Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 580

CEREMONIES AFTER BURIAL
540
This discordant music over, the presiding Brahmin walks
round the lingam three times, makes a profound obeisance
to it, expresses the hope that by virtue of the sacrifice
offered to the image the deceased may be fully satisfied,
that Siva may look favourably on him, that Brahma may
receive him into his abode, and that thus he may escape
another re-incarnation in this world. He then pours a
and a few drops of water on the ground, picks up
all the fragments of the cocoanut shells that have been
broken on the head of the deceased, and distributes them
to those present, who scramble for the pieces, so eager are
they to possess these relics, which are supposed to bring
good luck. The 'paramannam is then divided among those
who have no children, for when acquired under these
circumstances it possesses the power of making barren
women fruitful. The ceremonies of the day end with
not that the mourners need to purify them-
ablutions
selves from any defilement, because none is contracted in
but these ablutions
attending the funeral of a sannyasi
serve instead of the bath which all Brahmins must take
three times a day.
For ten successive days after the funeral the person who
has presided thereat, and several other Brahmins in his
company, meet every morning at the grave of the deceased
to renew the offerings to the lingam.
A similar ceremony
takes place on the anniversary of his death.
On the conclusion of the ceremonies, the presiding
Brahmin contents himself with giving a very frugal repast
to all those who have attended the function, after which he
walks thrice round the assembly, bows to them, and dis-
misses them without giving them any presents. They, in
their turn, before their departure, congratulate him on the
good deed that he has performed and on the reward that
he has earned thereby.
The tombs of these sannyasis sometimes become famous,
and crowds of devotees flock to them, bringing offerings and
little rice
:
;
sacrifices as if to divine beings.
The strange custom of
breaking the heads of these dead hermits with cocoanuts
at their burial has no doubt some connexion with the
similar practice in regard to the lingam stones which may
often be seen on the high-roads or in much -frequented