At Last The Person Comes
Forward, Preceded By A Number Of Instruments, And Moves Round The Pile In
The Midst Of His Friends And Relations.
During this ceremony, some person
places on his head a garland of straw, or dry herbs, filled with burning
Coals, on which they pour sandrach, which takes fire as strongly as
naphtha; notwithstanding of which, he continues his progress without
betraying any sense of pain, or change of countenance, though the crown of
his head be all on fire, and the stench of his burning flesh is felt all
round. At length, he comes up to the pile, and throws himself in, where he
is soon reduced to ashes. A credible person says, he once saw an Indian
burn himself; and when he came near the pile, he drew out a cangiar, or
sharp knife, with which he ripped himself open, and pulling out the lap of
his liver with his left hand, cut off a piece of it with his cangiar, and
gave it to one of his brothers, talking all the time with the most
invincible contempt of death and torture, and at length leaped into the
fire, in his passage to hell.
At the accession of some kings of the Indies, the following ceremony is
observed: A large quantity of rice is dressed and spread out upon leaves of
mousa, in presence of the king. Then three or four hundred persons come, of
their own accord, without any constraint whatever; and after the king has
eaten of the rice, he gives some of it to all that come forwards in
succession, which they eat in his presence; and by this ceremony, they
engage to burn themselves on the day when this king dies or is slain, and
they punctually fulfil their promise.
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