Note 20 — Chapter XV · FUNERAL CEREMONIES

A person who is keeping the funeral ceremonies should not traverse the path by which the ti buffaloes go from one grazing ground to another. The ostensible reason why the buffaloes of the Nòdrs ti did not journey to Anto at their usual time in 1902 (see p. 131) was that Teitnir, whose wife had died, had passed over the road. The ti buffaloes, also, may not pass a place where the relics of a dead person are being kept between the two funerals. In 1902 the relics of the dead wife of Teitnir were removed from the village of Karia in order that they should not be in the way of the buffaloes. On this occasion the relics were followed by a procession of people and Teitnir gave a feast. This was said to be very unorthodox, and on cross-examination it was found that the procession and the feast were not connected with one another, the latter being part of another ceremony which was being performed on the same day.20