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Living Sepulchers
This is a term quaintly used by
the learned M Pierre Muret to express the devouring of the dead by birds
and animals or the surviving friends and relatives. Exposure of the dead
to animals and birds has already been mentioned, but in the absence of
any positive proof it is not believed that the North American Indians
followed the custom, although cannibalism may have prevailed to a
limited extent. It is true that a few accounts are given by authors, but
these are considered to be so apochryphal in character that for the
present it is deemed prudential to omit them. That such a means of
disposing of the dead was not in practice is somewhat remarkable when we
take into consideration how many analogies have been found in comparing
old and new world funeral observances, and the statements made by
Bruhier, Lafitau, Muret, and others, who give a number of examples of
this peculiar mode of burial.
For instance, the Tartars sometimes ate their dead, and
the Massageties, Derbices, and Effedens did the same, having previously
strangled the aged and mixed their flesh with mutton. Horace and
Tertulian both affirm that the Irish and ancient Britons devoured the
dead, and Lafitau remarks that certain Indians of South America did the
same, esteeming this mode of disposal more honorable and much to be
preferred than to rot and be eaten by worms. To the credit of our
savages, this barbarous and revolting practice is not believed to have
been practiced by them.
Mourning, Feasts, Food, Dances, Songs, Games, Posts, Fires and
Superstitions in Connection with Burial
The above subjects are
coincidental with burial, and some of them, particularly mourning, have
been more or less treated of in this paper, yet it may be of advantage
to here give a few of the collected examples, under separate heads.
Mourning
One of the most carefully
described scenes of mourning at the death of a chief of the Crows is
related in the life of Beckwourth, [Footnote: Autobiography of James
Beckwourth, 1856, p. 260.] who for many years lived among this people,
finally attaining great distinction as a warrior.
"I dispatched a herald to the village to inform them of
the head chief's death, and then, burying him according to his
directions, we slowly proceeded homewards. My very soul sickened at the
contemplation of the scenes that would be enacted at my arrival. When we
drew in sight of the village, we found every lodge laid prostrate. We
entered amid shrieks, cries, and yells. Blood was streaming from every
conceivable part of the bodies of all who were old enough to comprehend
their loss. Hundreds of fingers were dismembered; hair torn from the
head lay in profusion about the paths, wails and moans in every
direction assailed the ear, where unrestrained joy had a few hours
before prevailed. This fearful mourning lasted until evening of the next
day....
"A herald having been dispatched to our other villages
to acquaint them with the death of our head chief and request them to
assemble at the Rose Bud in order to meet our village and devote
themselves to a general time of mourning there met in conformity with
this summons over ten thousand Crows at the place indicated. Such a
scene of disorderly vociferous mourning no imagination can conceive nor
any pen portray. Long Hair cut off a large roll of his hair, a thing he
was never known to do before. The cutting and hacking of human flesh
exceeded all my previous experience; fingers were dismembered as readily
as twigs, and blood was poured out like water. Many of the warriors
would cut two gashes nearly the entire length of their arm, then
separating the skin from the flesh at one end, would grasp it in their
other hand and rip it asunder to the shoulder. Others would carve
various devices upon their breasts and shoulders and raise the skin in
the same manner to make the scars show to advantage after the wound was
healed. Some of their mutilations were ghastly and my heart sickened to
look at them, but they would not appear to receive any pain from them."
From I. L. Mahan, United States Indian Agent for the
Chippewa of Lake
Superior, Red Cliff, Wisconsin, the following detailed
account of mourning has been received.
