on, and the woman expressed her regret
for the escapade of which her soul had been guilty without her
knowledge. It was necessary to reassure her on the subject of her soul's
rash act and melancholy prediction, otherwise she might have fulfilled
the prophecy by refusing food and dying outright.[82]

[82] Radiguet, _op. cit._ pp. 238 _sq._

At death the soul was supposed to depart from the body by the mouth or
the nose; hence in order to delay its departure and so to prolong the
life of its owner, affectionate relatives used to stop his mouth and
nostrils, thus accelerating the event which they wished to retard.[83]

[83] Radiguet, _op. cit._ p. 245; Clavel, _op. cit._ p. 44,
note^1. Compare Mathias G----, _op. cit._ p. 115.

The Marquesans have, or used to have, a sovereign contempt for death,
and do not fear its approach. When a native felt that he must die, he
took it calmly and ordered his coffin, which he caused to be brought to
the house while he was still in life. The coffin is hollowed out of a
single log and resembles a canoe. If the sick man after all recovered,
the coffin was kept in a corner of the house till it was wanted. No
attempt was made to hide it or to disguise its purpose. Should a
stranger ask, "What is that?" he would be told, "It is So-and-so's
coffin"; though So-and-so might be present and within hearing.[84]
Nevertheless, when it was clear that a serious illness was about to
terminate fatally, and that all the efforts of the priestly physician or
sorcerer to avert the inevitable end were fruitless, the house would be
filled by wailing women, who danced naked round the mat of the dying
man, cutting themselves with sharp stones or shark's teeth as in a
frenzy, and uttering the most piercing lamentations. This lasted till
the moment of death, when all united in a terrific and prolonged
howl.[85] Similar demonstrations of sorrow were continued or renewed
after the decease. If the departed was a married man and his widow
survived him, she would bruise her flesh with a stone, scratch it with
her nails, and cut her forehead, cheeks, and breast with shark's teeth
or splinters of bamboo till the blood trickled down.[86] Captain Porter
saw a woman with deep wounds still unhealed, which she had inflicted on
her neck, breast, and arms for the loss of her husband, who had been
devoured by a shark.[87] After the death, too, the widow would place
herself in front of the corpse, and three or four