ich was cut off and attached to the bier.[95] We
are told that the professed intention was thereby "to propitiate the
gods, and obtain for the deceased a safe and peaceable passage through
the lower regions." But, in point of fact the priest took possession of
the pig's head and devoured it secretly, leaving only a small piece of
it under a stone.[96]

[93] C. S. Stewart, _op. cit._ i. 265; Vincendon-Dumoulin et C.
Desgraz, _op. cit._ p. 251.

[94] Langsdorff, _op. cit._ i. 133.

[95] Radiguet, _op. cit._ p. 285.

[96] Krusenstern, _op. cit._ i. 173. Compare Langsdorff, _op.
cit._ i. 133; C. S. Stewart, _op. cit._ i. 265;
Vincendon-Dumoulin et C. Desgraz, _op. cit._ p. 251.

When death had taken place, the body was washed, neatly dressed in
garments of new cloth, and laid on a bier constructed of bamboos or of
spears and other warlike weapons, fastened together with wicker-work and
spread with mats.[97] If the deceased was a chief and a warrior, his
body would be arrayed in his finest ornaments, and his club, plumed
helmet, necklaces of whale's teeth, and skulls of the enemies he had
killed, would be laid beside him. Thus exposed, the corpse might be kept
for weeks in the house, where, in spite of the stench, the family
continued to eat, drink, and sleep beside it. Sometimes, however, and
perhaps more usually, the body was transferred to a small house or shed
adjoining the dwelling of the deceased, where it received the necessary
attentions. Finally, it was removed to a little hut or shed, where the
bier was supported on posts under a thatched roof. To be buried in the
earth was a mark of ignominy reserved at most for a young girl of the
lowest rank who had died childless. Beside the corpse food was hung for
the use of the ghost, it might be fish, roast pork, or coco-nuts, and
there it was allowed to remain till it rotted and fell to the ground;
none but children would be greedy or impious enough to partake of the
sacred victuals, and that only in the greatest secrecy. Often the house
in which the death had taken place was tabooed and abandoned after the
remains had been deposited in their last home.[98]

[97] Krusenstern, _op. cit._ i. 172 _sq._; Langsdorff, _op.
cit._ i. 133; Lisiansky, _op. cit._ p. 81; C. S. Stewart, _op.
cit._ i. 264.

[98] Mathias G----, _op. cit._ pp. 116 _sq._ As to the
decoration of the corpse, see Clavel, _op. cit._ pp. 43 _sq._ As
t