Note 47 — N (continued 3)

When a man lies at the point of death, it is usual to distribute rice kanji to the people, who, after taking their fill, become possessed with the power of predicting the fate in store for the sick man. According as the taste of the kanji turns to that of a corpse, or remains unaltered, the death or recovery of the patient is foretold in their deep and loud voices.47 The Nāyādis either burn or bury their dead. Several layers of stones are placed within the grave, and its site is marked by three big stones, one in the middle, and one at each end. The burnt ashes of the bones are collected, and preserved in a pot, which is kept close to the hut of the deceased. Pollution is observed for ten days, during which the enangan (relations by marriage) cook for the mourners. On the tenth day, the sons of the deceased go, together with their relations, to the nearest stream, and bury the bones on the bank. The sons bathe, and perform beli, so that the soul of the departed may enter heaven, and ghosts may not trouble them. After the bath, a sand-heap, representing the deceased, is constructed, and on it are placed a piece of plantain leaf, some unboiled rice, and karuka grass (Cynodon Dactylon). Over these water is poured twelve times, and the sons reverently prostrate themselves before the heap. They then return home, and cow-dung, mixed with water, is sprinkled over them by their relations, and poured over the floor of the hut. In this manner they are purified. Some time during the seventh month after death, according to another account, the grave, in which the corpse has been buried, is dug up, and the bones are carefully collected, and spread out on a layer of sticks arranged on four stones placed at the corners of a pit. The bones are then covered with more sticks, and the pile is lighted. The partially burnt bones are subsequently collected by the eldest son of the deceased, and carried to the hut in a new pot, which is tied to a branch of a neighbouring tree. This rite concluded, he bathes, and, on his return, the adiyanthiram (death ceremony) day is fixed. On this day, the eldest son removes the pot, and buries it by the side of a stream, near which a heap of sand is piled up. On this all the agnates pour water three times, prostrate themselves before it, and disperse. The ceremony is brought to a close with a square meal. Some time ago an old Nāyādi, who had the reputation of being a good shot, died. His son obtained a handful of gunpowder from a gun-license holder, and set fire to it near the grave, with a view to satisfying the soul of the deceased.