688 



In the case of Bd'a, his Nandtna, or chief mourners, 

 consisted of: — (1) His four brothers — Koptre, Idri, Giro, 

 Tamdra; (2) his father's younger sister's (Toro's) children^ — 

 Budi, Naria, Goiho, Var/a, Avare; (3) his father's younger 

 brother's (Boru's) children — Gila, Garuhoi, Vaineri, Tagdbu; 

 (4) his mother's elder brother's (Dobi'sJ two daughters — 

 Oi?ii and IWi; (5) his mother's younger sister's two sons — 

 Kavdka and Dini. The paternal and maternal uncles, as 

 well as the brothers' or sisters' children are not Nandma. 



The widow also assumes deep mourning, though she is 

 not called a Nandma, but a Dod'e. The man's children do 

 not assume the deep mourning of either category, nor would a 

 man mourn for his children. A mother is subject to deep 

 mourning for her children, but I failed to record in my notes 

 whether she belongs to the Nandma or Boat class, though I 

 remember having been informed that the latter is tiie case. 

 The name of bereft parents is O'evaetsa. A husband per- 

 formed also the Dod'e mourning for his wife, and the children 

 mourn for their mother, as far as I remember, though I again 

 failed to record the fact. 



Besides the chief m.ourners — tlie Nandma and Dod'e — 

 there is the class of Mdfju raijm? i people, who keep W\^N ehuru 

 coconut taboos, perform certain duties during the mourning 

 feasts and at the burial, and contribute essentially to the 

 mortuary feasts. The Mdfju raguai, in the case of an influ- 

 ential man like Bu'a, comprises all his clansmen, and many 

 other people as well. In the case of a less important man the 

 Mdfjn ragud'i would be some of the members of the subclan 

 and some of his other friends and relatives — Emegi goina. 



The Mourning. — The first period of mourning, during 

 which the sorrow is expressed by loud wailing, weeping upon 

 the dead, and by other acute symptoms of grief, is called Inl 

 (to cry). During this first phase the Nandma and Dod'e are 

 in the deepest mourning dress, their hair shaven, their skin 

 deeply blackened, and the body covered all over with mats, 

 which are also drawn over the head and conceal the face. If 

 they require to move they walk about very slowly in a 

 crouching position, with the mat kept over the head. 



The second, much longer, period is called Mdgu. This 

 is commenced by the deep mourners some time after the man's 

 death, and it is also observed for some time, though not very 

 strictly, by the Mdgu raguai. The Mdgu people — i.e., the 

 deep mourners in the later stages — smear themselves all over 

 the body with black (Gurvma; in Motu, Miro), which is 

 usually burnt coconut fibre, moistened with water and kneaded 

 into a paste. This pigment is never completely washed off 

 the body for any length of time during the Mdgu period. But 



