108 
AEKtJ ISLAND?. 
The lady returned home with her husband;, who was wise 
enough uever to mention the subjectj following up the old 
proverb : 
' Men moet geene onde Koeijen nit de slchOt lialen.' 
"Among the Alfocrs, the trcatmeTit of their dead betrays, 
in the greatest degree, their uncivilized condition, and the 
uncertainty which exists among them as to their future 
state. When a man dies, his relations assemble, and 
destroy all the goods he may have collected during his 
lifej even the gongs are broken to pieces, and thrown 
away. In their villages I met with several heaps of 
porcelain plates and basins, the property of deceased 
individuals, the snrvivors entertaining an idea that they 
have no right to make use of them. After death the 
body is laid out on a small mat, and supported against 
a ladder until the relatives of the deceased assemble, 
which seldom takes place until four days have elapsed } 
and as deconiposition will have commenced before this, 
the parts where moisture has appeared are covered with 
lime. Fruitless endeavours to stop the progress of 
decay! In the meanttmf, damar or resin is con- 
tinually burnt in the hoiise, while the guests who have 
already assembled regale themselves with quantities of 
arrack, and of a spirit they themselves prepare from the 
juice of a fruit, amid violent raving, the discord being 
increased by the beating of gongs^ and the howling and . 
lamentation of the women. Food is offered to the 
deceased; and when they find he docs not partake 
of it, the mouth is filled with eatables, siri and arrack, 
muil it runs doivu the body, and spreads over the floor. 
