Part 6 - Funeral Procession of the Tharus of Dang

A great crowd gathers in the house and courtyard of the dead person, composed of participants in the funeral and spectators. Only the males take part in the funeral procession. Only male lineage members carry the dead and participate in the subsequent rites though if necessary a few elderly men from other lineages in the village may also join Some carry the procession to supervise and guide the others. the items needed for burying or cremating the deceased while others walk empty-handed. The following articles are carried: a spade, an axe, a burning piece of dried cowdung (to make a fire), a little dried Sabai grass (to make ropes if necessary) and few bundles of straw and thatch taken from the roof of the dead person's house. These straw and thatch bundles are used in making fire for the cremation and also for the culha or hearth of the deceased. One of the men carries the satbihi and other associated items in two worn-out baskets hung from 24 a bausa. 24. A tool used in making pit-holes on the ground.

Tharus of Dang / 223 The dead body is taken to the burial or the cremation site which is always situated to the south of the village, generally towards the south-west on barren land (in case of burials) or a river bed (in case of cremation) at a half to two kilometers distant. Henceforth, as these are two different methods for the disposal of the dead body a) Burial and b) Cremation, each of these will be described separately. 25. (a) Burial There is A grave is dug in a North-South direction. no fixed rule or tradition concerning the size of the grave. But it must contain sufficient space and depth to accomodate the dead body. So, its area is roughly 2 * 7 feet and its depth about 1 foot. 25 Before placing the dead body in the grave a bed of old and worn-out sheets or blankets is prepared inside the grave. On it, the corpse is kept with its head always towards North. A male body is deposited with its back upwards and the face downwards. For a female body, the position should be the contrary. A cadri or a shawl or maybe an old blanket, preferably one which the dead person had used frequently during his/her life time, is kept to cover the dead. Three handfuls of satbihi uncooked items of food, are put near the mouth of the dead. Next, some thread, cotton, a few drops of mustard oil as well as the clothes of the dead are also put inside the grave. It is thought that the deceased will need them in the next world. 'om Now, the chief mourner throws a little earth (mati dena) with his hands into the grave and others do likewise See Bennett, Lynn, 1977, p. 174 (foot-note).

i 224 | Kailash / 9. Lowering a Corpse into the Grave 10. Corpse inside the Grave

11. Covering the Grave with Earth 12. & Tharus of Dang 1 225 Stretcher with Man and Ornaments (of the Deceased) Placed over the Grave

226 | Kailash The grave is filled up with clay, raising its height about a cubit over the ground. Finally big clay clods of square or rectangular shape, already dug out from the vicinity are fitted over the raised grave. This time too, the first person to place a clod is the chief mourner. A few coins are thrown over the grave, which might be useful to the dead person in the next world as he has to pay a fare to the boat-man while crossing the 26 ' 'big river (ladya tarkana) in his journey to the other world. 26. Either a macan (stretcher) or a khatia (bedstead) may be used to carry the corpse to the burial ground where it is inverted and left over the grave. Usually a man will be carried in his bedstead if he was using one at the time of death. A woman, on the other hand, if she dies before her husband, will be carried on a stretcher since Tharus believe that the bedstead should be left for her husband's use, even though he may no longer wish to sleep in it. But, in the case of a man dying before his wife, he is carried in the bedstead regardless of the needs of his wife. This signifies that the needs of men are more likely to be cared for than those of women. This shows that the Tharus do not accord equal status to females and 'males. ? Once the corpse is buried, the mat used to carry 27 it, the personal belongings such as ornaments, the Tharus believe that they have to cross over a big river while going to the other world from this earth. This shows some influence of Hindu belief according to which all persons have to cross the river Baitarni while going to heaven. Hindu crosses this river by catching hold of the tail of the cow which he/she had donated while Tharus cross on a boat. 27. But a If the deceased was a man whose wife is still alive, her costume jewellery will be removed and placed on her husband's grave. In the same way when a woman dies her own costume jewellery is also placed over her grave. Expensive jewellery of real gold or silver is kept by the family.

