102 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [June, 



attacks them in newly cleared pieces of land as virulently as it does 

 the foreign races. The sun's rays and strong winds act injuriously 

 upon them, in fact they say a chief of the evil spirit rides upon 

 the strong sea breezes and causes sickness. The high winds and 

 the rains in August are occasion of a good deal of fever and bowel 

 affections. 



They have no remedies except their olive-coloured mud, with 

 which they plaster themselves for headaches, and also employ as a 

 non-conductor of heat. In 1864 one having been wounded by 

 slugs whilst pillaging, the only remedy his tribe knew of was 

 covering the spot with their red or olive paint. Now they have 

 great faith in quinine, and take it readily for fevers or headaches. 

 If medicines are offered them, they invariably request the donor to 

 taste it first, and subsequently they have no objection to swallow it. 



Should an adult die, he is rapidly buried, and the tribe migrates 

 for about a month, to another locality, at least eight or ten miles off, 

 in dread of the ghost of the departed. A corpse is viewed with much 

 fear, whilst almost equal repugnance is shown when going near a 

 burial-ground, which with them is never on a hill nor or an elevat- 

 ed piece of the country. The following instances give an idea 

 how their chiefs are buried. 



J ac k o, chief of the North tribe, died on July 1st, 1865, leaving 

 two married sisters, whose husbands' duty it was to bury his corpse. 

 Death took place at 6 a. m. and within two hours his remains were 

 rolled up in leaves by the oldest people of the tribe, and corded 

 with fibre, preparatory to their being consigned to the grave. The 

 latter was merely two feet deep, and merely a few feet above high 

 water mark. Here the corpse was placed in a half sitting position; 

 with the face turned towards the rising sun. Previous to filling in 

 the grave, one by one they took their last farewell, and each gent- 

 ly blew upon his face and forehead. After the grave was filled in, 

 there did not remain more than six inches of earth above the body, 

 but this is deemed sufficient to preclude the ribs from being broken, 

 whilst there are no wild animals to exhume tho corpse. A few 

 stones were now heaped over the grave, above these some burning 

 faggots, and mourning garlands were placed in conspicuous places 

 along the shore, to mark a chief's interment. Before retiring, a cup 



