72 
When a person of rank dies at a distance from his 
own home, the head is cut off, and conveyed thither, 
and the corpse is buried upon the spot. On the same 
principle, the bodies of those slain in war are dug up 
in time of peace, and translated to the tombs of their 
ancestors, amongst whom they are enrolled in the re¬ 
ligious recollections of their relatives: for the memory 
of the dead is held in the highest veneration, which is 
manifest on every serious occasion; and their most 
solemn oath is to swear by the souls of their an¬ 
cestors. 
Circumcision is celebrated with great solemnity, 
and generally performed in the month of May. The 
preparations commence some weeks beforehand, in the 
making of toak (or mead.) Several tubs of this 
liquor are brewed, and a shed or hut built for its recep¬ 
tion. When the day is appointed, notice of it is sent 
to invite the relations and friends; and the festival 
commences a day or two before, with the blowing 
of horns and beating of drums, which continue night 
and day. The toak is tapped, and liberally dis¬ 
tributed amongst the visitors, who generally drink to 
excess. All kinds of sports are practised on this 
occasion ; and the chief of the village gives an enter¬ 
tainment, at which those who drink the most are 
considered to have done the greatest honour to the 
feast. Two hundred head of cattle are some¬ 
times slain for the feast, and eaten, together with 
their hides. When the day arrives on which the rite 
is to be performed, a bull and some oxen are driven 