Tharus of Dang / 227 sickle, the wooden slippers as well as the wooden handles of all the instruments used in the preparation of the burial and also the baskets used in bringing assorted cereals (satbihi) and vegetables to be buried with the dead are piled over the grave. But before these things are left at the grave each is destroyed so that they, like the deceased have "taken their last breath". Finally symbolic measurements of the grave and the handles of the instruments used to dig it are made with a straw or stick which are later broken and thrown over the grave. (B) Cremation Two For the cremation, the male cousins in the male line and the clansmen from the village and also from neighbouring villages bring with them to the cremation site one log or a piece of firewood. Cremation is always carried out in a river or a stream bed. male-line cousins (men), scrape the earth around the place chosen for cremation but the first digging or scraping is done by the chief mourner. A mound of sand and pebbles is formed in the shallow water in a northsouth direction. The mound should be sufficiently large and of an appropriate height above the water-level to accomodate the pyre to be made for cremating the dead. While the cremation-mound is being constructed, some of those who came with the procession, split one of the logs into small sticks which are later used in the pyre to help the logs burn easily. Next, out of the bundles of thatching grass, which had been carried to the cremation site, a long and thin coil (about ten to fifteen feet long) is made. About two thirds of the logs brought there are put on the mound in north-south direction.

228 / Kailash Before putting the dead body onto the pyre, he/she is undressed carefully without exposing his/her private parts, which are left covered by the kaffan. His loinstring too, is cut off. The medicines, the amulet, the bangles or any other personal belonging like slippers, the tooth-pick set, are thrown away is the river. Finally the dead body is lifted up jointly by all lineage-men and clansmen present there. Before putting the body onto the pyre, they make five anti-clockwise circumambulations; those who are behind, and thus cannot touch or hold the dead, hold on to those in front. The dead body is then put face down and with the head to the north over the pyre, parallel to the logs. The chief mourner now puts one log over the dead body, and next the others cover the dead body with the remaining logs. The clothes of the dead person and also some straw are now inserted inside the hollow spaces between the logs. The rice, collected during ujri darna and the assorted cereals, except for one handfull left for the dead person's cooking (mial manaik bhansa) are also put on the pyre. Some mustard seeds (about three or four kg.) are also poured over the pyre, not for any ritual reason, but just to make the fire burn easily. Now, in order to light the pyre, all the cousins and clansmen present together catch hold in their hands of the long thatch coil and line up to the right and left side of the bundle. The chief mourner stands at the one end of the row. In this order they make five circumambulations of the pyre. Now, the chief mourner lights the top end of the thatch coil and puts the burning part over the pyre. Others, pluck out the remaining parts of the coil and put these pieces over the pyre. Next, led by the chief mourner again, each puts one small bundle of thin pieces of firewood over the burning pyre. Some

Tharus of Dang / 229 ghee, carried from home, is also poured on it. The dead body is now left to burn. Meanwhile all persons in the procession take a bath and wash all the instruments used during cremation (the spade, the bausa, the axe and the sickle). After the bath, they purify their clothes; doing this themselves or helped by others. Some drops of swan pani (=water kept in touch with gold) are used to purify the clothes that were worn during the funeral procession and the performances and thus are polluted. Everyone then returns home. After four or five hours, when they suppose that the body has been burned, a few people return back to the cremation site. Before touching the mound, a man from the dead man's family throws a stone or lump of earth over the ashes. Others throw water over the ashes from the stream or river just below, with their hands. When the ashes have cooled down, they pick out a few small bones or bone fragments and they break or grind the rest of the unburnt bone-fragments into very small pieces with the help of stones and disperse them. After that, they destroy the pyre-mound that had been raised over the riverbed for the cremation. Again they take a bath, wash the spade, purify their clothes with swan pani, and return home. Henceforth, as the post-funeral performances for both cremation or burial, are similar, the following description of the later rituals applies to both. About ten to fifteen feet away from the burial or cremation site, a hearth is constructed using either three clay blocks from the grave-site or three stones from the mound raised above the river-bed for cremation. Over this heanth, a little pot, containing assorted cereals, spices, vegetables, vegetable oil, and ghee is put by the chief mourner. The chief mourner again inserts some burning thatch, that had been

