The Place
Is Doleful, And A Funeral Scene On The Only Sunless Day I Experienced
In Ladak Was Indescribably Dismal.
After death no one touches the
corpse but the lamas, who assemble in numbers in the case of a rich
man.
The senior lama offers the first prayers, and lifts the lock
which all Tibetans wear at the back of the head, in order to liberate
the soul if it is still clinging to the body. At the same time he
touches the region of the heart with a dagger. The people believe
that a drop of blood on the head marks the spot where the soul has
made its exit. Any good clothing in which the person has died is
then removed. The blacksmith beats a drum, and the corpse, covered
with a white sheet next the dress and a coloured one above, is
carried out of the house to be worshipped by the relatives, who walk
seven times round it. The women then retire to the house, and the
chief lama recites liturgical passages from the formularies.
Afterwards, the relatives retire, and the corpse is carried to the
burning-ground by men who have the same tutelar deity as the
deceased. The leading lama walks first, then come men with flags,
followed by the blacksmith with the drum, and next the corpse, with
another man beating a drum behind it. Meanwhile, the lamas are
praying for the repose and quieting of the soul, which is hovering
about, desiring to return.
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