the evil-doer are bound and even beaten to death by the villagers.
These severe measures are resorted to in order to maintain a high
standard of morality and honour, and there is little doubt that,
primitive as these methods may seem, the good results obtained more than
justify them. There are very few illegitimate births, with the exception
of occasional Rambang children, and their arrival is a matter of such
disgrace that they cannot be looked upon as seriously discrediting the
social value of the Rambang.

[Illustration: RAMBANG GIRLS WITH ORNAMENTS]

CHAPTER XVII

FUNERAL RITES

Departure of the Soul--Cremation--Amusement of the dead man's
soul--The lay figure--Feasting--Doleful dance--Transmigration of
the soul--Expensive ceremonies--Offerings before the lay
figure--Dancing and contortions--Martial dances--Solo dances--The
animal to be sacrificed and the lay figure--Chasing the animal
from the village--Tearing out its heart--The yak driven over a
precipice--Head shaving--A sacred cave.

THE Shokas ascribe death to the departure of the soul from the body, and
to this notion is due the curious reverence they show for the spirit or
memory of their dead. I witnessed a funeral ceremony quaint enough to
deserve record.

A man had died a painful death, the result of an accident. His friends
were immediately sent for, and the corpse, having been smeared with
butter (_ghi_), was dressed in his best clothes. They bent his body
double before the rigor set in, and placed him on a hurriedly constructed
wooden hearse. He was covered with a blue-and-gold embroidered cloth, and
a white one over it. At sunrise, the funeral procession left the house
for the place of cremation. First came a row of ten women, their heads
covered with a long strip of white cotton cloth, one end of which was
tied to the hearse. Among these were the near relations of the deceased,
including his wife and daughters, crying and wailing the words, "_Oh
bajo! Oh bajo!_" (Oh father! oh father!), the rest of them sobbing and
making great show of grief. The deceased having been somewhat of a
favourite in Garbyang, the villagers turned out in force to render him
this last tribute, and they took their place in the procession as it
slowly wound down the cliff towards the river. The hearse was carried by
two men, and each male Shoka following bore a log or bundle of firewood.
We reached the Kali. The body was tempor