244 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



to sleep. One day while they slumbered, she, more cruel than 

 Jael, held the nostrils of one till his breath ceased and he died.* 

 So it happens that " death and sleep are one word." When a man 

 dies, if his death was caused by witchcraft, there is no safety for 

 any one till the suspected person drinks the poison bowl. How 

 such are discovered has been already indicated ; the poor wretch 

 who must drink the poison may be the man's most intimate 

 friend, his nearest relative, or perhaps his wife. There are even 

 occasions when a large quantity of mwai is prepared and num- 

 bers take it together. In this case wizards and witches are 

 " cleaned out " wholesale. The practice is not uncommon on the 

 Shire and the Zambesi. 



Apart from the discovery of the culprit, the dead are mourned 

 for by a persistent beating of drums by night and by day,f and 

 also by a continued howling kept up by relatives and others, of 

 whom many may be hired for the occasion. The louder the drum- 

 ming, the greater the grief. Relatives shave their heads, and in 

 the case of a chief this is done by all his tribesmen. At the grave 

 offerings are made, and the same is continued for a varying period 

 at the votive pot placed on the site of the deceased's house. 



At times, in the case of persons of social importance, as gen- 

 erals in the army and councilors, mourning is prolonged for many 

 days before sepulture takes place, and in that case the body is in- 

 cased in bark and placed in a suitable position, with a hole dug in 

 the floor underneath to receive the decomposed and putrefied mat- 

 ter which exudes from it. The body is ultimately buried in the 

 house, which is razed, and the materials carried away, that the 

 spot may be leveled and a votive pot placed there. A slave is 

 frequently killed and put in the same grave with his deceased 

 master, that the latter may not have " to go alone." Enemies 

 killed in war are not buried. 



When sepulture is to occur in the usual place, and according 

 to the general custom of the country, the body is wrapped in a 

 mat, usually the person's bed, and a curious custom observed by 

 Yao and Wayisa, who perform this office, is washing their hands 

 as a ceremonial act. This is quite distinct from the idea of un- 

 cleanness after handling a dead body, which requires bathing 

 in running water before eating or associating with their fellow- 

 men. After the ceremonial act of washing is performed, the body 

 is carried to the grave suspended along its length to a bamboo 

 pole. When the grave is dug, it is carefully lined with palisades 

 and green branches. At either end a forked stick is driven se- 



* Yao tradition, told also by Wayisa. 



\ Macdonald, Description of Funeral and Mourning Customs in Nyassa Regions. Mock 

 funerals are most common among the Angoni. 



