Note 143.1 — The Evolution of Religion

An example is given by Steinmetz, op. cit. ii. p. 336, of the punishment of incest among the Pasemaher: the guilty pair were buried alive with a hollow pipe reaching from their mouths to the top of the earth: if they survived seven days of this agony their lives were spared: no explanation is offered, but it is not improbable that the law is inspired by the idea that the earth could absorb their impurity.