36 FUNERAL. 
Funeral. other nations, which the ually rose to rival or ex- dressed in white,’ attend, the pile; whichis kindled 
cel. Josephus relates, rset ian of Herod consisted amidst the. sound: of) instruments... But; the honour 
of gold, ornamented with precious stones; and @ le of cremation, is not, conferred on every) one indiscri- 
couch, whereon the body lay, covered, with purple; minately ;, those) whohave suffered» a ca ite 
there was a crown of gold on’ the. head, anda seeptre of the law; all) ,.who,havey beensexposed toa: violent 
in the.right hand ; the army marched insolemmpro- death; and »women. who hayejdied in parturition, are 
cession, and five hundred of the royal domestics and consigned tothe earth, which is regarded as disrespectful 
freedmen followed, bearing sweet spices.in their hands. to the dead« The-pile»is:composed,of precious woods; 
Cremation Inhumation is practised . universally. in Europe; generally erected) near »some ‘temple; :and:'the’ ceres 
aoa throughout Africa, and in most parts of America; while mony is embellished by fetes and»theatrical exhibitions. 
Sia aud cremation, though an. unusual custom, is’ a common But we shall after s speak.of the remarkable cere 
moderns, mode of disposing of the dead in Asia, This: has pres monies adopted on such oecasions.in further detail. 
vailed from remote antiquity, for many, years-antece+ 
dent to the Christian era, and, as well as another.ceremo- 
ny closely, connected. with it, and. to which) we shall 
soon advert, has. undergone little alteration... The an- 
cient Greeks,and. Romans burnt their more illustrious 
dead... The body, clothed in its best attire, was:depo- 
sited on a pile, formed of combustible wood, with a 
piece of money in the mouth, to pay, as before observed, 
the freight to Charon. The whole pile was environed 
by boughs. of the cypress tree, liquids fit to disseminate 
an, agreeable odour were poured on it, and the nearest 
relative applied a lighted torch. .The arms of the de= 
ceased, and other, things most regarded by him,:were 
thrown into the pile and consumed ; and to do him hos; 
nour, the byestanders contributed their offerings in the 
same manner. . But in order to preserve some remains 
of the body, it was.enclosed in-an envelope. of incom~ 
bustible cloth, and the ashes being collected alongwith 
the. fragments. of bones. unconsumed;. were: washed 
with milk. and wine, placed,in.an’ urn, and along with 
lachrymatories containing the tears shed: for the »de-; 
ceased, consigned to a tomb wherein, were frequently .de<. 
posited sepulchral lamps. No custom hasbeenmore wide-~ 
ly practised than that of burning the dead ; we. find it 
among the most polished nations of antiquity,and among 
the rudest modern tribes. It was practised in Britain, in 
Gaul, and many other countries whosé names are trans- 
mitted to us by history. At this day, the Tshutchi, a 
nation, inhabiting a rigorous. climate at the north- 
eastern extremity of the Asiatic continent, burn their 
dead, and the-spot where itis done is marked. by stones 
The Chinese do not always:consign’ the coffin to the 
earth, nor do.all those nations, which remove:the body 
from view without destroyingit, practiseinterment, The 
poor of Aracan, who have none: to-pay thee 
a funeral, are carried to the side:of'a river, to:be!wash« 
ed away’ as it flows. Some: tribes in the neighbour 
hood of Caffraria, sew up the corpse)inoskins, and cars 
ry, it to a distant;thicket.. The: Araucanians,: on los 
sing:a relation, seat themselves:on ‘the | ground:around 
him, and weep during: a long» time: |The»body, clos 
thed in its best attire, is then: exposed:on a high bier, res: 
maining there during thenight, whichis eitheremploys 
ed in lamenting with: thosecwho come to) offer:consola< 
tion, or in eating with them; and this meeting is dalled 
curicahuin, or the black»entertainment, from the 
bol of mourning... One, two, or:three:days after deaths: 
the body. is carried in procession to the cemetery sur= 
rounded by: women bewailing»the~deéceased;:and)‘ac- 
companied by another woman, who strews ashesion the 
road, It is nowvlaid on the ground-along swith: wea 
pons. if it is the»body of aman, or feminine 
ments. if it is the. body. of..a -woman,..and «with a) 
quantity of provisions for subsistence’ during» the: pas- 
sage to the other world. The spectators take leave: 
of the deceased, and wishing him a prosperous journey; 
o— a pyramid of — or stones above’ the body; on’ 
which a quantity of the country: beverage is poured, 
Perhaps the Highland, cairns, the  carnedds:.of) Wales, : 
and tumuli of other regions, have all a similar origin, ’ 
and may have originated without actual inhumation 
expenceiof .. 
Several of the North American’ tribes: testify a very pe bongs 
jaid in such order, as to bear some resemblance to the great solicitude concerning the bones of thedeceasedNor preserved 
figure of the human body. A large stone is placed at 
the head, which is anointed with marrow and fat, and 
a, small pile of deer’s horns, heaped. up at a little dis- 
tance, which receives a yearly accession when the place 
is visited by the relatives of the deceased, who recapi« 
tulate his feats and, qualities, In. the island of Japan, 
and in the kingdoms of Ava, Siam, Thibet, and through- 
out many parts of Hindostan, cremation) is not uncom- 
mon, But in the former :countries it is chiefly the bo- 
dies of the wealthy which are:treated with that distine- 
“tion. . What. proves an affliction to.other nations of.the 
earth, is the source of rejoicing among the natives: of. 
Ava; the dead seem to excite no regret, or, to use the. 
words of a modern author, much ingenuity is shewn in 
the means of abating it... At the same time there is‘ 
great semblance of grief, forthe widow and her friends 
repair to the spot. where the pile was.erected, and with, 
loud lamentations, collect, the half.caleined bones and 
ashes ; some days being. previously. occupied. in.dans) 
cing and festivity. The Siamese display particular 
funereal pomp. in. the. cremation of their dead. » The» 
intestines, are previously. removed.;. perfumes and wax. 
lights, are burnt around it, and itis carried: forth 
on @ gilt, wooden) bier... All the family: and friends: 
is this confined to the inhabitants of the North's. forthe for the ce 
same is seen among those towards the opposite extremity-™«tery. 
of the continent; and the historians who consider theim=" . 
habitants of America as descended from the Jews; think 
that they find:some analogy-here.: TheChoktahs,orChacs 
taws, after three months previous inhumation, dig up the -— 
body, and placeit on:a:scaffold opposite to the hut of tie! - 
deceased, uround which the family and’friends convene, * 
jointly participating in great lamentation, and a subse«: 
quent feast:: A:person, whose:parti office it is, des 
spoils the bones of their flesh, which are then carefully” 
collected, and being placed. in their natural: order in a! 
small chest, are carried in solemn procession to the bone: 
house. This resembles a shadejelevated on posts, open» 
at both ends, and those: of -the: different tribes:are kept» 
separate. It is even judged impious to mix the bones’ 
of strangers with those of their own kindred; and there~ 
fore, if necessity compels them to deposit the bones “of 
different tribes under one roof; they are still kept se~ 
parate.. Sometimes the skull, on these occasions, is 
painted red, and if the deceased has been aman of note, 
the chest is taken down a year after, when: the friends: 
weep once more over the bones, and the red-colour being~ 
refreshed, the whole ‘is consigned. to everlasting obli~ 