230 | Kailash 2301 lit from the fire burning over the pyre inside the hearth made of three pebbles or clay lumps. In case of burial, such a hearth is lit from the fire already carried for this purpose from the dead person's house. After disposing of the dead and having a bath and purification with swan pani, all persons participating in the funeral procession return to their homes. On the way, before entering the village, one of the men, with a spade in his hands, steps forward and digs a mark (thap marna) exactly on the foot-way, a little ahead of him. This mark is a symbolic form of a ditch dug to check the entrance of the dead person's spirit into the village. All returning men who went with the procession gather there and all of them jointly address the spirit of the dead thus 'Hello Mr/Mrs/.... we shall perform uddhar for you on a day. We shall give you a feast on the same day. Don't be worried till that time.' After that, everyone crosses over the mark and returns to their home. 28 • The same day in the afternoon, one man and one woman from each Tharu household of the village gather at the dead person's house. Each male brings one little jar (golra) of home-made rice-beer with him while each female brings a little basket (dhakli) containing some rice, pulse salt and chillies. The beer is consumed on the spot by the men. The things bought by the women are collected for preparing the dharam bhat 29 feast. Meanwhile, the men stitch leaf plates " and the women cook rice and pulse for the feast. When the meal is ready, it is served first to the chief mourner and then to the other males. Then the chief mourner does dharam bhat kaharna. He takes the first morsel of rice in his right hand, dips it into the pulse-curry and then puts it on the 28. Salvation, restoration, a ceremony. 29. Ritual rice, ritual meal.

Tharus of Dang / 231 floor by the side of his plate. over the rice with the same hand. Next he pours some water All others participating in the feast do the same and then enjoy the feast. On the night following the death of the person, a little test is carried out to ascertain the form of animal which the dead person will be in the next world. This is called jana dharna. It takes place in an isolated corner of the house. Some flour is spread on the ground. Above it an oil lamp is put; next that portion of the ground is enclosed with a mat to stop any animal from entering it. At mid-night elderly persons carefully take away the mat and look to detect and identify the footprint of the animal thought to intimate the form which he will take in his next birth. Such an animal may be a cat, dog, cow, goat, sheep, horse, buffalo, tiger, pig, bird, tortoise or a snake. If there is no trace of any such foot-print, it means that the person will not be reincarnated (jalam oraina) in an animal but in a stone. . The same day, preparations go on for the mourning of the dead. The mourning is called kirrya baithna. The chief mourner, in the case of the death of a man, should preferably be his eldest son whereas, for a woman, it is her youngest son. The chief mourner should always be a male. If no son is present to mourn the death, or, if he is unfit or unable to perform the rites, any other person, preferably a nephew (male line cousin), is asked to take this responsibility. Mourning lasts for a few days until the uddhar ceremony is performed. Only the joint-family of the dead is affected. Cousins, already separated from the family, don't have to mourn or practice any taboo. Members of the joint-family of the dead, except for the chief mourner, have only to observe the taboo on mustard-oil. Neither should they eat it nor should they apply it to their heads or bodies.

232/ Kailash For kirrya baithna, a corner or a portion of the bahari or the ghari section of the house is enclosed with a mat or net, so that other individuals or animals may not enter. The chief mourner has to stay within that boundary except if he has to go out to relieve himself or to take his daily bath in the morning. Whenever he leaves the ritual enclosure, he must put pauwa on his feet and take a khurai (a small spear) in his hand. During the mourning period he must not wear a cap. He should use only woollen blankets on his bed. If he uses covers of other textiles, these should be thrown away on the day of uddhar. He must fetch his own water and cook his food for himself within the boundary. He should not use salt and vegetable oil in his food. Therefore a mourner takes, as his diet, plain rice with milk. Other persons must not touch or contact him. In some instances a man or a woman may enter that space to make preparations for cooking, except for putting the cooking utensils on the fire, which the chief-mourner must do himself. Such a person must have a bath immediately after coming out of that place. The chief mourner has to close the passage or entrance of his dwelling place well, when leaving it for a while, so that in his absence no human being, animal or fowl can enter and contaminate it. Every evening, after the cattle return home, the chief mourner goes a little to the south of the village along the same path by which the corpse was carried. There, on the foot-path, he plasters a little space with cow-dung and, over it, he lights a leaf-cup oil-lamp. This oil-lamp should be lit with the help of the thatch pulled out of the roof of either the house, the cattleshed, or the pig-shed of the dead. Then the mourner pours a little water out of a leafcup on the ground near the lamp. Next, he stabs the foot-way horizontal-wise with a knife (carried by him from the house)

