1S43.] and the Abyssinian Church. 637 



restored to the body, all are carefully enclosed within the folds of the 

 cloth, and secured by several new cords ; then commences the frantic 

 shrieks of the women, and the cries of the female mourners, which are of 

 the most melancholy and distressing description, the low moaning dirge 

 of the old women being interrupted at intervals by the hysterical sob of 

 the principal sufferer, who is bereft of all she held dear upon earth. For 

 a time grief is most extravagantly indulged, the cloth is torn in shreds 

 from the bosom, and the skin plentifully scarified from the temples, 

 whilst the moaning and wailing continue, and group after group from 

 the neighbouring houses pour in to add their voices to the dismal coro- 

 nach, which swells on high from the death hut, and incite by their eja- 

 culations, fresh bursts of lamentation from the survivors. 



40. The corpse is then carried to the grave, which varies in depth 

 from two to four feet, and is buried with the feet towards the East, that on 

 the resurrection, the face may be towards the rising sun. A feast to the 

 relatives concludes the ceremony, and the dirge of mourning gives place 

 to the notes of the violin, harpers and fiddlers generally accompanying 

 the funeral procession of all great men, and using their utmost endeavour 

 to entertain the returning party by their liveliest airs. Should death 

 occur during the night, the priests are instantly called to the scene, and 

 by the blazing light of the torch prayers are chaunted until morning 

 for the soul of the deceased ; but on ordinary occasions, the body 

 is carried to the cemetery half an hour after the departure of the 

 breath. 



41 . A small quantity of loban is often deposited in the grave, together 

 with the book called sefafa zedick, and the kings alone are honored with 

 coffins manufactured of wood perforated with many apertures ; these 

 are placed on stone trestles amidst clouds of frankincense, and kept in 

 this situation until the body becomes dryed up, when the coffin is 

 removed into the mausoleum, the walls of which are generally bedaubed 

 with pictures, intended to represent the hunting and military actions of 

 the royal occupant. 



42. Priests alone possess the right of interment on the eastern side 

 of the church, four paces from the porch. The aristocracy occupy 

 the North, and warriors, women and children the South and West. 

 All who die of syphilis, without confession or absolution, are either in- 

 terred by the wayside, or in unconsecrated ground. Governors, men 



