These tombs are in many
cases very elaborately decorated with painted woodwork.
Since the Klemantans who use the jar to contain the bones are not
capable of making such large jars, but procure jars of Indo-Chinese and
Chinese manufacture, it seems probable that the jars are comparatively
modern substitutes for the smaller wooden coffin or bone-box. Only
the richer folk can afford the luxury of a jar.
A rather different procedure is sometimes adopted by the same
Klemantans who use the wooden coffins, namely, the corpse is placed in
a jar a few days after death. Since the mouth of the jar is generally
too small to admit the corpse the jar is broken horizontally into two
parts by the following ingenious procedure. The jar is sunk in the
water of the river until it is full of water and wholly submerged;
it is held horizontally by two men, one at either end, just beneath
the surface of the water. A third man strikes a sharp downward blow
with an axe upon the widest circumference of the jar; it is then
turned over and he strikes a second blow upon the same circumference
at a spot opposite to the first. At the second stroke the jar falls
in two, sometimes as cleanly and nicely broken as though cut with a
saw.[125] The corpse is then packed in with its knees tied closely
under the chin; the upper part of the jar is replaced and sealed on
with wax.
Pages:
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433