﻿XIII 
  

   DEATH 
  AND 
  BURIAL 
  CUSTOMS 
  

  

  Death 
  was 
  looked 
  on 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  the. 
  inevitable 
  things 
  in 
  life. 
  The 
  

   old 
  men 
  have 
  said: 
  "We 
  see 
  death 
  everywhere. 
  Plants, 
  trees, 
  ani- 
  

   mals 
  die, 
  and 
  man 
  dies. 
  No 
  one 
  can 
  escape 
  death 
  and 
  no 
  one 
  should 
  

   fear 
  death, 
  since 
  it 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  avoided." 
  While 
  this 
  view 
  tended 
  to 
  

   remove 
  from 
  the 
  thought 
  of 
  death 
  any 
  supernatural 
  terrors, 
  it 
  did 
  

   not 
  foster 
  the 
  wish 
  to 
  hasten 
  its 
  approach. 
  Length 
  of 
  days 
  was 
  

   desired 
  by 
  all 
  and 
  the 
  rites 
  attendant 
  on 
  the 
  introduction 
  of 
  the 
  

   child 
  to 
  the 
  teeming 
  hfe 
  of 
  nature 
  (see 
  p. 
  115) 
  and 
  those 
  connected 
  

   with 
  the 
  entrance 
  of 
  the 
  child 
  into 
  its 
  place 
  in 
  the 
  tribe 
  (see 
  p. 
  117) 
  

   all 
  voice 
  a 
  prayer 
  for 
  long 
  life, 
  "to 
  reach 
  the 
  fourth 
  bill." 
  Although 
  

   not 
  unknown, 
  suicide 
  was 
  rare, 
  and 
  its 
  rarity 
  was 
  owing 
  perhaps 
  to 
  

   the 
  belief 
  that 
  the 
  spirit 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  body 
  perished 
  in 
  self-destruc- 
  

   tion. 
  Generally 
  speaking, 
  no 
  matter 
  how 
  hard 
  the 
  conditions 
  under 
  

   which 
  lie 
  was 
  living, 
  the 
  Omaha 
  clung 
  tenaciously 
  to 
  hfe. 
  

  

  The 
  belief 
  in 
  the 
  continuation 
  of 
  the 
  natural 
  relationships 
  after 
  

   death 
  necessarily 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  fixing 
  of 
  a 
  locality 
  where 
  the 
  dead 
  dwell. 
  

   The 
  mystery 
  of 
  death 
  in 
  some 
  way 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  become 
  associated 
  

   with 
  the 
  mystery 
  of 
  night 
  and 
  the 
  stars. 
  The 
  Milky 
  Way 
  was 
  re- 
  

   garded 
  as 
  a 
  path 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  spirits 
  of 
  men 
  as 
  they 
  passed 
  to 
  the 
  

   realm 
  of 
  the 
  dead. 
  While 
  the 
  mystery 
  of 
  dissolution 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  

   demanded 
  that 
  the 
  abode 
  of 
  the 
  dead 
  should 
  be 
  removed 
  from 
  

   the 
  earth, 
  there 
  were 
  other 
  thoughts 
  and 
  feelings 
  that 
  inclined 
  the 
  

   Omaha 
  to 
  conceive 
  of 
  its 
  being 
  possible 
  for 
  the 
  dead 
  to 
  come 
  near 
  

   and 
  act 
  as 
  helpers 
  of 
  the 
  people. 
  In 
  the 
  attempts 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  to 
  

   give 
  concrete 
  form 
  to 
  vague 
  ideas 
  concerning 
  life 
  and 
  death 
  we 
  come 
  

   upon 
  the 
  mythic 
  stage 
  of 
  thought 
  and 
  observe 
  how 
  closely 
  all 
  their 
  

   thoughts 
  on 
  these 
  subjects 
  were 
  interwoven 
  with 
  their 
  conception 
  of 
  

   a 
  common 
  and 
  interrelated 
  life, 
  a 
  living 
  force 
  that 
  permeates, 
  and 
  

   is 
  continuous 
  in, 
  all 
  forms 
  and 
  appearances. 
  By 
  virtue 
  of 
  this 
  bond 
  

   of 
  a 
  continuous 
  hfe 
  the 
  dead, 
  though 
  dwelling 
  in 
  a 
  distant, 
  undis- 
  

   cernible 
  region, 
  are 
  able 
  to 
  come 
  near 
  their 
  kindred 
  on 
  the 
  earth 
  and 
  

   t<> 
  lend 
  their 
  assistance 
  in 
  the 
  avocations 
  with 
  which 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  

   familiar. 
  This 
  belief 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  in 
  the 
  unification 
  and 
  the 
  con- 
  

   t 
  inuity 
  of 
  life 
  assists 
  toward 
  the 
  understanding 
  of 
  his 
  point 
  of 
  view 
  in 
  

   reference 
  to 
  his 
  appeals 
  for 
  help 
  to 
  the 
  animals 
  and 
  the 
  natural 
  forces. 
  

   588 
  

  

  