gh not universal, for a woman who
has lost a child, and especially a first-born or very clear child,
to amputate the top end of one of her fingers, up to the first joint,
with an adze. Having done this once for one child, she will possibly
do it again for another child; and a woman has been seen with three
fingers mutilated in this way. [99]

The family of the deceased invite men and women from some other
community, but only one community, to a funeral feast, which is
held after an interval of two or three days from the day of the
funeral. On the day appointed these guests arrive. They are all well
ornamented, but, with one exception, they do not wear their dancing
ornaments. One of them, however, usually a chief or the son of a chief
of the community invited, comes in his full dancing ornaments. All
the guest men bring with them their spears, and perhaps adzes or clubs.

When they arrive the following performances take place, the village
enclosure being left by the villagers empty and open:--First two guest
women enter the village enclosure at one end, and run in silence round
it, brandishing spears in both hands, as at the big feast; but they
make no hostile demonstration. When these two women have reached their
starting point, they again do the same thing, brandishing their spears
as before, and all the guest men, except the specially dressed one,
follow them by advancing with a dancing step along the enclosure,
they also brandishing their spears, and also being silent. Thus the
whole group goes to the other end of the village, passing the grave
of the deceased as they do so; then they turn round, and come back
again in the same way, but on their return they stop before they
reach the grave.

Then the specially ornamented guest man enters alone, without his arms,
but with his drum, which he beats. He dances up the village enclosure
in a zigzag course, going from side to side of the enclosure, and
always facing in the direction in which he is at the time moving; and
during his advance he beats his drum., but otherwise he and all the
other people are silent. When in this way he has reached the grave,
the chief of the clan of the village where the funeral takes place,
who does not wear any dancing ornaments, approaches him, and removes
his heavy head ornament. This ends the first part of the ceremony;
and the villagers and guests then chat and conduct themselves in the
ordinary way.

Plates 82 and 83 illustrate sce