p feet
foremost, else it was thought that the ghost would return and trouble
the survivors. Further, when the body had been laid upon a stage or
platform on clear level ground away from the dwelling, the remains of
any food and water of which the deceased might have been partaking in
his last moments were carried out and placed beside the corpse lest the
ghost should come back to fetch them for himself, to the annoyance and
terror of his relations. This is the reason actually alleged by the
natives for what otherwise might have been interpreted as a delicate
mark of affection and thoughtful care for the comfort of the departed.
If next morning the food was found scattered, the people said that the
ghost was angry and had thrown it about.[283] Further, on the day of the
death the mourners went into the gardens, slashed at the taro, knocked
down coco-nuts, pulled up sweet potatoes, and destroyed bananas. We are
told that "the food was destroyed for the sake of the dead man, it was
'like good-bye.'"[284] We may suspect that the real motive for the
destruction was the same as that for laying food and water beside the
corpse, namely, a wish to give the ghost no excuse for returning to
haunt and pester his surviving relatives. How could he have the heart to
return to the desolated garden which in his lifetime it had been his
pride and joy to cultivate?

[Sidenote: Fear of the ghosts of the recently departed among the Murray
Islanders.]

In Murray Island, also, which belongs to the Eastern group, the ghost of
a recently deceased person is much dreaded; it is supposed to haunt the
neighbourhood for two or three months, and the elaborate funeral
ceremonies which these savages perform appear to be based on this belief
and to be intended, in fact, to dismiss the ghost from the land of the
living, where he is a very unwelcome visitor, to his proper place in the
land of the dead.[285] "The Murray Islanders," says Dr. Haddon, "perform
as many as possible of the necessary ceremonies in order that the ghost
of the deceased might not feel slighted, for otherwise it was sure to
bring trouble on the relatives by causing strong winds to destroy their
gardens and break down their houses."[286] These islanders still believe
that a ghost may feel resentment when his children are neglected or
wronged, or when his lands or goods are appropriated by persons who have
no claim to them. And this fear of the wrath of the ghost, Dr. Haddon
tells us