136 COLE. 



residing there. Should it become evident that he will die he is taken 

 back to his own place, otherwise his family must reimburse the owner of 

 the house in which the death occurs for bringiug evil or unfriendly 

 spirits into their dwelling. 



Unless the deceased has been a person of considerable importance the 

 body is kept only until a coffin can be hollowed out of a split log. He 

 is then dressed in good clothes and placed in the coffin together with his 

 weapons or other prized articles ; the top of the log is fitted over the lower 

 half and he is buried beneath the house. From that time until a human 

 sacrifice has been made the family is required to wear old clothes, to eat 

 poor food, and to abstain from dancing and other pastimes. 



It is possible to remove the taboo by making a special sacrifice, but 

 more commonly all the families in which deaths have occurred will buy 

 a part in the yearly offering, made after the appearance of the constellation 

 balatilc. 