Tharus of Dang / 233 and addresses the spirit of the dead "Please, Don't come today". The uddhar (=salvation or restoration) rites of mourning mark the end of the period of pollution and taboos brought on by death. Thursday is supposed to be an auspicious day for uddhar. On the day of uddhar the mat or the net, put to fence off the space for the chief mourner, is lifted out. All the male members (except the very small babies) of the dead person's family and also one or two members each from the male cousion's line gather at that house. A few other men from the village also join them. The women of the dead person's family gather in the courtyard of the house and begin to weep, bidding farewell to the men before they go to a watersource for shaving their heads. The chief-mourner, if he is the dead person's own son, has to shave his head completely including the cutti (the little tuft of hair left on the crown by Hindus) beard and moustaches. But in case of any other person substituting for him as chief mourner, the shaving of only the beard, moustaches and a little hair around his ears will suffice if he does not like to shave off all his hair. Next, all the male-line cousins, who go with the chiefmourner, get at least one or two locks of their hair clipped. Then all of them take a bath and, after purifying themselves with swan pani, they return home. Meanwhile all the women and girls of the dead person's joint-family also take bath. They wash their hair with mustard oil-cake. The very young children are bathed by their mothers in the courtyard. The gardhurryas from each house of the village gather and help to take all the kitchen utensils and smoking pipes out of the house and wash them well. The cooking vessels, which are not generally washed, are well washed at this time. The

234 Kailash | ' black layer (Lyawa) accumulated on the outside of the vessels must be removed as well. Some women help in polishing the floor of the whole house, except the cattle-shed section. One or two other women help in bathing (dipping in oil-cake mixture and then rinsing with water) all the religious figurines and other associated objects enshrined in the deity-room. Next the men, after shaving and bathing, make preparations for cooking barrya. Fire is brought in the bahari section from the kitchen. A fresh hearth is put over the fire. Four or six persons are engaged in cooking barrya. Barrya is prepared from rice-flour. Rice flour is mixed with a little water and then small balls are made of it which are fried in mustard-oil. This mustard-oil must be the home-made oil offered by the families in the extended patrilineal of the deceased. The Now, two men make preparations for a shamanistic performance to evoke and contact the new ancestor as well as the old ancestors. One of these is a guruwa from a gharguruwa family and the other a kesauka from any clan or sub-group (of Dangaura Tharus). The deity and the ancestors, when called one after another by the guruwa are thought to come onto the body of the kesauka during the latter's state of trance. gharguruwa and kesauka sit down on a mat facing west in the bahari section. The kesauka (person on whom the spirits will mount) takes off his cap. One small jar of liquor and mug (lota) of plain-water (both covered with leaves) are also brought there along with some acheta (dehusked rice used for religio-shamanistic purposes). An oil-lamp is lit on the ground in front of them. Now the guruwa begins to chant Mantras and throw acheta over the kesauka, to call the deity or ancestor, by making the kesauka come into trance. : one Finally the kesauka trance into trance. This is done three goes The first times successively. is for Maiya deity, the second for

