1S75.] Cr. E. Fryer — On the Klujeng people of Sandoway, Arakan. 43 



has been the subject of the dream, a buffalo or hog would be sacrificed ; 

 but if, as is commonly the case, the invalid had dreamt of an ordinary 

 occurrence, such as crossing the creek in a boat, the sacrifice of a dog would 

 be ordered, in which case a raft composed of stems* of the plantain tree 

 would be constructed, and a clog killed and placed thereon with a small 

 quantity of rice-beer. The raft is then pushed into the stream, every one 

 present pelting it with stones ; care is taken, however, that the dog is 

 subsequently brought back to form materials for a repast. 



When death occurs in a family, the corpse is laid out in the house, a 

 pig or other animal is killed, and great and prolonged feasting goes on. The 

 day after the event, a dead fowl is tied to one of the big toes of the deceased, 

 and an attendant priest thus apostrophizes the corpse — " Oh spirit ! thou 

 hast a long and wearisome journey before thee, so a hog has been killed 

 upon whose spirit thou mayest ride, and the spirit of this dead fowl will so 

 terrify the worm guarding the portals of paradise, that thou wilt find an 

 easy entrance." The corpse, followed by the relatives and friends of the 

 deceased, is carried to the outskirts of the village and burnt. All wait un- 

 til the burning is over ; water is sprinkled on the ashes and bones of the 

 skull, hands, and feet ; about nine or ten in number, having been selected, 

 are carried back to the village in a vessel and deposited in the shed erected 

 for the feasting. After seven days have elapsed, more feasting takes place, 

 and the bones are then finally conveyed for burial to some distant moun- 

 tain, which is the ideal place of interment of the ashes of their ancestors. 

 In cases of violent death, as for example by drowning, or from the attack 

 of a wild beast, the corpse and all the relatives of the deceased are tabooed 

 by the community until a buffalo or hog has been handed over to the 

 headman for sacrifice and feasting ; even then the body may not be taken 

 into a house, nor is a dead fowl attached to the corpse. 



On all occasions of marriages, deaths, and domestic entertainment, the 

 company is divided into what are termed inside and outside feasters, in 

 other words into hosts and guests ; for example, at the entertainment after 

 cremation the bones in a vessel are placed at one end of the shed surround- 

 ed by pieces of pork and other greasy-looking dainties ; next are seated two 

 priests, in front of whom is placed a pot of rice-beer, which has a cover 

 perforated with three holes, one in the centre to admit of a slender piece 

 of bamboo being placed upright, and one on each side to receive a reed 

 passing into the beer. When a feast is held in a house, the reed towards 

 the sleeping chamber is the inside reed through which the host and his 

 relatives imbibe the beverage ; out-of-doors the inside is that on which the 

 host and his people are sitting. After sucking, each person replenishes the 

 vessel with water in proportion to the quantity of beer supposed to have 

 been taken out. 



