FAMILY AND SOCIAL LIFE AMONG THE KIRGHIZ. 509 



Some men on swift horses have been sent in advance of the funeral 

 train to prepare the grave. This is an excavation, at most reaching 

 only to a man's breast; at the end which points towards Mecca, it is 

 vaulted to receive the head and upper part of the body. When the 

 corpse has been laid to rest, the grave is covered with logs, planks, 

 bundles of reeds, or stones. It is not filled with earth, but a mound 

 is heaped up on the top of the covering and decorated with flags or 

 the like, unless when a dome-like structure of wood or bricks is 

 built over the grave. When a child dies its cradle is laid upon its 

 grave. After the burial the mollah pronounces a blessing over the 

 corpse for the last time, and all take part in heaping up the mound 

 of earth. But the ceremonies do not end here. 



Whenever the head of a family dies, a white flag is planted 

 beside the yurt and left for a whole year in the same place. Every 

 day during the year the women assemble beside it to renew their 

 lamentations. At the time the flag is planted the dead man's 

 favourite horse is led up, and half of its long tail is cut off. From 

 that time forward no one mounts it; it is "widowed". Seven days 

 after the death, all the friends and relatives, even those from a 

 distance, assemble in the yurt, hold a funeral banquet together, 

 distribute some of the dead man's clothing among the poor, and 

 consult as to the future of those he has left behind and the guardian- 

 ship of the property. Then the bereaved family is left alone with 

 its sorrow. 



When a woman dies almost the same ceremonies are observed, 

 except that, of course, the body is washed and dressed by women. 

 But even in this case the women remain within the aul to sing the 

 mourning song. The departed woman's riding-horse has -its tail cut, 

 but no flag is planted. 



When the aul is taken down, a youth selected for the honourable 

 service leads up the " widowed " riding-horse, puts the saddle of its 

 former master reversed on its back, loads it with his clothing, and 

 leads it by the bridle to its destination, carrying in his right hand 

 the lance which bears the mourning-flag. 



On the anniversary of the death all the friends and relatives are 

 summoned once more to the bereaved yurt. After greeting and 



