The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-07-10
INDIAN BURIAL RITES
Strange Ceremonies Of Tribes of the
Southwe st--Their Horror of
Death Brings Out All the
Superstition in the Red
Mans Nature.

Superstition in the Red
Mans Nature.
Whatever partakes of the mys-
terious appeals to the mind of the
Indian. Superstitious by nature and
education and Imagination to an ex-
treme, all that is unknown and un-
fathomed is associated with the mir
aculous and supernatural, and he
lives in an atmosphere of mysticism.
Death is to him a circumstance of
the highest degree of mystery, says
the Los Angeles Times, and the cere-
monies attending the funeral 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. Inhumation is, perhaps,
the most common method of putting
| away the dead, but even here there
| is variety of customs. Some bury
the dead in sitting posture. Others
| double the body together and bind 1t
with cords. Still others stand the
body upright, and in other cases the
corpse is given a recumbent position.
Several of the tribes Of the South
west practice cremation; some dis
pose of their dead by placing the
bodies upon elevated platforms; 9TH
ers 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
Immediately, or as soon after death
as possible. The burial generally
takes place in the night time. The
body is prepared for the grave by
being tied double with ropes passed
under the knees and around the
neck. When the medicine man of the
tribe pronounces death inevitable,
the grave is prepared. This is a per-
fectly round hole, four or five feet
deep, just large enough to receive
the body. 1t often happens that the
medicine man makes a mistake in
the diagnosis of the case and the pa
tient RECEIVERS. His grave is then left
untitled till such time as he is ready
to occupy It, Should other members
8
prepared for them, the other being
left to yawn till it gets the one for
whom 1t was made. It therefore hap
pens that nearly every Pima ceme-
terry contains several open graves.
The burial is accompanied by
chanting by the mourners, words
laudatory to the departed being i'm
provised. The grave is filled while
the weird songs are being sung and
pole fence or covering is then con-
structed to protect the grave from
the depredations of coyotes or other
wild animals. The immediate rela-
tives of the departed cut their hair
as sign of their mourning, and they
cease their occupations several
weeks.
Immediately after the services at
, the grave the house and personal eff
fects of the departed are burned and
his or her cattle and horses are
slaughtered and cooked. A great
feast Is then made in which all mem
bers of the tribe in the vicinity take
part.
The Navajos have a horror of
death, and will not approach a corpse
save of necessity. When death oc-
: ours in a dwelling it is Immediately
abandoned, and as soon as practica-
> BILE a new house Is built. In the
meantime the surviving members of
/, the household camp out or take ref
) uge with other members of the tribe.
Sometimes the house where the
fal ,N1o 10 n 10 a
; a tomb for the dead, the doorway be-
ing filled with sticks and mud 1t is
more usual, however, for the body to
be buried In a grave prepared for 1t,
the remains being conveyed to the
grave the next day after death by
two perfectly naked Indians who
after the funeral, purify themselves
> before resuming their apparel,
The Ute Indians place the bodies
> of their dead in caves, many bodies
being entombed within a single cav
ern. After each entombment the
mouth of the cave is stopped with
I sticks and stones to keep out ami
nails, and the place is not again Wis
/, ted till the next interment takes
lace. The preparation of the body
h or burial is simple No change is
lade In the clothing, the limbs be,
lg Strengthened and the weapons OF
no deceased, If male, or house
}, old implements. If woman, beins
laced beside the body. The male
. .iends of the deceased shoot the
orses and cattle which belonged t.
q i'm and burn his house and persona
> fleets, The female friends, whose
,uty 1t is to prepare the body for the
omb, bear the remains to their las
esting place, uttering hideous crie'
u Turing the march to the sepulcher.
e Greatest Lumber Town.
Portland is the greatest lumbe