Identifier: lakengamiorexplo01ande (find matches)
Title: Lake Ngami, or, Explorations and discoveries during four years' wanderings in the wilds of southwestern Africa
Year: 1861 (1860s)
Authors: Andersson, Charles John, 1827-1867
Subjects: Andersson, Charles John, 1827-1867 Ngami, Lake (Botswana) Natural history Hunting
Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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The Damaras bury their dead. Immediately after dissolution, the back bone of the corpse is broken with a stone,* and it is then bent together with the chin resting on the knees. Afterward it is wrapped in ox-hides, and deposited in a hole in the ground dug for the purpose, care being taken to place the face toward the north. This is done, they say, to remind them (the natives) whence they originally came. The Bechuana mode of disposing of the dead is very similar. Upon the death of one of the tribe, the whole population of the place assemble to deplore the event. The howlings and lamentations on such occasions are most discordant and dreadful. Tears are considered favorable signs, and the more plentifully they fall on the corpse the better. Two months is the usual period for a son to mourn his father, but the time is modified according to circumstances. The wealthier the deceased, the greater the outward signs of sorrow - a kind of feeling which, at any rate, bears some approximation to that of civilized life. During the season of mourning, the mourner wears a dark-colored skin cap, conically shaped on the top, with certain ornaments affixed to it. Round the neck is suspended a riem, to the two extremities of which is attached a small piece of ostrich egg-shell. In case of the death of a valued friend, the adults will occasionally shave the head completely, and keep it in that state for years. When a woman in reduced circumstances dies and leaves a child, it is not unfrequently buried alive with its mother. Mr. Rath was once fortunate enough, to be the means of * I am told that this is not unfrequently done before life is quite extinct! It is moreover affirmed, that when the sick man begins to breathe hard a skin is immediately thrown over his face, which, nodoubt, often causes premature death. 224 DAMARA GRAVE. saving a child that was about to be destroyed in this barbarous manner. After having consigned the remains of a chief to his last resting-place, they collect his arms, war-dress, &c., and suspend them to a pole or to a tree at the head of the grave.
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DAMARA GRAVE. The horns of such oxen as have been killed in commemoration of the occasion are hung up in like manner — a custom also found among the natives of Madagascar. The tomb consists of a large heap of stones, surrounded by an inclosure of thorn bushes, no doubt to prevent hyaenas and other carnivorous animals from extracting the corpse. Sometimes, DEATH OF A CHIEF CUSTOMS. 225 however, the chief, should he have expressed a wish to that effect, instead of being buried, is placed in a reclining position on a slightly raised platform in the centre of his own hut, which, in such a case, is surrounded by stout and strong palisadings. When a chief feels his dissolution approaching, he calls hissons to the bedside, and gives them his benediction, which consists solely in wishing them an abundance of the good things of this world. The eldest son of the chiefs favorite wife succeeds his father; and as soon as the obsequies are over, he quits the desolate spot, remaining absent for years. At

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