There is probably no people that exhibit more sorrow
and grief for their dead than they. The young widow mourns the loss of
her husband; by day as by night she is heard silently sobbing; she is a
constant visitor to the place of rest; with the greatest reluctance will
she follow the raised camp. The friends and relatives of the young
mourner will incessantly devise methods to distract her mind from the
thought of her lost husband. She refuses nourishment but as nature is
exhausted she is prevailed upon to partake of food; the supply is scant,
but on every occasion the best and largest proportion is deposited upon
the grave of her husband. In the mean time the female relatives of the
deceased have according to custom submitted to her charge a parcel made
up of different cloths ornamented with bead-work and eagles' feathers
which she is charged to keep by her side--the place made vacant by the
demise of her husband--a reminder of her widowhood. She is therefore for
a term of twelve moons not permitted to wear any finery, neither is she
permitted to slicken up and comb her head; this to avoid attracting
attention. Once in a while a female relative of deceased, commiserating
with her grief and sorrow, will visit her and voluntarily proceed to
comb out the long-neglected and matted hair. With a jealous eye a
vigilant watch is kept over her conduct during the term of her
widowhood, yet she is allowed the privilege to marry, any time during
her widowhood, an unmarried brother or cousin, or a person of the same "Dodem"
[sic] (family mark) of her husband.
"At the expiration of her term, the vows having been
faithfully performed and kept, the female relatives of deceased assemble
and, with greetings commensurate to the occasion, proceed to wash her
face, comb her hair, and attire her person with new apparel, and
otherwise demonstrating the release from her vow and restraint. Still
she has not her entire freedom. If she will still refuse to marry a
relative of the deceased and will marry another, she then has to
purchase her freedom by giving a certain amount of goods and whatever
else she might have manufactured during her widowhood in anticipation of
the future now at hand. Frequently, though, during widowhood the vows
are disregarded and an inclination to flirt and play courtship or form
an alliance of marriage outside of the relatives of the deceased is
being indulged, and when discovered the widow is set upon by the female
relatives, her slick braided hair is shorn close up to the back of her
neck, all her apparel and trinkets are torn from her person, and a
quarrel frequently results fatally to some member of one or the other
side."
The substitution of a reminder for the dead husband,
made from rags, furs, and other articles, is not confined alone to the
Chippewa, other tribes having the same custom. In some instances the
widows are obliged to carry around with them, for a variable period, a
bundle containing the bones of the deceased consort.
Benson [Footnote: Life among the Choctaws, 1860, p.
294.] gives the following account of their funeral ceremonies, embracing
the disposition of the body, mourning feast and dance:
"Their funeral is styled by them 'the last cry.'
"When the husband dies the friends assemble, prepare
the grave, and place the corpse in it, but do not fill it up. The gun,
bow and arrows, hatchet and knife are deposited in the grave. Poles are
planted at the head and the foot, upon which flags are placed; the grave
is then enclosed by pickets driven in the ground. The funeral ceremonies
now begin, the widow being the chief mourner. At night and morning she
will go to the grave and pour forth the most piteous cries and wailings.
It is not important that any other member of the family should take any
very active part in the 'cry,' though they do participate to some
extent.
"The widow wholly neglects her toilet, while she daily
goes to the grave during one entire _moon_ from the date when the death
occurred. On the evening of the last day of the moon the friends all
assemble at the cabin of the disconsolate widow, bringing provisions for
a sumptuous feast, which consists of corn and jerked beef boiled
together in a kettle. While the supper is preparing, the bereaved wife
goes to the grave, and pours out, with unusual vehemence, her bitter
wailings and lamentations. When the food is thoroughly cooked the kettle
is taken from the fire and placed in the center of the cabin, and the
friends gather around it, passing the buffalo-horn spoon from hand to
hand and from mouth to mouth till all have been bountifully supplied.
While supper is being served, two of the oldest men of the company
quietly withdraw and go to the grave and fill it up, taking down the
flags. All then join in a dance, which not unfrequently is continued
till morning; the widow does not fail to unite in the dance, and to
contribute her part to the festivities of the occasion. This is the
'_last cry,_' the days of mourning are ended, and the widow is now ready
to form another matrimonial alliance. The ceremonies are precisely the
same when a man has lost his wife, and they are only slightly varied
when any other member of the family has died. (Slaves were buried
without ceremonies.)"
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Introduction to the Study of Mortuary Customs
Among the North American Indians
Native American Nations
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