While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
Before the corpse is taken out from the house, those present pass
their hands over it, from head to feet, and then over their own person. Messages
are sent through the deceased to other dead relatives.110 Anybody
arriving too late to see the deceased will go to the grave, to the east side,
and, making a pass over the grave, will pass his hands down his own person. This
rite is repeated at the other sides of the grave, south, west, north.
Graves are made near dwelling houses,111 nowadays on your own
land. At the time of the land allotment White Moon's grandmother selected as her
land the place where her daughter and grandson, White Moon's mother and little
brother, were buried. The daughter of a neighbor112 is buried here,
too. During the period of my inquiry Hanoshi' (Gen. II, 25) died. She was to be
buried, according to White Moon, near her sister, Sadie (Gen. II, 23) whose
grave was near their mother's house where both women had continued to live.
House and burial place are at Kudadosa where White Moon's mother and brother
lived and were buried. But the burial places like the houses of these two
related families are separate. In another place are buried, near one another,
several of White Moon's paternal relatives, his father, Mr. Blue, his father's
mother, his father's three sisters and a parallel cousin. These graves,
some of which were made before 1900, are on land now belonging to Sam Houston113
(Gen. I, 24) whose mother was the oldest sister of Mr. Blue. Sam Houston got the
land from Biskuachu, a paternal parallel cousin.114 The body of Mr. Blue was brought from some
distance (Fort Cobb) to be buried in this place (Binger) which "seemed like home
to them."--From the evidence, it seems as if members of the same family were
buried together, and that for burial purposes kinship was reckoned through the
mother.
The head of the grave must be at the west,115 facing the rising
sun. The grave diggers stand at the east end of the grave and one shoots to the
west,116 into the grave. Then they let down the blanket-wrapped body.
They put into the grave whatever they think the deceased should take with her or
him, for a woman, cooking utensils, plates, etc., clothing; and for a man,
besides clothes and blankets, bow and arrows "to defend himself on his road if
anything bother him," since "evil things117 try to get the soul
before reaching heaven."118 As such "evil things" are abroad at night
the bow and arrows for the deceased should be made in the day time.119
A woman will protect herself with her knife. If the deceased is interfered with,
he will linger about until the shaman sets him on the right road again.
According to Ingkanish the besetting evil things are bad kaayu
(ghosts) or tsaki'u (ki'u, horn), "devils" with horns. They are on
both sides of the road which is "awful hard" to travel. It is narrow. There is a
big river crossed by a small log.120 After you pass over that foot
log you are safe, and you go on to naawantikuki'das (our father all home)
or, as it is also called, kiwat'hae'me (home big) or kiwat'hae'me
kuki'das, which is above, to the west .121
110 Shawnee funeral guests send gifts via the deceased, to their
dead kin (Voegelin). 111 Cp. Harrington, 285. 112 This woman White Moon's grandmother called dahai’',
younger sister; but White Moon insists that between the two women there was
no kinship. 113 Named undoubtedly for General Sam Houston with whom Caddo
were in contact during their Texas sojourn in 1825-1840. 114 See p. 71. 115 Cp. Dorsey 2: 65. 116 Formerly they shot arrows to notify the "master of the house" to
whom the dead went (Hatcher, XXX, 294). 117 According to Dorsey 2: 62-64, cannibals who eat the dead. Compare
soul eater reported for Choctaw (Swanton 3: 195). 118Hayuna naa'a, above or there high where is father. Cp.
Mooney, 1096, 1098, 1099. 119 It is the ghost itself that would fetch them, according to
Dorsey, and the appearance of a ghost is a sign of death in the family. 120 Reported among Choctaw (Swanton 3: 218-219) and Shawnee
(Voegelin).--Spanish? 121 Cp. Creeks (Swanton 1: 512) and Southeast in general (Swanton 2:
709-710).
