198 MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 



CHAP. IX, carried by his nearest relatives, surrounded by a crowd of 

 PART I. mourning friends to the nearest Kedu or burial mand, or, as it is 

 Ethx^ogy. often called, MethgiuU or burning-place. 



A small herd of buffaloes is driven along with the cortege and all 

 the friends of the deceased and the neighboring villagers assemble 

 to do honor to the dead. Arrived at the Methgudi a funeral pile 

 is constructed on which the corpse is placed. Each buffalo has 

 a little bell hung round its neck, and they are then driven close to 

 the pile with the words "Avan od ntii," " Go with him." Then 

 the mourners, male and female, down to the youngest baby, take 

 three handfuls of earth, throw them towards the buffaloes ; then 

 they throw earth three times upon the body, saying " Purzh-nl- 

 gama, Purzh-ul-gama, Purzh-ul-gama," "Let him go into the soil." 

 The recumbent corpse is now lifted up in the arms of his relatives, 

 and each cow in succession is dragged by two men up to her 

 master, whose arm is raised and made to touch the animal's 

 horns. After this the pyre is lighted by fire made by the friction 

 of two sticks. The body is lifted up and swung three times from 

 side to side, then laid on the burning wood face downicards. 

 As the flames devour the body the people cry " Shall we kill 

 buffaloes for you V " You are going to Amnilr ;" " may it be well 

 with you ;" " may all thy sins go." One or two buffaloes are now 

 killed, and as each creature falls dead from a blow from the butt 

 end of an axe the people crowd round it, sobbing and lamenting 

 and kissing its face. After this they sit round the bier in pairs 

 with their faces together and their foreheads touching, weeping 

 bitterly and wailing in true oi'iental fashion. 



After the corpse is consumed, they collect the bones and the 

 skull ^ to be kept in the house of the deceased until the dry funeral 

 is celebrated. Any jewels or coins that may have been on the 

 body are sought for,^ but the ashes are " left to the winds." 

 The friends then salute the place and leave it. 



They never mention the dead by name. No prayer or religious 

 ceremony seems to accompany a burning, nor are the priests 

 necessarily in attendance. 



_.X)ry The dry funeral is a less solemn, although a more elaborate, 



funeral. ceremony. Probably the mere fact of its now being postponed until 



two or three funerals can be celebrated together has tended to make 



it more or less of a commemoration festival. T The reasons for thn 



making one festival serve for all the dead of one tribe seem X'> 



' Norrzh, Nirru (Dra.), ashes. — Pope. 



- Breeks. Colonel Marshall says they are buried with only valueless articles, 

 such as knivps, metal rings, &c. 



I 



