The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1907-10-15
THE SLEEP OF DEATH.
Superstiticns Of Many Peoples
In Many Lands.
ODD RITES OF THE sIAMEsE.
Precautions to Prevent the Spirit Of
the Departed From Returnins-Fu-
neral Procession Of the, Shans-0ueer
Belief of the GiIiaks.

neral Procession Of thes Shans-Queer
Belief of the Gilial<s.
When death comes toi the head OF
Siamese household the family gather
cd about the deceased cry out: "Oh,
father, benefactor. why leave us?
What have we done to offend thee2
Why depart alone?"
The coffin. covered with gilded pa
per and decorated with tinsel flowers,
Is removed through an opening In the
wall made for the purpose and hurried
three times round the outside Of the
house with the cautious hope that the
bewildered ghost may thus lose his
way and be unable to return on any
haunting expedition. 1t Is then cere-
moniously borne upon a barge and
placed on a platform under a dais.
The barge, followed by many little
boats, floats to the temple, where the
cremation is to take place.
At rich mans funeral tents are
erected within the precincts Of the
temple for the indulgence Of games
and gambling. while wonderful the
atrical performances introducing mon
sters and other thrills entertain the
funeral guests.
Among the Shans the eldest son Of
the deceased leads the funeral process
sion, q drawn sword In hand to ward
of evil spirits, while the other rela-
tives dance as they go. Handkerchief,
umbrellas and yellow robes, presents
to the priest, give gala air to the
whole. Arrived at the grave. before
the coffin is inferred, the deceased's
wife and children and his brothers
wives march impressiyely around the
bier with lighted candles
Unexpectedly we find one of the ma
tive tribes Of Australia bearing very
poetic conception Of a spirit world
after death. Souls, they believe, as
cend to a future place among the stars
by means of a rope. A meteorite is
falling rope cast aside by a successful
climber, but should 1t burst with noise
the rope has broken.
A tribe In New South Wales has
legends prettily akin. The Pleiades,
they explain. were young women of
unusual beauty who, pursued by low
ers, climbed up into the sky by means
Of the treetops. while the leader OF
the pursuers has become Orion.
The Burmese also show poetry Of
thought In their belief that the spirit
Of man takes the form Of butterfly
which wings its fight whenever he is
asleep, declining to awaken him sud
denly "for fear that his butterfly may
not return in time"
When a Chin of Burma dies his
body. dressed, fully armed and boil
stored up In sitting posture, presides
over the entertainment given in his
honor. relatives and friends drinking,
dancing and singing songs in praise of
the number of heads he has taken,
the number Of slaves he has captured
and firing off their guns as they circle
round the poor deaf, dumb, dead crea-
| ture of their tribute.
The Karens of Burma celebrate mar
riages and funerals together.
The body of the deceased is placed
on a bamboo platform In front Of his
recent dwelling. Young men and maid
ems form separate choruses on either
side of the remains. One by one the
youths sing ardent love to the maiden
Of his fancy, who coquettishly sings
back Encouragement until finally won.
When the general counting is accom-
plished the young people withdraw
and the funeral rites proceed.
According to the belief of the Giliaks
| of Siberia, the soul passes from the
| body of the dead master into that of
| his dog. who Is surprised by all sorts
of dainty food until the guest within
is prayed out, when the poor animal,
equally mystifed, is put to death on
| his masters grave.
But in the glad, free days of print
| tive savagery many tribes were not
satisfied with so petty an offering as q
dog. They demanded human sacri-
fee to grace their graves.
Such were the Sakalava of Madagas-
car, and later when forced to modify
their views the poles erected around
their tonbs were garishly decorated
with skulls and horns of cattle killed
at their funeral feasts.
The sign and symbol of the Malay
Sakai's belief In a life after death Is
crudely expressed in the custom Of
| burying a tobacco box with the body
Of man, a necklace with that Of 6
woman. But the ignorant fear of the
body's pollution seems highly devel
oped, and the house Of death is burned
down and the site abandoned, even Il
1t means a lost crop of sugar cane oil
tapioca.
Lying between the Malay peninsula
and Wales is a long sweep Of map ant
| civilization, but so remarkable Gus
| tom was followed in the latter country
within the memory Of men living to
day" that we cannot pass it by un
chronicled.
This was the presence Of the siI
eater at funerals. Bread, beer ant
cheese placed upon the corpse wer'
consumed by the sin eater, who thu
appropriated to himself the delin
quencies symbolized by the viandi
and prevented them from destroying
the rest Of the dead-"-Los Angeles
Times.
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