Handbook of the Lisu (Yawyin) language - Cryptm.org

this( viii )\Vitchcraft (rghe>h'a« sye* or tai» hjj») is little he^rd of jflmostdistrict?, bu'$ Jp pfhers it is ifirmjy belieyep: jjj. \yhen a pprsqo ofeither sex is suspected of being able to bewitch others, whetherthrough direct accusation of a fellow villager or by random statementsof a sick person irj delirium, etc., the Ljsu will sometimes throw allBense of justipe tp the winds and W 'U summarily expel (or eveq kill)the suspected person without a shadow of a triaj. Some of theseunfortunate suspects are baqdied about from village to village. Anaccusation of witchcraft is not lightly made, for if proved to be falseit renders the accuser liable to a heavy fine. But in any case thesafest thing for a person suspected of witchcraft to do is to flee thevillage immediately When witchcraft - |s suspected, as e.g. whenthere is an unaccountable amount of sickness in a village, recourse is^sometimes hqd to trial by ordeal * This may consist of the handlingof hot irons, or more usually to the bringing up of a piece of silverfrom the bottom of a huge iroq pan filled with boiling water or oil.In either case no harm is supposed to result if the person is innocent.The author has seen a man's arm in a terrible condition after passingthrough the latter ordeal. But, as said above, witchcraft does notseem to have much hold on the Lisu in most districts.On the death of a Lisu it is the custom in some places to firethree guns immediately. 'J'he corpse is laid out in the centre roomand covered by a sheet of hempen cloth. A coffin is provided unlessthe corpse is that of a child ; sometimes the coffin is evep preparedseveral years before death and kept in readiness in the house. If thedeceased is a married woman or widow it is necessary to send forsome member or members of her own family to be present at theburial. Her husband's family would not dare to bury her otherwise,for her family mjght bring an accusation that she died by other thannatural means, or else that she was not buried properly and wouldhence return to "bite "her relatives, etc., which would involve alawsuit and perhaps the payment of a fine. They must be present tosee that every thing is alright. As a rule the burial takes placewithin two or three days after death—sometimes within a few hours.Auspicious days for burial are either not chosen at all or else chosenin a much simpler way than the Chinese, who will sometimes keeptheir dead waiting a year or more for interment. In any case incensewill be burnt and offerings made to the departed spirit before thecoffin is carried out of the house—in some districts a ceremony consistingof walking slowly around the coffin several times and strikingit sharply with a stick each time, chanting, being performed by themourners. At least one meal is served to the guests and helpers.The coffin is carried out without much ceremony f and buried two orthree feet deep on some spot on the hill side. A subsequent ceremonyof " pointing the way"—to the spirit in the unseen world—may notbe performed for even several years afterwards; depends on the* This method of trial is also employed sometimes in other cases, t.g. theft,,when a direct proof is impossible.t Sometimes even with levity and mirth. The total absenceof a reverentspirit at Chinese or Lisu funerals is repugnant to a European observer.