[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

DEATH AND DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD 529
this manner, he called out : " TambaL—e--e—'i " 1 to which all
the recipients replied : " Meli—e-ez'," “ the end," laying down
their pieces of meat on the leaves whence they had originally
been taken. Later they carried them back to their villages.
A heap of vegetable food, gathered from the trees and ‘gardens
of Apwil Naandu and his family, had been piled up by Vinmewun
Ailiit near the gongs. Each of the men who had been just
presented with pork went up to this heap and took a portion
thence to go with his share of the meat. After this all the members
of the Nimamgki grades to which Apwil Naandu had belonged
received pieces of pig, but this was done without any ceremony ;
the men simply speared, cut up, and SHARED out the pigs for
themselves. This is an interesting example of the much more
important part played by the Nalawan than the Nimangki in
relation to death and the dead. When all the pork and food
had been distributed, the visitors returned to their homes.
The next important rite took place four days later, the ninth
after Apwil Naandu’s death. The women who were members of
his clan made a number of puddings (nilamg) which they then
exchanged with each other, and ï¬Ånally placed near the door of
the deceased’s house. Meanwhile inside the amel the men of the
clan together made two more puddings, which later in the day
were cut up and eaten by them.
On the evening of this day, at sundown, all the men gathered
in the dancing ground and called out : " Ai l Devil [Ghost] belong
that man we make him go ! ! â€ù 2 Then when it was dark they went
into the amel, and there sat down in two lines facing each other.
Between them a ï¬Åre burned. A yam was taken, one side of it
painted red, and wrapped up in a croton leaf. One man then
held it and offered it in turn to all present. Each person, as it
was brought to him, grasped it, and as he did so, blew into the
temes mminggol, making a booming sound. When everyone had
done this the yam and croton were thrown into the ï¬Åre, and
as they burnt, two men executed a slow and eerie alternation of
two notes on the wooden cylinders. The signiï¬Åcance of this
rite is obscure. It is only done if the dead man is a member of
the Nalawan Vinbamgï¬Åf‘
1 Tambali is a kind of wild arr0wroot.—A. B. D.
E Despite the fact that Deacon was able to understand the language of
Seniang, his in ruants seem frequently to have used Pidgin English when
talki 1; hi . H W
for
ng 0 m C. . . /
3 It may be in connection with the blowing of the temss Maainggol on this
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