A Further Contribution to the Study of the Mortuary Customs of the North American Indians | Page 9

food in the grave as
a wise provision for its long journey to the happy hunting-ground
beyond the clouds.
The funeral ceremonies of this tribe are very peculiar. First, after death,
the body is laid out on a fancy buffalo robe spread out on the ground,
then they dress the body in the best possible manner in their style of
dress; if a male, they put on his beaded leggins and embroidered _saco_,
and his fancy dancing-moccasins, and his large brass or shell ear-rings;
if a female, they put on her best manta or dress, tied around the waist

with a silk sash, put on her feet her fancy dancing-moccasins; her
rosario around her neck, her brass or shell ear-rings in her ears, and
with her tressed black hair tied up with red tape or ribbon, this
completes her wardrobe for her long and happy chase. When they get
through dressing the body, they place about a dozen lighted candles
around it, and keep them burning continually until the body is buried.
As soon as the candles are lighted, the _reloris_, or wake, commences;
the body lies in state for about twenty-four hours, and in that time all
the friends, relatives, and neighbors of the deceased or "_difunti_" visit
the wake, chant, sing, and pray for the soul of the same, and tell one
another of the good deeds and traits of valor and courage manifested by
the deceased during his earthly career, and at intervals in their praying,
singing, &c., some near relative of the deceased will step up to the
corpse and every person in the room commences to cry bitterly and
express aloud words of endearment to the deceased and of condolence
to the family of the same in their untimely bereavement.
At about midnight supper is announced, and every person in attendance
marches out into another room and partakes of a frugal Indian meal,
generally composed of wild game; Chilé Colorado or red-pepper
tortillas, and guayaves, with a good supply of mush and milk, which
completes the festive board of the reloris or wake. When the deceased
is in good circumstances, the crowd in attendance is treated every little
while during the wake to alcoholic refreshments. This feast and feasting
is kept up until the Catholic priest arrives to perform the funeral rites.
When the priest arrives, the corpse is done up or rather baled up in a
large and well-tanned buffalo robe, and tied around tight with a rope or
lasso made for the purpose; then six or eight men act as pall-bearers,
conducting the body to the place of burial, which is in front of their
church or chapel. The priest conducts the funeral ceremonies in the
ordinary and usual way of mortuary proceedings observed by the
Catholic church all over the world. While the grave-diggers are filling
up the grave, the friends, relatives, neighbors, and, in fact, all persons
that attend the funeral, give vent to their sad feelings by making the
whole pueblo howl; after the tremendous uproar subsides, they disband
and leave the body to rest until Gabriel blows his trumpet. When the

ceremonies are performed with all the pomp of the Catholic church, the
priest receives a fair compensation for his services; otherwise he
officiates for the yearly rents that all the Indians of the pueblo pay him,
which amount in the sum total to about $2,000 per annum.
These Pueblo Indians are very strict in their mourning observance,
which last for one year after the demise of the deceased. While in
mourning for the dead, the mourners do not participate in the national
festivities of the tribe, which are occasions of state with them, but they
retire into a state of sublime quietude which makes more civilized
people sad to observe; but when the term of mourning ceases, at the
end of the year, they have high mass said for the benefit of the soul of
the departed; after this they again appear upon the arena of their wild
sports and continue to be gay and happy until the next mortal is called
from this terrestrial sphere to the happy hunting-ground, which is their
pictured celestial paradise. The above cited facts, which are the most
interesting points connected with the burial customs of the Indians of
the pueblo San Geronimo de Taos, are not in the least exaggerated, but
are the absolute facts, which I have witnessed myself in many instances
for a period of more than twenty years that I have resided but a short
distant from said pueblo, and, being a close observer of their peculiar
burial customs, am able to give you this true and undisguised
information relative to your circular on "burial customs."
Another example of the care which is taken to prevent the earth coming
in