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The Lakhers believed that one would die when the God or the spirits would be
angry with one and hence would snatch away one's soul from the body. When
one is very sick, he would be placed on the floor near the bed and would
be surrounded by friends and relatives. When death would be imminent one
would be raised up to a sitting position and would die in the arms of the
relations. A gun would be fired, if there was a gun in the house, to inform
villagers about the death. After death, the soul would go to the abode in the other world where
the status and condition of the soul would be similar to those in this
world. Those who attained virtues by killing certain number and categories
of wild animals like tiger, elephant or bear would go to paradise called
peira, which was a place of bliss. The ordinary spirits would
go to athikhi, dead man's village. Those dying unnatural deaths or from
loath some diseases would go to sawvawkhi.
Disposal of the Dead
After death the body would be washed in warm water and it would be dressed in
best clothes. Then it would be placed on a mat in a reclining
position. Above the head a shelf would be made where rice, meat and egg
would be placed. Friends and relatives would gather in the house, they
would bring with them rice beer. Mithun, pigs and fowls would be
sacrificed and feasts would be held for three days. Some food would be
placed in the mouth of the dead. There would be dancing with
beatings of drums and gongs. Thus the dead would happily go to athikhi'.
The young men of the village would dig a grave in front of the house. The body would then be taken out one evening after three days of the death.
The
pupa of the deceased would perform some rituals and sacrifices and then the body
would be laid to rest. On the grave some wooden posts would be put on which the
heads of the animals killed in the funeral ceremony and some fruits would be
placed. After some days a memorial stone would be erected on the
grave.
Generally, the chiefs would be buried in a family vault. Along with the
body, valuables including ornaments and gums used by the deceased would be
placed near the body. When another person of the family would buried
the vault would be opened by the deceased's sister or sister's son, failing that
by daughter or daughter's son and the remains of the body would be
collected and would be placed in one corner, wrapped in a cloth. The
person opening the vault would take all the valuables buried with the body.
After the death of a chief,
the entire village would remain in mourning till
the head of an animal could be obtained. During this period the family would
offer some food daily to the deceased, placing it near the hearth. During the
mourning period the relation did not wash their bodies or grease their hair. The
mourning would end with erection of a memorial stone, in a ceremony called
Athiteukhai.
Death Due
Death due or ' ru' was an important Lakher custom regarding property. A person
who would inherit the deceased's property must also pay the ru. Ru was payable
by the eldest son of the father or any one else inheriting the property of
the pupa, mothers brother of the deceased. In case of a woman, the ru was
payable to her brother, by her husband or youngest son. The person
claiming the ru would have to kill a pig. The ru would vary from clan to
clan and would often be settled by negotiation through intermediaries
like the chief and other noblemen. The woman's ru would generally be the
same as her marriage price. Instead of paying the ru the husband could
return to her brother all the woman's personal effects. The amount of Ru
usually varied from twenty rupees for a commoner to one hundred rupees for a
nobleman.
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