Tharus of Dang / 235. Then the old ancestors and the last one in honour of the new ancestor. When the kesauka starts to go into trance for the new ancestor, he enters the deity-room in a state of posession. Then the gardhurrya of the house picks up the Saura deity and moves it (anticlockwise) around the body of the kesauka. the latter's quick breathing, associated with spirit possession, As the diminishes. He returns to the original seat. new ancestor has possessed the kesauka, the guruwa and the kesauka (on behalf of the dead person, who has now become a The conversation runs new ancestor) begin a conversation. like this: : Guruwa "New ancestor, please, did you come?" Kesauka = "Yes, I came. Guruwa - "Please, did you occupy your abode in the deity room?" Kesauka = "Yes, I did." Now the offerings (minhi = snacks) are made. First of all a little liquor is poured into a leaf-cup, which is then poured onto the ground. Meanwhile, the women of the house get the food cooked for offering. The menu consists necessarily of the green leaves of pawai, green beans, whole grains of black gram, fish and pork. 30 All these items are cooked in the deity-room. Some men of the family stitch three dishes and six cups out of leaves. Of these, one dish and two cups must be stitched by the left hand although the help of the right hand also may be taken in holding the leaves, while stitching. The rest of the cups and dishes are stitched in the usual way, with the right hand, while holding the leaves with the left. Now, a woman from the family 30. A creeper plant with small soft and smooth leaves which bears very small round and juicy fruits of purple colour coming in bunches.

236 | Kailash 236/ plasters the floor below the eastern wall of the deity-room with cow-dung The widow of the deceased (if the dead person was a male) or another lady puts all the items of the menu in the leaf dishes, paying attention that the left-handstitched dish is filled or served by her left hand. Every thing put or served in such a dish or cup must also be served with left hand. Then, the chief-mourner comes and puts the left-handstitched dish, to the right of him, near the end of the plastered space. The rest of the dishes are now kept to the left side of the left-hand-stitched dish. The chief mourner puts the leaf cups also on the plastered ground. The lefthand-stitched cups are put in front of the left-hand-stitched dish. After that the chief mourner puts water in each of the leaf-bowls or cups, in front of each dish. In the other cups, liquor is served. Now one or two strands of siru grass are put over each dish by the chief-mourner to be used as tooth-picks by the guests, who are the deities and the ancestors to whom these dishes have been served. After that, all members of the family (except the sisters and daughters) and all patrilineal cousins form up in a row behind the chief mourner. All of them stand one behind the other and touch the person in front. This is done just to make it easier for the participation of others in the offerings. Whoever touches or contacts the chief-mourner directly or indirectly also gets credit for the offerings. I Now, the chief mourner, who is the front line performer, applies a spot (tika) or vermilion at three separate points on the cow-dung plastered space. Then he moves the left-handstitched dish and the cups and places them over the left-most spot of vermilion with his left hand.. Next he puts the other two spots, and finally performs parchana by dipping the fingers

Tharus of Dang / 237 of the closed hands inside a lota and then sprinkling the water drops with his fingers near each leaf-dish. After that, the row of persons is dismissed and all those previously standing in the row are supplied with a leaf-cup. The chief mourner then distributes a few drops of liquor as This is parsad (an offering to or from the deity) to them. the liquor which has been left in the liquor jar after ofThe chief-mourner then fering it to the deity and ancestors. drinks a few drops of liquor from his leaf-cup. from his leaf-cup. Then the others also follow suit. Now the chief-mourner pulls out one of the right-hand stitched dishes and its two cups and eats or drinks the contents within the deity-room. Male children and others, housewives or clansmen can, if they wish, take the contents Next some homeof another right-hand-stitched dish and cups. made beer; and other items of food (not necessarily associated with the ritual) are also brought. But only leaf-cups or leaf-dishes are allowed. All those men or women must not leave the deity-room or the next-door room (in which they are eating, due to shortage of space in the deity-room). Neither should they throw away elsewhere any particle of food nor the leaf-plate itself. All the food left-over on the floor as well as the left-over leaf-cups and leaf-plates are swept lefttogether and collected into a basket along with the hand-stitched dishes and cups and their contents. tents of the basket are put aside for a special disposal called pittar puhaina (=to wash away for the ancestors). this a lady of the house dresses carefully with ornaments and fine make-up. Then she takes up the basket and carries it southwards to any river or stream and empties it of its contents. It is thought that the deceased person, who has now become an ancestor, will come to collect his share of food and be happy to see the family representative dressed in fine garments and make-up. The conFor

