DEATH AND BURIAL

3, MARRIAGE

6. DEATH AND BURIAL

In spite of their apparent

good

health

and

physical strength, the death rate

among

the Ch'iang is very high. In 1941 the writer en- deavored to conduct a survey of Ch'iang families to learn the ap- proximate death rate. It

was

evident that of 1,000 births, less than

250

reached maturity.

The

percentage is

much

smaller than that, for babies that diedunder2 years of age

were

not reported.

The

Ch'iang have a theory that babies that are stillborn or die at a tender age are not

human

beings atall,but^akind of

demon

thatcauses a

woman

to

become

pregnant, then is stillborn or dies soon after birth in order to cause troubles

and

hardships to the parents.

Such

babies are not buried in coflins or cremated.

A

^{hole is}

^dug

^{in the ground,}

and

thecorpseis

thrown

in

and

covered with dirt.

NO. ^I

CUSTOMS AND

RELIGION OF

THE CH lANG GRAHAM

4I

We

^{have referred to the high death rate of}

^women

^{at childbirth}

and

of

new-born

babies.

There

isalso a high deathrate

from

diseases

and

accidents suchas falling over cliffs, drowning, being attacked

by

wildanimals,snakebites, etc.

The

Ch'iang believe that

dreams

are actual experiences.

During dreams

the soul is often

away from

the

body and

is in the locality

where

the

dream

is supposed to take place.

During

sleep, fainting,

and

unconsciousness, the soul

wanders

away,

and

if it does not re- turn, the person dies.

When

it is feared or believed that the soul has

wandered

away, friends or relatives try to call the soul back.

Soon

after death the priest

performs

a

ceremony

of calling back the soul.

The

writer once heard a mother,

whose

child

was

so

sound

asleep thatitcould not easilybe

wakened,

calling backthe soul of her child.

In a loud, wailing tone she

mentioned

the child

by name and

urged

it to return.

Every

time she called, friends

and

relatives

who were

presentreplied,

"He

has returned."

As

soon as it is

known

that a person ^is dead, there is weeping.

The

person's newest

and

best clothing is put

on

him,

and

he is placed in a coffin.

For

2 or ₃ days he is left in the

home,

after

which

he

is carriedout inthecoffin

and

cremated orburied. Generally a priest

performs

a

ceremony

to

open

the

way

of the soul tothe other world.

The

Ch'iang people say that formerly they ^did not

bury

in graves, but used cremation only.

At

presentcremation is the only

method

in remote villages

where

Chinese influence is not strong. In localities

where

there is a strong Chinese influence, all are buried in graves excepting babies,

whose

burial has been described,

and

persons

who

die violent or unusual deaths

— women who

die at childbirth, people

who

are murdered, ordie

by

drowning, fallingover cliffs,

from

snake

bites,

from

attacks

by

wild animals,

from

hanging, bleeding to death, etc.

—

^{allsuch arecremated.}

Nearly every village has several crematory houses, each of

which

is used

by

people having the

same

family

name. These

houses are small roofed buildings about 10 feet square.

Each

house is set

on

a stone base that rises about a foot above the ground.

The

sides are notboarded up, but there are large

wooden

posts atthe corners,

and between them

small

wooden

posts a

few

inches apart. Before each cremation eight or

more men

lift the entire building off its base

and

placeitatone side. Afterthe fire ofthe cremation has died out, the building is again put into place.

The

cremation is

performed

inside the stone foundation.

At

Lung-ch'i-chai there is a large

common

grave

which

looks like

a Chinese tomb.

On

the outside there is

one

large door,

and

inside there are

two which

are openings into

two

inner

chambers

or rooms.

The

doors are never closed.

The

cremation is

done

in

two wooden

sheds or crematory housesnearby,

which

areina poor^stateof repair.

The

ashesof the

men

are depositedin thesection of the

tomb on

the right (on the left or place of

honor when

one is facing

away from

thetomb),

and

thoseof the

women on

the left.

The

ashes of a great

many

peoplehave beendepositedhere.

Near

the placeof cremation is a flat stone.

The

^{coffin is} placed

on

this stone while the relatives

perform

a funeral dance.

Then

the coffin is carried to the place of cremation

and

the cremation takes placewhile the priestchants the "sacred books."

The

relatives

weep

while the coffin

and

the corpse are burnt to ashes.

A bowl

or jar is

broken

and

the fragments

thrown among

the ashes.

Next

morning, after thefire has died out, the relatives

come and

gather

up

the ashes

and

deposit

them

in the

tomb

nearby.

In cases of burial, sometimes a shallow hole is

dug

in the

ground and

the coffin placed inside,

and

sometimes the coffin is simply set

down on

the surface.

A mound

of dirtis erected over the coffin,

and

a tombstone placed in front.

Sometimes

sacred white stones are placed on the topsof thegraves to helpkeep

away

demons.

Near

Ho-p'ing-chai

and

Ts'a-to a small house of

two

or three stories is sometimes built for cremation, furnished

much

like

an

ordinary house,

and

the coffin containing the corpse placed

on

the first floor.

The

largest of these houses, used

by

thebetter-off Ch'iang families,

have

₃ stories with 18

wooden

pillars.

The

priest

performs

his funeral

ceremony by

dancing

and

chanting his sacred books

and

incantations.

The

house is set

on

fire

and

the corpse cremated.

Often

here

and

elsewhere

two wooden

birds are placed

on

the coffin or nearby before the cremation,

and

these, believed to represent the soul of the deadperson, are carried

away

to their

homes by

sons of the deceased

and

there preserved

and

honored, or onlookers seize

them and

take

them

to their homes,

where

the sons

redeem them by money

or

by

a gift, taking

them home

to be

honored and

preserved.

When

relatives

and

guests

come

to a funeral, they generally bring as presents such things as

money,

chickens, goats or sheep, wine, or spirit

money. They

remain

and

at funeral feasts eat the food

and

drinkthe

wine and

teaof the family ofthe bereaved.

When

a wife dies, generally her relatives

come

before the funeral

and make

careful inquiries

and

investigate to find out whether or not adequatepreparationshave beenor arebeing

made

^forthe funeral.

They

also investigate the nature of the disease or other cause of

NO. I

CUSTOMS AND

RELIGION

OF THE CH lANG GRAHAM

₄₃

death,

and whether

or notreasonable attempts

were made

to prevent death. In

some

localitiesthere is a tabooagainst using funeral cloth- ing

made

of flax or wool.

The

relatives of the deceased

woman may

raise a quarrel if her funeral clothing is not

good

enough.

The

corpse usually remains in the

home

for 3 days, after

which

the funeral is held,

which must

be

on

a lucky day.

Where

Chinese influence is strong, there is a

ceremony

to ferry the soul of the deceased across the river to Hades.

Near Wen-ch'uan,

wealthy people build a funeral house of three stories, place the

body

of the deceased inside the house, then cremate the

dead by

settingfireto the house.

Those

lesswealthybuilda house of

two

stories,

and

poor families often cremate without erecting

any

such house at all. Still others do not cremate, but dig a hole, lower the coffin intothe hole

by means

of leather or other straps,

and

cover thecoffinwith a

mound

of dirt.