Burma . acing the coffin ; thesignification of this is obscure. The cover is now removed, and the coffin turnedover on the pyre and lifted away. Fuel is heaped on the corpse and the firekindled. The relatives assemble before the yalidn who have come to thecemetery and the ceremony oiyez^tcha is performed in respect of the offeringsdedicated, which have meanwhile been conveyed to the kyaimg. All except therelatives return. When the pile is consumed, the fragments of bones arecollected in a vessel and brought to the house of the deceased. Here they arevenerated for several months, after which th
Burma . acing the coffin ; thesignification of this is obscure. The cover is now removed, and the coffin turnedover on the pyre and lifted away. Fuel is heaped on the corpse and the firekindled. The relatives assemble before the yalidn who have come to thecemetery and the ceremony oiyez^tcha is performed in respect of the offeringsdedicated, which have meanwhile been conveyed to the kyaimg. All except therelatives return. When the pile is consumed, the fragments of bones arecollected in a vessel and brought to the house of the deceased. Here they arevenerated for several months, after which they are deposited in sacred ground{payd-mye). Those who can affiard it build a cinerarium iayo-d, Nos. 441, 442).In the case of earthburial, which is resortedto where fuel is scarceor costly, the sevenobeisances are the same ;the coffin is opened atthe grave (which is abouttwo cubits deep), andthe grave-clothes areloosened. The corpse,if that of a man, is in-clined towards the left, 440. the funeral PONDYIBYAN 197 WBk K ^ ptefi H IM ^^^^^m P ^ ^R^ ^^^ 7^ 9 PjJ *PP^ ^ pf ^M 441. CINERARIA ON SACRED GROUND. if of a woman, towards theright. After the coffin hasbeen lowered the relativesand friends throw on theearth. The chief mournerwaves a kerchief and callson the spirit to return {leippya-kaw) ; the kerchief is de-posited where the corpse hadlain in the dwelling for sevendays. Regular funerals areheld when a person has dieda death that is looked upon as natural. In the case of violent and other unripe deaths the body is buried in haste without any obsequies (p. 188). Incongruous as are certain of the customs observed at lay-peoples funerals, it is at the funerals of the solemn recluses that the boisterous Burman practices reach their climax. When the incumbent of a kyaimg dies (much less pomp is displayed at the funeral of a sojourner), the body is embalmed, so as to allow of several months being devoted to the preparations for the funeral. The corpse is swathed like a mum
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