Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-10-26
ELABORATE FUNERALS
Strange Customs Of Tribes of the
Southwest
llOpis' Two Burinls-Curious Litter
Used by COnhuillns--Indinns that
Tut Bodies Of Dead In Caves
Tribes that Crcmate.

Whatever ~partakes Of the mysterious ap
pcals to the mind Of the Indian. super
stitious by nature and education and imag
nation to an extreme, all that is unknown
and unfathomcd is associated with the
miraculous and supernatural. and he lives
ia an atmosphere of mysticism. Death Is
to him circumstance of the highest degree
of mystery. says the Los Angeles Times,
and the ceremonies attending the funera
and burial are. therefore,. elaborate and In
many cases imposing.
The services over the dead vary greatly
with different tribes, and the methods of
disposing of the bodies are many. Inhu-
mation is. perhaps, the most conmonm meth
cd of putting away the dead. but even here
there is a variety of customs. Some burg
the dead in u sitting posture. Others
double the body together and bind 1t with
cords. Still others stand the body upright.
und in other cases the corpse is given u
rccumbent position. Several of the tribes
of the Southwest practice cremation some
dispose of their dead by placing the bodies
upon elevated platforms; Others entomb
them in stone cysts. caves. huts or other
buildings, while some of the coast tribes
sink the bodies In the waters of the ocean.
The Pima Indians bury their dead immc-
diatcly. or as soon after death as possible.
The burial generally takes place in tho
night time. The body is prepared for the
grave by being tied double with ropes
passed under the knees and around the
heck. When the medicine man of the
tribe pronounccs death inevitable, the grave
is prepared. This is n perfectly round
hole. four or five feet deep. just large
enough to receive the body. 1t often hap
pens that the medicine man makes a mis-
take in the diagnosis of the case and the
pa;iont RECEIVERS. His gravois then left un-
flied till such time as he is ready TO oc-
cupy it. Should other members Of the
tribr die first, new graves are prepared
Tor them, the other being left to yawn till
ii gets the one for whom it was made.
II therefore happens that nearly every
Pima cemetery contains several open graves.
The burial is accompanied by chanting
ly the mourners, words laudatory to the
departed being improviscd. The grave is
filled while the weird songs are being sung
and a pole fence or covering is then con
structed to protect the grave from the
tcpredations of coyotes or other wild ami.
mails. The immediate relatives of the de
parted cut their hair as a sign Of their
mourning, and they cease their occupations
several weeks.
Immediately after the services at the
grave the house and personal effects of the
departed are burned and his or her cattle
and horses are slaughtered and cooked. Al
great feast is then made in which all mem
brrs of the tribe in the vicinity take part.
The Navajos have a horror of death. and
will not approach a corpse save of neces- |
sity. When death occurs in a dwelling Ii
IS Immediately abandoned, and as soon as
practicable a new home Is built. In the
meantime the surviving members Of the
household camp out or take refuge with
other members Of the tribe.
Sometimes the house where the death
takes place Is made to serve as a tomb
Tor the dead. the doorway being filled with
sticks and mud. 1t is more usual, how
over. for the body to he buried in q grave
prepared for il. the remains being convey
ID to the grave the next day after death
by two perfectly naked Indians who. after
The funeral, purify themselves before re-
%s1ning their apparel.
The body is followed by n long process.
sion of friends and relatives who march
about the grave chanting songs and who.
upon departing, deposit each upon the
grave some article which the departed will
need in making his journey to the lower
NOTlO-tDt IOFatlon OF tnc navajo Spirit
land.
The Hopi Indians have one burial Gus.
tom for adults and another for children.
They believe that the spirits of the latter
teturn TO their mothers and that they are
born again. They. therefore. dispose of
the bodies Of the young by putting them
In the clefts In the rocks in the mesa, in
any convenient place. filling the crevicc
with Sticka stonpS and mud rrLo h.lt..i
OF adults are laid in graves at the foot of
lhe mesa. After being carefully dressed
Ind prepared for. a long journey a prayer
rNering Is laid with the body, to which is
attached a long string. and the body is
then covered and n pile Of stones laid on
the grave. The string. which is left pro.
5"cting from the grave. Is then laid In n
long trench running due west from Tho
cairn.
1t is tho belief of the Hops that tho
spirit of the departed, which Is thought to
Dc asleep with the body In the grave,
a"aKes at the expiration of the fourth day,
"heh II Is supposed to follow the string M
out OF the grave and along the trench.
wren having been started in the right d.
bec'ioh' II continues on its westward way
tli 1t comes 10 the Grand Canon. in the
uepths of which they believe To he the
house for the dead, to which thcv have
given the name Of Mask" :
The Araches put their dead away in tho
clefts Of the rocks. in shallow graves and
In the case of children, In the fro. ,orc
frequently. They chant The virtues or III. =
Departed at the Time of the burial and
The Immediate friends of the deceased civo
themselves up to mourning for a pcriod.
The Inla Indians of southern California
have had the advantage of more than ~
century Of religious training, enc of the
early missions having been located in their
midst. They have assimilated the general
idea OF the resurrection of the body and
the life beyond the grav We. and have blended
this doctrine and the burial customs of tho
catholic Church with the original rites of
baganism.
1t Is now their belief that the body Is
destined to lie n certain length of time in
Che grave and at the expiration of that
period the resurrection takes place. For
this reason they are very particular 10
record upon the rude board cross or stone
slab with which they mark the grave the
exact time at which the deceased ceased TO
live. The inscription will state that such ,
. person died on the 10Th day of July.
$500. Mt ! O'Clock In the afternoon" In -.
some eases cheap alarm clocks are hung to