The more distant relatives do not perform this
rite, but each leads a sheep to the house of mourning, and the son of
the deceased man strikes each animal three times with a white wand,
while the Peh-mo (priest or magician) stands by, and announcing the
sacrifice by calling 'so and so,' giving of course the name, presents
the soft woolly offering.
"Formerly the Nou-su burned their dead. Said a Nou-su youth to me years
ago, 'The thought of our friends' bodies either turning to corruption or
being eaten by wild beasts is distasteful to us, and therefore we burn
our dead.' The corpse is burnt with wood, and during the cremation the
mourners arrange themselves around the fire and chant and dance. The
ashes are buried, and the ground leveled. This custom is still adhered
to among the Nou-su of the independent Lolo territory or more correctly
Papu country of Western Szech'wan. The tribesmen who dwell in the
neighborhood of Weining and Chao-t'ong have adopted burial as the means
of disposing of their dead, adding some customs peculiar to themselves.
"On the day of the funeral the horse which the deceased man was in the
habit of riding is brought to the door and saddled by the Pehmo.
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