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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 15 



status of the individual. Common tribesmen, 

 that is, those who are not of pure Camayura de- 

 scent, are laid horizontally in the bottom of the 

 grave and then covered. The mature children of 

 chiefs are buried in a sitting position. Men of 

 pure Camayurd descent are buried in a vertical or 

 standing position. The body is wrapped in a 

 hammock, a pot is placed over the head, and then 

 the corpse is strapped to an upright post of 

 camiuva wood, placed in the grave, and covered. 

 Outstanding chiefs are given a special burial. 

 After a deep grave has been dug, a compartment 

 is hollowed out on one side, two posts are driven 

 in, and the corpse, wrapped in a hammock, is 

 slung from the posts so that it does not touch the 

 ground. The grave is then filled so that the corpse 

 rests in a small compartment. Graves are gen- 

 erally marked out with a circle of short posts until 

 the kwarup rites, after which they are removed. 

 It is of interest to note that the Camayurd term 

 for grave is ivirahok. Ivirdt, as we have seen, is 

 the term for one of the three manioc mam'e, to 

 which the word hok, house, has been added. The 

 word "grave" thus appears to indicate manioc- 



spirit-house. After death the ghost goes to the 

 abode of the dead, karakapi, where the ancestors 

 dwell. The Camayura have no fear of the dead, 

 for they believe that ghosts never return to haunt 

 the living. 



After death the immediate relatives of the dead 

 cut their hair, scarify their heads and arms, and 

 wail in a loud voice and try to jump into the grave, 

 but are prevented from doing this by the villag- 

 ers. The mourning period lasts until the next 

 kwarup. The mourners are secluded behind a 

 screen in the house and are not permitted to fish 

 or to work in the fields. They can be heard be- 

 hind the screen chanting songs in the morning 

 and in the evening. During the period of mourn- 

 ing the name of the dead person cannot be used. 

 The relatives of the dead person are released from 

 mourning seclusion in the kwarup rites at which 

 time the chief appoints a woman to wash the heads 

 of the mourners with water. When children under 

 the age of puberty die the parents do not have to 

 wait until the kwarup, but are released from 

 mourning sometime later by having their heads 

 washed. 



