dies, and dip ten times in the
water or throw it over them. The officiating Brahman sprinkles them
with holy water in which he has dipped the toe of his right foot,
and they present to the Brahman the vessels in which the funeral cakes
have been cooked and the clothes which the chief mourner has worn for
ten days. On coming home they also give him a stick, umbrella, shoes,
a bed and anything else which they think the dead man will want in
the next world. On the thirteenth day they feed the caste-fellows and
the head of the caste ties a new _pagri_ on the chief mourner's head
backside foremost; and the chief mourner breaking an areca-nut on
the threshold places it in his mouth and spits it out of the door,
signifying the final ejectment of the deceased's spirit from the
house. Finally, the chief mourner goes to worship at Maroti's shrine,
and the household resumes its ordinary life. The different relatives
of the deceased man usually invite the bereaved family to their house
for a day and give them a feast, and if they have many relations this
may go on for a considerable time. The complete procedure as detailed
above is observed only in the case of the head of the household, and
for less important members is considerably abbreviated. The position
of chief mourner is occupied by a man's eldest son, or in the absence
of sons by his younger brother, or failing him by the eldest son of
an elder brother, or failing male relations by the widow. The chief
mourner is considered to have a special claim to the property. He has
the whole of his head and face shaved, and the hair is tied up in a
corner of the grave-cloth. If the widow is chief mourner a small lock
of her hair is cut off and tied up in the cloth. When the corpse is
being carried out for burial the widow breaks her _mangalsutram_ or
marriage necklace, and wipes off the _kunku_ or vermilion from her
forehead. This necklace consists of a string of black glass beads
with a piece of gold, and is always placed on the bride's neck at
the wedding. The widow does not break her glass bangles at all,
but on the eleventh day changes them for new ones.

15. Mourning

The period of mourning for adults of the family is ten days, and
for children three, while in the case of distant relatives it is
sufficient to take a bath as a mark of respect for them. The male
mourners shave their heads, the walls of the house are whitewashed
and the floor spread with cowdung. The chief m