ORIGIN AND DESTRUCTION OF GARDENS 307 



thousand people, young and old, from other villages. Of these, 

 a hundred from the southern and a hundred from the northern 

 villages seized the long canes at either end, and dragged the 

 coffin up and down in competition until the canes were broken, 

 when, the grave being dug, the body was buried. 



This ceremony is performed only when those of the highest 

 repute are interred. 



Once in every five years the villages in turn remove all 

 their pigs, and keep them in sties in the jungle. The surround- 

 ings of the village are then offered to the public for cultivating 

 fruit and vegetables, and the people from other villages arrive 

 and make gardens, which are open ; there is no need for 

 fencing, since there are no pigs to cause damage. 



The reason for all this is that after demolishing the nd- 

 kopdh (sacrifice to the dead), during the festival of Kana Awn, 

 the yams and other vegetables and fruit with which they are 

 loaded are scattered about the houses, and grow abundantly ; 

 to obtain some profit from this unplanned result this custom 

 has been introduced. 



The people in general have their large vegetable plantations 

 at a distance, but for immediate use there are some smaller 

 gardens near the village. The tamiluaiias informed the people 

 that in consequence of the flourishing condition of these latter, 

 the devils were angry, and might cause the island to be drowned 

 by a deluge, and that to save themselves they should uproot 

 part of the plants. Accordingly, the greater portion of the 

 yams and other vegetables were destroyed ; some of the people 

 doing it willingly, others with discontent. 



The Kar Nicobarese seem to hold much the same belief with 

 regard to an eclipse as do the Chinese and some of the peoples 

 of India. 



They think the moon is actually being swallowed by a 

 serpent, and throughout the night both young and old refrain 

 from sleep, and occupy themselves in driving the serpent away. 

 Providing themselves with tins and planks, they beat them, causing 



