Tooker] ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE HURON 129 



before he expired (JR 10 : 267; 13 : 251) .^^ One man, having been to 

 the land of the dead and wishing to be dressed as the people there, 

 had his entire face painted red and had brought and placed over him 

 the finest articles he had. He was also given his plate and spoon. 

 Thus he died (JR 17: 153). 



A dying man often made a farewell feast for his friends, at which 

 he partook of the best, and, sometimes at this feast, would sing [his 

 war song] ^^ without showing any dread of death (JR 10: 61, 267; 

 15 : 67) . To it were invited all the dying man's friends and important 

 people, a total of about 100 participants ( JR 34 : 113) . 



Apparently a man might dream when he would die. One sick man, 

 a chief, asked what the weather was and was told it was snowing. To 

 this he replied, "I shall not die, then, today, for I am not to depart 

 from this life except in fine weather" ( JR 13 : 213). In another case, 

 a woman said that she would not die for 8 days and so it happened 

 (JRIO: 13). ^3 



As soon as the man had died, he was placed in a flexed position, "in 

 a crouching posture, almost the same that a child has in its mother's 

 womb" (JR 10: 267). The body was wrapped rather tightly in his 

 finest robe and then placed on the mat on which he had died (S 205) 

 or wrapped in furs and covered with tree bark (C 160). Someone 

 remained with the body until it was taken to be buried (S 205).^^ 

 The dead were painted ( JR 38 : 253) . 



The mourners wept, cried, groaned, and wailed to express their 

 grief. The children cried aistan if the deceased was their father ; the 

 mother, aien, aien, 'my son, my son' (JR 10: 267). After the chief 

 had been told of the death, he or his assistant went around the village 

 saying, "All take courage, etsagon, etsagon, and all prepare the best 

 feast you can, for such a one who has died."*^ Then each man pre- 

 pared the finest feast he could with what material he could and sent 

 a. portion of it out to all the relatives and friends. This feast was 

 called agochin atiskein^ the feast of souls (S 205). After the chief 

 had gone through the houses announcing the death, friends arrived 

 and there was more weeping (JR 10: 267). Only the women and 

 girls wept and lamented and they began and ended it on order of the 

 chief or master of ceremonies. ^Vlien the signal was given, all began 

 to weep and lament and added to their sorrow by reciting the names 



" Similarly, today the "dead clothes" of a dying person, the clothes in which he will 

 be buried, are hung in his sight. In the past, he was dressed in them just before he 

 died (Shimony 1961 a: 236; Morgan 1901(1) : 16S also mentions dressing the body in 

 its best clothes and painting the face). 



«See note 46, p. 39. 



*^ A similar, but by no means Identical, belief of the Iroquois is that a sign, often a 

 bird, indicates approaching death (Shimony 1961 a : 234). 



^••Similarly, today, the corpse should not be left alone (Shimony 1961 a: 237). 



*5 Today, a messenger goes around to tell of the death and invite people to the wake, 

 including a "midnight lunch" (Shimony 1961 a : 237). 



