C1797-
fence, noticing all our actions. Futtafaihe paid, us-a'Vifitf hi« morning
fop the firft time fince wé have been on Ihore ; one o f the brethren
Ihaved him, and whilft he was doing it the natives were afraid any o f
th e hair fhould fall to the ground, in which.cafe not one o f them
would dare to eat under .the roof again; however, no accident of that
kind happened; Great prepiaratipris are making at Bunghye for the
funeral; people flocking from all quarters with.hogs, fru it,c ]o th ,
fpears, and clubs.
ad: The crowd* in our neighbourhood is prodigious, and alarming
to u s ; and we are informed they are likely .to make a flay of-two or
three months, in which time He alone who reigns on high knows
what excclfes they may run into towards us.
As the funeral was to take place to-day, brother Bowell wpnt with
Ambler to Bunghye to fee the ceremony, and found abput four'thou-
fartd perfonsi fitting round the place where ihe fiatooka Hands i-1 A few
minutsr^after ourrarfival'we heard a great Ihouting andHflowing, of
conch-Ihells at a' frnall diftance ; loon after about ah hundred medapr
pearèd, armed with clubs and fpears, and rufhtng into' * tlfe. area!,
began to cut and mangle themfelves in a maft dreadful manner c,
many ftruck their heads violently with their > clubs; ahd the blows.,
which might be heard thirty or forty yards off, they repeated till the
blood ra n down in ftreams. Others who had fpears, thruft them
through théir thighs, arms, and cheeks, ad the w h ite calling, on
the dcccafed in a moll: aftc&ing manner. A native of IFeejee; who
had been a fervant of the deceafed, appeared quite frantic; he. entered
the area with fire in his hand, and.having previomfly odéd his hair,
fet it on fire, and ran about with iVaJl on flame. W h en they had
fatisfied themfelves with this manner of torment, they fat down, beat
their faces with their lifts, and then retired. A fecond party went
through the fame cruelties ; and after them a third entered', Ihouting
and blowing the Ihells; four of the foremoft held ftones which they
ufed to knock out their teeth ; thofe who blew the Ihells cut their
heads with them in a Ihocking manner. A man that had a fpear run
it through his arm juft above the elbow, and with it flicking fall ran
about the area for feme time. Another,. who feemed to be a principal
chief, adted as if quite bereft of his fenfes.; he ran to every corner of
the area, and at each ftation beat his head with a club till the blood
flowed down his Ihqultferst 1 After-t-his brbther BoWell, Ihoeked, and
unable, to bear the feene any longer, returned home. Futtafaihe alfo
came to „ Out- dwSling;) 'and' flayed" ajaoirt two hours. At- two o’clock
in the afternoon four of us gverrtHovtfterjftathqka,/ where the natives of
both fexes were ftill at; the .dreadful work of cutting and mangling
themfelves. .We had not .sHeen/dong there- beforei we heard at a
diflance^ few but expreflive ■.fey nds of; the- deepeft forrpw ajid lamentation
s this-was a parity of. about one hundred and forty women
marching fipfiipgfe fife, hearing each a bafket-pf lapd ;;feighty men
followed-in the fame manner, ‘with each ,tw© feftk-ets of feoral' fayd,.
ancMjiag,, as-jffeey mar.thcd,|-wB^s ampojifcing, “ This is a-bleffing to
“ arid were anf-yetfe 'in refponfes" -by.-the women’.
Another 'Company^ «women brought \a large quantity'pf,cloth, and
anfwqred in their turn to the .above,' refponfes:, Thus, thefe three bands
Walked towards-the--.tomb, filling pcjcovering, that part pfetbe mount
between ithe houfe and the’lpkee where the corpfetlay, and the grawv
withmne'mafs^d tloth; after which, feyen men blew conch-Ihells,
whilft others-'flyag in;afefeful,fl:rain exprefliye o f the mofl heartfelt
grief. The cqrpfe wasaao-w conveyed fo the grave upon a large bale
of ?black cloth, [with which, and .tfirie 'mats, hey .Covered.' it. The
bearers,. as they went, walked flopping low, and carrying the bale in
theft h a n d s .W h i l f t thefe feiykeg were petforming, a company o f
men and women.came into the area, and cut themfelves dreadfully.
After them another fife o f females, nineteen in number, brought
each a bag o f their mofl valuable articles; and (wciity-one more, had
each a fine mat in their hands, all o f which’-they depolited- in the
tomb, being, as they call it, a prefent for the dead:; and immediately
after .came a prefent from Toogahowe, conlifting o f thirty-five bales
o f cloth, .each bale carfied b y four-men on a frame.,-: After, the pre