DEATH AND BURIAL. 67 



the same period ; but if an enemy has been blamed for the death, and they 

 succeed in killing a man of another — but not a contiguous — tribe, they at once 

 remove the clay and paint from their heads and faces, and their mourning is 

 ended. It is the same with a deceased chiefess ; but the mourning for her lasts 

 only six moons, and the person to be killed for her must be a woman. 



The widow of a chief can return to her own tribe, but she cannot take her 

 children with her, as they belong to the tribe of their father. If they are left with it 

 by their mother, their nearest relatives are obliged to support and take care of them. 



After the dead are finally disposed of, no amusements are permitted among 

 the relatives of the deceased for two or three days ; and if any levity is observed 

 among them by the nest of kin, he is entitled to take the life of one of them. 

 Even hunting for food is not allowed until the brother or nearest male relative 

 grants permission. 



A very strange and revolting custom is practised in connection with the 

 disposal of the bodies of those who have lost their lives by violence ; and this 

 custom has given rise to the idea that the aborigines are cannibals. 



There is not the slightest doubt that the eating of human flesh is practised 

 by the aborigines, but only as a mark of aifectionate respect, in solemn service of 

 mourning for the dead. The flesh of enemies is never eaten, nor of members of 

 other tribes. The bodies of relatives of either sex, who have lost their lives by 

 violence, are alone partaken of ; and even then only if the body is not mangled, 

 or unhealthy, or in poor condition, or in a putrid state. The boy is divided 

 among the adult relatives — with the exception of nursing or pregnant women — 

 and the flesh of every part is roasted and eaten but the vitals and intestines, 

 which are burned with the bones. If the body be much contused, or if it have 

 been pierced by more than three spears, it is considered too much mangled to be 

 eaten. The body of a woman who has had children is not eaten. When a child 

 over four or five years of age is killed accidentally, or by one spear wound only, 

 all the relatives eat of it except the brothers and sisters. The flesh of a healthy, 

 fat, young woman, is considered the best ; and the palms of the hands are 

 considered the most delicate portions. 



On remarking to the aborigines that the eating of the whole of the flesh of a 

 dead body by the relatives had the appearance of their making a meal of it, they 

 said that an ordinary-sized body afibrded to each of numerous adult relatives only 

 a mere tasting ; and that it was eaten with no desire to gratify or appease the 

 appetite, but only as a symbol of respect and regret for the dead. 