238 Kailash 238/ The same day, there is also a small ceremony called tel lena or tyal lena (to take or to begin with oil). This is one of several small rituals which compose the uddhar. This little ceremony puts an end to the period of taboos on certain items of food like oil and lentils or on certain forms of behaviour like greetings (syawa lagna), imposed during the period of mourning. A man belonging to one of the clans traditionally known as tel dihwa (offerer of oil), is invited either from the village itself or from any other village. A new cap is also already brought at the mourning family's expenses. Now the tel dihwa puts the new cap on the chief mourner's head. As it is not easy to arrange for new caps for all the others (men from the lineage and the clans-men), he (the tel dihwa) turns upside down the caps worn by each man or boy present. The others (the men and bosy) then bring their caps to the original position by turning them right-side up once more. Now some home-made mustard oil is brought there in a bronze bowl from inside. The others present are also given oil which they apply to their heads in the same way. Then they greet each other and also the tel dihwa to confirm the renewal of greetings after the taboo imposed on his practice during the mourning-period. The same day, a little charity donation takes place. The gifts are bronze utensils such as cooking vessels, dishes, bowls or lota. The donation must be made, in the eastern side courtyard of the house, to the tel dihwa and to the bhainas the donation is made to the decendants of the bhaina. Among certain clans, like the Sukhrorya Gurrwa of Sukhrwar, there is the custom of collecting a few bones from the pyre, after the body is burnt. This is done by one or two male members of the family or the clan. They carry these pieces with them to Deokhuri valley, where they are disposed of at the junction of the Mungraitha stream with the Rapti

Tharus of Dang/ 1239. : 1 river. From there, after a bath and purification by swan pari, they bring one lota of holy water with them to the dead man's house. This water like gangajal (holy water from the river Ganges) among Hindus, is then diluted with one jar of local drinking water and then poured on the hands of each and every person present there. They then drink it. On that day, all men and women from the extended partriline who reside in the village, and one or two male representatives from families of the extended patriline who do not live in the village, as well as all gardhurryas and their wives from the village, assemble there, bringing a little gift with them. Male patrilineal relatives from the village bring only one small jar of home-made beer and their wives bring a single small basket of rice, pulse (preferably black gram), salt and oil. Patrilineal relatives from other villages are expected to bring two baskets of the same items. It is said that previously, when there was plenty of grain, two full baskets of rice were actually brought, but now the tradition is maintained by bringing a small amount of rice in two baskets. Village males other than the clansmen or patrilineal cousins bring only a little rice (about 1/2 or 1/3 kilogramme) and one or two crystals of salt knotted in a fold of their cadri. The grains thus collected are sold by the dead person's house. Out of the proceeds a vessel is bought, which is kept in memory of the dead person. Finally, all persons present participate in a feast in honour of the dead, organized by the dead person's family and called kaharna (lit: to take out as a share or offering to a ghost or deity) First, there is one sitting for the males. All of them sit in a rough crescent in the bahari, near the entrance door to the corridor. Beginning with the chief mourner, each person is served with a cooked meal containing pork, cuni and barrya in a leaf-dish, and some liquor in a leafcup. The chief mourner then takes out a few pieces of pork,

240 Kailash side of cuni, and barrya and drops them on the floor by the his leaf plate. This is called the kaharna of pork and cuni. Next he pours some liquor over the pieces on the floor and then begins to eat. All others participating in the feast do likewise. Next, the other men, helping to serve the meal, bring some more items of food such as mutton and home-made beer and serve it to the others. Once all have finished eating and have washed their hands and mouths, a next sitting starts for the kaharna of rice, lentile-soup and fish. This time, the chief-mourner is served first with a leaf-dish containing rice, lentile pulse, fish and pork-intestines. The chief-mourner then, as before, takes out small portions of all things and drops them on the ground. This time, as there is no liquor, he just sprinkles some water from his hand and starts eating. The others follow suit. When the males have finished eating, the first sitting starts for the females. This time, if the dead person was a male, his widow leads the others in kahara. Otherwise, all is similar. There are two kaharna sittings for females also. The first one for the cuni, barrya pork and liquor, and the second one for rice, pulse, fish and other things. In the evening, all from the village and the neighbouring villages go back to their homes after drinking jar. The members of the dead person's family, according to the tradition, must not limit themselves to the meal, served during the kaharna. They should eat or drink something more, like rice or jar in the evening.