SUMATRA. 
boards, fafleiied angularly to each other, fo that the odc Is on the top 
of the corpfc, whslft the other defends it on the open fide; the edge 
reftijig on the bottom of the grave. The outet hole is then fUled up 
with earth ; and little white flags, or flreamers, arc ftuck in order around. 
They likewife plant a ihrub, bearing a white flower, called CQomhavg- 
moojoor^ and in fome places, wild marjoram. The women who attend 
the funeral make a hideous noife, nor much unlike the Iriih howl. On 
the third and feventh day, the relations perform a ceremony at the grave-, 
called €^nimt€i and at the- end of twelve months, the cereroony of 
tt^a hattoo^ or fettingup a fewlong, eliptical ftones, at the head and foot; 
%vhich bchig fcarce in fome 'parts of the country, bear a confiderable 
price. On this occaiion, they kill and feaft on a buitaloe, and leave the 
head to decay on the fpot, as a token of the honor they have done the 
deceafcd, in eating to his memary. The burying places are called 
ttammat. They are held in extraordinary reverence, and the leaft diftur- 
bance or violation of the ground, though all tracts of the graves be 
obliterated, is regarded as an unpardonable facrilege* 
In works defcriptlve of the manners of people little known to the B^eligioai 
world, the account of their religion , ufually conftitutes an article of the 
firft importance. Mine will labor under the contrary difadvantage. 
The ancient and genuine religion of the Rejangs ; if in fz£t they ever 
had any ; is fcarcely now to be traced ; and what principally adds to its 
obfcurlty, and the difficulty of getting information on the fubjed, 
is, that even thofc among them who have not been initiated in 
the principles of Mahometanifm, yet regard thofe who have, as perfons 
advanced a ftep in knowledge beyond them, and therefore hefitate to 
own circumftantially, that they remain ftill unenlightened. Ceremonies 
are fafcinating to mankind, and without comprehending with what views 
they were inftituted, the profanum vul^is naturally give them credit for 
fomething myfterious and above their capacities; and accordingly pay 
them a tribute of refped. With Mahometanifm, a more extenfive field 
of literature (I fpeak iAoniparifon) is opened to it*s converts, and fome 
additional notions of fcience arc conveyed, Thefe help to give it im- 
portance ; though it muft be confcfTed they are not the moft pure tenets 
Sss • of 
