( i«7 ) 



themfelves of every thing moft valuable about 

 them, in order to adorn the deceafed : they open 

 their coffins from time to time, in order to change 

 their habits and they take victuals from their 

 mouth, in order to carry them to their graves, and 

 to the places where they imagine their fouls refort. 

 In a word they are much more expenfive upon the 

 dead than the living 



As foon as the fick perfon has fetched his laft 

 breath, the whole cabbin refounds with lamenta- 

 tions, which continues as long as the family is in a 

 condition to furnifh theexpence; for open table 

 muft be kept during all that time. The carcafs 

 adorned with its fineft robe, the face painted, the 

 arms of the deceafed, with every thing he poflfef- 

 ied laid by his fide, is expofed at the gate of the 

 cabbin, in the fame pofture in which he is to lie in 

 the tomb, and that is in many places, the fame 

 with that of a child in the womb. It is cuftoma- 

 ry among fome nations for the relations of the de- 

 ceafed to faft till the funeral is over, all which in- 

 terval is paft in weeping and howling, in regaling all 

 thofe who vifit them, in making the elogium of the 

 dead, and in reciprocal compliments. Amongft 

 other nations they hire mourners, who acquit them- 

 felves perfectly well of their duty. They fing, they 

 dance and weep incefTantly, and always in cadence; 

 but this outward (how of borrowed grief is not pre- 

 judicial to that which nature exacts, from the re- 

 lations of the deceafed. 



It appears to me that they carry the corps to the 

 place of burial without any ceremony, at lead I have 

 found nothing upon this head in any relation but 

 when they are once in the grave, they take care to 

 cover them in fuch manner that the earth does not 



touch 



