tailieunhanh - Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume III - South Asia - J

Bách khoa toàn thư nền nông nghiệp thế giới - Vùng Nam Á - Vần J | Jain 109 prime responsibility for digging the grave but the Kurumba present also assists. When all is ready the body is placed in the grave so that it faces toward the north. The local Irula priest pujari then gazes at a lamp and goes into a trance. A member of the bereaved family asks him if the death was natural or the result of sorcery. If natural the grave is filled in right away. If sorcery was the cause of death elaborate ritual used to be performed today however the priest says a simple and hasty prayer to ease any torment of the spirit and to enable it to depart peaceably. All the mourners then leave. A highlight in the ending of the seven days of ritual pollution among the close relatives of the deceased is the distribution of new clothing by the Kurumba to these relatives. As soon as possible after the funeral preferably within a month a stone often waterwom and from a stream bed but sometimes sculpted by non-Irulas is placed in the ancestral temple to give the deceased a place to stay. Because of the belief that without a stone the spirit of the deceased wanders around and may become troublesome if it does so for too long the time issue is understandable. After pouring a little oil on the stone as part of a prayer ritual and leaving food and drink for the spirit of the departed the relatives leave. Once a year all those who had a relative who died within the year participate in a final ceremony. Each family purchases a new cloth and rice gruel is prepared. At the nearby river or stream the gruel is poured over the cloths which are then set adrift. In addition to honoring the spirits of those who died within the year the Irula thereby honor all the ancestral spirits of the related patricians. After group feasting dancing continues into the night. See also Badaga Kota Kurumbas Bibliography Buchanan Francis later Buchanan-Hamilton 1807 . A Journey from Madras through the Countries of My sore Canara and Malabar. Vol. 2. London W. Bulmer Co. Jebadhas A. .