[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

560 - MALEKULA
put on the head, knees, and buttocks of each, the pits being
then ï¬Ålled in and surrounded by STONES} It is this unusual type
of burial which is used to-day for the disposal of the nmughm
nogho, the “heads “ or clan magicians of the ten “ houses " or
amwi into which the people of Melpmes are divided,“ the only
difference being that these men are laid prone and not contracted
into a sitting posture. This special treatment is due to the fact
that they are regarded as the direct descendants, and to some
extent as the reincarnations of, those mythical Kabat who were
the great grandchildren of Butwanabaghap and were the founders
of the Melpmes clan.
It is said that the Kabul ' prepared in a special burying-place
on the hill which rises behind the logho, a. grave for each of these
magicians of the Mclpmes clan. Here they were buried lying on
their backs and orientated so that they faced the east because
it was in that direction that Butwanabaghap used to go every
morning to see the sun. Over the mouth of each magician was
placed a sacred pottery cylinder, one end of which rested
on the mouth of the corpse, the other projecting a short
distance above the surface of the ground. On the ï¬Ålth <‘lay_aiter
the death the grave was supposed to be visited by a bird, the
nambal hawk, which is regarded as being a temes. This bird sat
down on the projecting edge of the sacred pot, reached its head
and body down to the face of the dccezised, plucked out his
eyes, and carried them away, presumably to eat them. After the
ï¬Åfth day the relatives of the dead man came and closed up the
open end of the cylinder (Pl. XXIIIB, 1).‘
The following is a very brief account of the funeral of Taghalut.
I B1LWBDfl.l>8.§la.]), indeed, had a Isglllal dolmen iohih covered with essth.
For 8-ll flCCO.fl1. oi the pols sico Chapter XX.-c. i-i. w.
' S62 below, Chlpfer xxx.
= !t is 110! oieii whether this rders to Butwanabaghep or to the Kubat
who were the oiisoiiog oi the taghu STONES. Since the clan of ivisipihos WU
DOC founded at the time oi Butwuiubcgha ‘s death it is probable that it is the
children oi the STONES that are ifltehdfld hero.-C. I-I. w.
I According to I letter Written to Dr. Haddnn they were ~ hhiioii ih pits,
sunoumled by i circle oi BCODE in ih. loglia ih the nsiu HD1568 1 CU! aha
DO mmhos to these :ItQD€»S|l'rOlI;|ded pits, which apparently resemble in
smiohiie the graves oi the sohs of Biiswshshsghsp. Other miehiehts ih this
letter hie corrected or much modiï¬Åed by Later soooiihis, 3-Dd, since it is not
easy to see how a corpse could be buried lying on its back in a pit (the two
KB Bi wsis placed in u sitting position), and since a vsi-y tough sketch oi s
mmuglwl naghrz ih his grave with I pot over his month shows ho iltdiciï¬Åflhi
oi a pit, it isms possihio that the fllflllï¬Åflfl of pits 5!l'[DIDl'lBd by MODES givoh
in this letter was due to in Gilly coniusion between the graves oi the two Khan:
and the mmmghut naghc who bore the title oi KabnL—C. H. w.