Among the Turks and other Alahometans, when any person is to be buried, it is usual to bring the corpse, at mid-day or afternoon prayers, to one of their mosques, front whence it is accompanied by the greatest part of the congregation to the grave. Their processions, upon these occasions, are not so slow and solemn as in most parts of Christendom ; for the whole company make what haste they can, singing-, as they go along., some select passages front the Koran. That absolute submission \vhich they pay to the will of God, allows them nut to Use any consolatory words upon such occasions ; no loss or misfortune is to be regretted or complained of : and in stead of such expressions of sorrow and condolence, as may regard the deceased, compliments are paid to the person wino is the nearest concerned. The cemeteries of the Turks are commonly planted with cypress trees ; and for the space of two or three months after any person is interred, the female relations of the deceased go once a week to weep (net. the grave, and deck it with flowers and green leaves. Shaw's Travels.
A very lull account of a I\ 1 ahometan funeral is given by M. Guy s, in his Leltres surly Greet. ; and another by a later traveller, Dr Griffiths, in his Travels in .Eurofte, ..,1sia Minor, and drabia.
The funerals of the Persians are conducted in a manner similar to those in other Al ahometan countries. They are, however, strangely superstitious about the burial of their kings. For, fearing lest by some magical art, any enchantments should be practised upon their bodies to the prejudice of their children, they conceal, as much as possible, the real place of interment. For this purpose, they send to different places several coffins of lead, with others of wood, and bury all alike with the same magnifi cence. In this manner they delude the curiosity of the people, who cannot discern, by the outside, in which of the coffins the real body should be. See Chardin.
The Russians, who profess the religion of the Greek church, entertain many fantastic notions with regard to the state of departed souls ; and their funeral ceremo ni•s are therefore attended with some singularities. After the dead body is dressed, a priest is hired to pray for his soul, to purify it with incense, and to sprinkle it with holy water while it remains above ground ; which, among the better sort of people, it generally does for the space of c ight or ten days. When the body is carried to the grave, which is done with many gesticulations of sorrow, the priest produces a ticket, signet] by the bishop and another .-.1ergyman, as the deceased's passport to heaven. When this is put into the coffin, between the fingers of the corpse, the company return to the deceased's house, wnere they drown their sorrow in intoxication, which is sometimes prolonged for a considerable period.— During that time, a priest says prayers every day over the grave; for though the Russians do not believe in pur gatory, yet they imagine that their dt parted nil may he assh-ted by prayer in his long journt y to the place of his destination after this life.
In Japan, Peru, Pugin, Mexico, Tartary, and Siam. the. dead are but uecl ; and in the i ;Ise of persons of sup( rior rank and consideration, the fir( are made with arouu.tie woods, gums, balsams. and oils. In China. it is said to have been formerly the. custom to bury slaves A. itli the emperors and 'minces ; but this ei tie I praeth c it ..ie way, in modern times, to the more innocent one of burn ing images of their domestics in tin-foil, cut into the shape of human beings, and of placing their statues in %rood or stone upon the graves. The last remains of a relation arc inter red with all the honours which the family t an afford. See Barrow's Travels in China.
Among the 1 1 ottentots, the dead are interred 1...ith verf little ceremony. When a I Tottentot dies, lie is buried in his worst dress, (a sort of mantle made of sheep's or calf's skin), and the limbs arc disposed in sac 11 a manna 1 that the w hole body is covered. The corpse is then car ried by the relations to a certain distance from the horde, and thrust into a pit or hole, dug for the put pose, and then covered °eer with earth, stones, or brushwood. Such a mausoleum, however, proves but a very soak defence against the attacks of the jackal and by Etta, which generally dig up and des our the body. A horrid custom is said to prevail among these savages. of burying children at the breast alive, in case of the mothcrs's death. See Vaillant's Travels ; Sparrman's Von.age.
In New South Wales, the dead are burned, afterwards deposited in the ground, and a mound or hillock raised upon the ashes. (hunter's Voyage.) At Otaheite, none are burned in the J1lo rai but those offered in sacrifice, or slain in battle, or the children of chiefs have been strangled at the birth; an act of atrocious inhumanity, which is too common among those islanders. a person of eminence dies, the body is preserved, and not hurled, unless he died of some contagious or offensive disease. The Mowing is understood to be the method in which this preservation is effected. Soon after death, the body is disembowelled, and the cavity is then filled or stuffed with cloth. When any moisture appears on the skin, it is carefully dried up, and the body afterwards rubbed all ON el' a large quantity of perfumed oil ; which being frequently repeated, preserves it a yr,..• t many mouths ; but, at last, it gradually mould( rs aw ty. The relations and friends, who are absent. perform t their part of the funeral rites at their arrival ; ( adi female presenting a piece of cloth to the corpse ; and they con tinue to dress and decorate the body, as if still alive, and to furnish it with provisions, supposing that the on' w kit hovers round l'eCeiN es satisfaction front such marks of attention. See Cook's Voyages.