Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 538

SUDRA RITE OF MILK OFFERIXC;
498
Mourning in the Sudra caste lasts only three days. The
day is called the day of milk offering. To perform
this ceremony the chief mourner provides himself with
three young cocoanuts, four cocoanut branches, a measure
He fills an
of raw rice, some boiled rice, herbs, fruits, &c.
earthen pot with milk, places it in a new basket, and
accompanied by the relatives and friends of the family,
preceded by conch-players, goes to the place where the
body of the deceased was burnt. On his arrival he draws
some water in an earthen pot and sprinkles it over the
ashes on the pyre. Above this he erects a small pandal,
covered with palm leaves and supported by four pillars,
He
the interior of which he drapes with a piece of cloth.
collects the bones which have escaped the flames, puts
the largest one on a flat cake made of dried cow-dung, and
gathers up the rest in a heap. He calls the deceased by
name and pours milk over the bones. During this libation
third
the conch-players
brious noise.
make the
air
resound with their lugu-
The chief mourner then piles up the ashes over the
bones.
At the side he places half a cocoanut, and on the
top pieces of another cocoanut which he breaks, sprinkling
He places a third
the milk over this pyramid of ashes.
cocoanut close by on a plantain leaf and invokes Haris-
chandra K
Finally, he kneads the rice and other eatables which he
has brought with him into a round mass and throws the
whole to the crows, calling meanwhile upon the name of
the deceased.
Then the relatives and friends come in turn to embrace
the chief mourner, holding him in their arms and weeping
with him. He takes the large bone which was placed in
reserve
and all the mourners, to the doleful notes of the
conches, go and throw this bone into the neighbouring tank.
After bathing, all accompany the chief mourner to his
house.
There with much ceremony they put a new turban
on his head, and each hastens to do justice to the repast
prepared for the occasion. Thus ends the funeral cere-
;
mony.
1
One
of the kings of
truth.— Ed.
Ayodhya, who was famous
for speaking the