PRIMITIVE CONCEPTS REGARDING THE DEAD 15 



be the source of all misfortunes which afflicted a tribesman and 

 something which it was imperative to placate. Fear was the pre- 

 dominating emotion inspired by ancestors; they could behold all 

 that was done by kinsfolk and if the latter were judged to be out- 

 of-line, they could send famine, warfare or any other disaster 

 into their midst. The living were at a distinct disadvantage in such 

 a situation because it was obvious that this invisible and potent 

 force could not be compelled or coerced; the approach, therefore, 

 was to make liberal offerings, to entreat, supplicate and cajole. 



The greatest fear of the ghosts of the dead was generated 

 when the bodies were lying exposed in huts or on the surface of 

 the ground. Some natives threw their dead in isolated, jungle 

 spots and left them to the ravages of physical nature and the 

 animal world. 



Other defensive measures taken against demons were as fol- 

 lows: desertion of homes to give the soul an opportunity to leave 

 its body; burning all property of the deceased in the belief that it 

 resided also in its belongings; marching behind funerals brandish- 

 ing swords to drive the ghost away; eating special types of pro- 

 tective medicine at time of death; throwing the subject to wild 

 and giant mastiffs, and dancing on a newly covered grave to 

 stamp down the spirits. 



The use of disguises by the survivors so as to become un- 

 recognizable and impervious to the ghost at the time of death is 

 an ancient custom. Again, it was based on fear. A variety of meth- 

 ods were used: smearing the body with pipe clay, mud, tar or 

 white clay, hanging a chaplet of bones over the face, wearing a 

 costume of either grass, veils over the entire body or mourning 

 costumes covered with black paste. Savage people were strongly 

 of the opinion that death was contagious, that they would suffer 

 a like fate if they remained in the vicinity of the dead. Individuals 

 became dangerous to the general society by virtue of having been 

 present at the instant of death. 



In some groups, such persons became unclean and were un- 

 able to mix with others for a definite period of time. Where cre- 

 mation was practiced, the wido^v might have to carry the ashes 

 of the dead around for two or three years, during which interval 



