometimes prolonged for a consider* 

 able period. During that time, a priest says prayer* ' 

 every day over the grave ; for though the Kuitians 



<:) i.ot b< -lu %< in purgatory, yet they imagine that 

 their departed friend mar be amtcd by prayer in 

 his long journey to the place of bis destination after 

 this lit.-. 



In Japan, Peru, Pegu, Mexico, Tartary, and Si- 

 am, the dead are burned ; and in the ca*e of per- 

 sons of superior rank and consideration, the fires are 

 made with aromatic woods, gums, balsams, and oil*. 

 In China, it is said to have been formerly the cus- 

 tom to bury slaves with the -emperors and princes; 

 but this cruel practice has given way, in modern 

 times, to the more innocent one of burning imsgat 

 of their domestics in tin-foil, cut into the shape of 

 human beings, and of placing their statues in wood 

 or stone upon the gi aves. The last remains of a re 

 lation are interred with all the honours which the fa- 

 mily can afford. See Barrow's Travel* in China. 



Among the Hottentots, the dead are interred with 

 very little ceremony. When a Hottentot dies, he is 

 buried in his worst dress, (a sort of mantle made of 

 fcheep's or calf 's skin), ana the limbs are disposed in 

 such a manner that the whole body is covered. The 

 corpse is then carried by the relations to a certain 

 distance from the -horde, and thrust into a pit or 

 hole, dug for the purpose, and then covered over 

 with earth, stones, or brushwood. Such a mauso- 

 leum, however, proves but a very weak defence against 

 the attacks of the jackal and hyxna, which generally 

 dig up and devour the body. A horrid custom is 

 said to prevail among these savages, of burying chil- 

 dren at the breast alive, in case of the mother's death. 

 See Vaillant's Travels ; Sparrman's Voyage. 



In New South Wales, the dead are burned, after* 

 wards deposited in the ground, and a mound or hillock 

 raised upon the ashes. ( Hunter's Voyage.) At Ota- 

 heite, none are burned in the Morai but those offered 

 in sacrifice, or slain in battle, or the children of 

 chiefs which have been strangled at the birth ; an act 

 of atrocious inhumanity, which is too common among 

 those islanders. When a person of eminence diet* 

 the body is preserved, and not buried, unless he died 

 of some contagious or offensive disease. The fol- 

 lowing is understood to be the method in which 

 this preservation is effected. Soon after death, the 

 body is disembowelled, and the cavity is then filled 

 or stuffed with cloth. When any moisture appear* 

 on the skin, it is carefullv dried up, aud the body af- 

 terwards rubbed all over with a large quantity of 

 perfumed oil ; which being frequently repeated, pre- 

 serves it a great many months ; but, at last, it gra- 

 dually moulders away. The relations and friends, 

 who are absent, perform their part of the funeral rites 

 at their arrival ; each female presenting a piece of 

 cloth to the corpse ; and they continue to dress and 

 decorate the body, as if still alive, and to furnish it 

 with provisions, supposing that the soul which hovers 

 round receives satisfaction from such marks of atten- 

 tion. See Cook's Voyages. 



Among the autieut Britons, both cremation and 

 interment were practised, as druidical rites. When 

 a dead body was interred, it was usual to bury along 

 with it whatever was of use in thi life, under the 



u * 



