Here the village has usually a field set apart for
the disposal of corpses, which is known as Smashan. Hindus fill
up the earth practically level with the ground after burial and
erect no monument, so that after a few years another corpse can be
buried in the same place. When a Kunbi dies the body is washed in
warm water and placed on a bier made of bamboos, with a network of
_san-_hemp. [34] Ordinary rope must not be used. The mourners then take
it to the grave, scattering almonds, sandalwood, dates, betel-leaf
and small coins as they go. These are picked up by the menial Mahars
or labourers. Halfway to the grave the corpse is set down and the
bearers change their positions, those behind going in front. Here
a little wheat and pulse which have been tied in the cloth covering
the corpse are left by the way. On the journey to the grave the body
is covered with a new unwashed cloth. The grave is dug three or four
feet deep, and the corpse is buried naked, lying on its back with the
head to the south. After the burial one of the mourners is sent to
get an earthen pot from the Kurnhar; this is filled with water at a
river or stream, and a small piece is broken out of it with a stone;
one of the mourners then takes the pot and walks round the corpse
with it, dropping a stream of water all the way. Having done this,
he throws the pot behind him over his shoulder without looking round,
and then all the mourners go home without looking behind them. The
stone with which the hole has been made in the earthen pot is held to
represent the spirit of the deceased. It is placed under a tree or on
the bank of a stream, and for ten days the mourners come and offer it
_pindas_ or balls of rice, one ball being offered on the first day,
two on the second, and so on, up to ten on the tenth. On this last
day a little mound of earth is made, which is considered to represent
Mahadeo. Four miniature flags are planted round, and three cakes of
rice are laid on it; and all the mourners sit round the mound until
a crow comes and eats some of the cake. Then they say that the dead
man's spirit has been freed from troubling about his household and
mundane affairs and has departed to the other world. But if no real
crow comes to eat the cake, they make a representation of one out
of the sacred _kusha_ grass, and touch the cake with it and consider
that a crow has eaten it. After this the mourners go to a stream and
put a little cow's urine on their bo