nch its
thirst, a brass lamp to guide it on its journey, and if the family
is well-to-do a horse and a cow, All these things are meant to be for
the use of the dead man in the other world. It is also the Brahman's
business to eat a quantity of cooked food, which will form the dead
man's food. It is of great spiritual importance to the dead man's
soul that the Brahman should finish the dish set before him, and if
he does not do so the soul will fare badly. He takes advantage of
this by stopping in the middle of the meal, saying that he has eaten
all he is capable of and cannot go on, so that the relations have
to give him large presents to induce him to finish the food. These
Maha-Brahmans are utterly despised and looked down on by all other
Brahmans and by the community generally, and are sometimes made to
live outside the village. The regular priest, the Malai or Purohit,
can accept no gifts from the time of the death to the end of the period
of mourning. Afterwards he also receives presents in money according
to the means of his clients, which it is supposed will benefit the
dead man's soul in the next world; but no disgrace attaches to the
acceptance of these.

27. End of mourning

When the mourning is complete on the Gauri-Ganesh day all the relatives
take their food at the chief mourner's house, and afterwards the
_panchayat_ invest him with a new turban provided by a relative. On
the next bazar day the members of the _panchayat_ take him to the
bazar and tell him to take up his regular occupation and earn his
livelihood. Thereafter all his relatives and friends invite him to
take food at their houses, probably to mark his accession to the
position of head of the family.

28. Anniversaries of the dead

Three months, six months and twelve months after the death presents
are made to a Brahman, consisting of Sidha, or butter, wheat and rice
for a day's food. The anniversaries of the dead are celebrated during
Pitripaksh or the dark fortnight of Kunwar (September-October). If a
man died on the third day of any fortnight in the year, his anniversary
is celebrated on the third day of this fortnight and so on. On that
day it is supposed that his spirit will visit his earthly house where
his relatives reside. But the souls of women all return to their homes
on the ninth day of the fortnight, and on the thirteenth day come the
souls of all those who have met with a violent death, as by a fall,
or have been