Page:Siam and Laos, as seen by our American missionaries (1884).pdf/256

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heaving, even until the body is cold and stiff in death.

When all evidence of hearing is gone the attending friends will raise their voices almost to a stunning pitch, hoping that they may force the departing spirit to hear the name of P'ra Arahang. When the most loving friends have ceased to have any lingering hope that the dead can hear them longer, then the continuous and deafening sounds of P'ra Arahang are exchanged for the most uncontrollable wailings, which are so loud that they can be heard at a great distance. Then all members of the family, including the slaves in the house within hearing, join in a general outburst of crying and sobbing.

When a prince of high rank has just died, other princes, nobles and lords, in the order of their rank, step up one by one and pour a dipper of water upon the corpse. Certain officials in the household dress the body for a sitting posture in a pair of tightly-fitting short pantaloons and jacket, and over these a winding sheet wrapped around the body as firmly as possible. Thus prepared, the corpse is placed in a copper urn with an iron grating for its bottom, and this is put into one made of fine gold, with an outlet at the most pendent point, and a stopcock from which the fluid parts of the body are daily drawn off until it becomes quite dry. The golden urn is then placed on an elevated platform, while