Chapter 43 Forty-Three Horrible Funerals

The bone eater is the chief of the tribe and the priest at the same time. There are many such cases in New Zealand.He has the authority of a priest.According to this authority, he can protect some people or things with that kind of superstitious divine prohibition. The so-called divine prohibition is a common custom among the natives here. Once a person or thing is forbidden by the gods, no one is allowed to touch or use it.According to the Maori canon, whoever stretches out his blasphemous hand and touches a person or thing forbidden by the god will offend the wrath of the god and be executed by the god.Moreover, even if there is a delay in retaliation for this sacrilegious act, the priests will soon carry it out.

God's prohibition, except that there are fixed habits in some daily life occasions, is generally announced by the chief at any time according to political purposes.A native can be forbidden for several days in many cases, for example, when he cuts his hair, when he embroiders, when he builds a canoe, when he builds a house, when he is seriously ill. or die.If there are too many people fishing in the river, the fish will not grow big, or the sweet potatoes planted in the field are afraid of being trampled when they are just ripe, for economic purposes, these things can also be protected by divine prohibition.If a chief wants to keep idlers from disturbing his house, he puts it under confinement; God forbid this businessman.On these occasions, the forbidden role of divine prohibition is somewhat like the right of denial of ancient European emperors.

If something is forbidden by God, no one can touch it, or they will be punished.When a native is forbidden by the gods, certain foods are not allowed to be eaten within a certain period of time.After this strict fasting period, they can't touch the food with their hands. If he is a rich man, he asks slaves to help him deliver the food to his mouth; if he is poor, he has to bite it with his mouth Eat it: God forbids him to become an animal. In short, this magical custom is binding and manipulating the smallest actions of New Zealanders.This is also a manifestation of God’s constant interference in social life.It has the force of law, and this frequent divine prohibition, which can be said to sum up all the laws of the natives, is irrefutable and undisputed.

As for the captives held in Valedour, it was the chief's impromptu command to deliver them from the wrath of the natives by a god-forbidden order.At that time, there were a few cronies of the native bone gnawers, and when they heard their leader called Shenban, they immediately stopped and turned to protect the prisoners. However, Greenarvan did not try to exempt him from punishment because of this.Only his death can pay for the life of a chief.We know that among the natives, a person is subjected to many tortures before he dies, and it is by no means a quick and easy death.Glenarvan naturally knew that his act of murder out of righteous indignation would inevitably endure the cruelest revenge. He had already prepared in his heart, but he hoped that the bone gnawer's anger would only be vented on him alone, and that he would not be implicated. other people.

What a sad night it was for him and his traveling companions!Who can describe their anxiety, who can guess their pain?That poor Robert, the heroic Paganel are gone.What happened to them?Had they not already been the first victims of the vengeance of the natives?There was no longer any hope for either of them, not even the Major, who was not easily despaired.Mary lost her younger brother, and her stomach was filled with grief. Seeing Mary's appearance, Meng Ge was also maddened with anxiety.Glenarvan kept thinking of Lady Helene's terrible request that her husband beat her to death to save her from future torture or slavery.Did he have the amazing courage to kill his beloved wife with his own hands?

And what about Mary?What right do I have to kill her with my own hands?Meng Geer thought the same way, a thousand arrows pierced his heart, and he was extremely sad. As for escaping, it was obvious that it was impossible.Ten soldiers, all fully armed, guard the door! It was the morning of the thirteenth of February.Because of the divine prohibition, there was no contact between the natives and the captives.Although there was something to eat in the shed, they didn't even touch it.My heart is too sad, and my stomach doesn't feel hungry.The whole day passed without change or hope.There is no doubt that the funeral of the dead and the execution of the murderer will be held at the same time.

Glenarvan believed that the bonechewer had given up the idea of ​​exchanging prisoners, but the major still had a glimmer of hope in this regard. Who can tell?He kept talking like this, asking Sir to think back to the expression on the bone gnawer's face when Karatet was killed. Who can say that there is no gratitude in the bone gnawer's heart? But, despite the major's explanation, Glenarvan held out no hope.The next day, the whole day passed, and the preparations for the execution still did not take place. The reason for the delay turned out to be this. Maori believe that the soul of a person has not left the body within three days after death, so it takes three twenty-four hours before the body can be buried.This custom is to be strictly observed.Until February 15th, the whole castle was quiet and there was no one in sight.Menger often stood on Wilson's shoulder to see what was going on outside.Not a single native outside.Only the soldiers on guard guarded closely at the gate of Walledu, taking turns to be on duty.

But on the third day, the doors of all the sheds were opened.The savages there, men and women, young and old, hundreds of Maori gathered on the fort, and all of them were quiet and silent. The bone gnawer came out of his house, followed by some main leaders of the tribe. They walked to the center of the castle and climbed up a two-meter-high mound.The mass of natives formed a semicircle a few meters behind the mound.There was absolute silence. The Bonechewer made a gesture, and a warrior came towards Waller's. Don't forget my request!Lady Helene said to her husband. The knight hugged his wife to his chest.At this time, Mary also approached Menger.

My lord and lady would think, she said, that if a wife who does not want to endure humiliation can ask her husband to kill her with his own hands, surely a betrothed must demand the same from her betrothed, for the same purpose.John, at this moment of life and death, I can say, deep in your heart, haven't I been your fiancée for a long time?Can I, dear John, can I count on you as Lady Helene has on Sir? Mary!Meng Geer exclaimed ecstatically, ah!Dear Mary! Before he could finish his sentence, the straw curtain was lifted, and the captives were escorted to the bone eater.The two women had already determined their method of death, and they appeared to be very quiet, but the man's heart was pierced by a knife, but he still pretended to be very calm on the surface, showing that they had extraordinary perseverance.

They approached the New Zealand chief, who at once pronounced his sentence: You killed Karatet, didn't you?he said to Glenarvan. I killed him.Sir replied. Tomorrow, as soon as the sun goes up, you're going to die. I die alone?Sir asked, heart beating violently. Ah, if it weren't for the fact that our Tohonga's life is more precious than yours!cried the bone gnawer, with a vicious remorse shooting out of his eyes! At this moment, the crowd of natives suddenly stirred up, and Glenarvan took a quick look around.After a while, the crowd parted, and a soldier ran out, sweating profusely and exhausted.

As soon as the bone gnawer saw the soldier, he said to him in English, apparently to make the prisoners understand: Are you from the Baiaika camp? Yes.The soldier replied. Did you see that captive we Tohonga? Saw. is he still alive He was dead, and the British shot him! Tohunga had been shot, and so had the lives of Glenarvan and his companions! All must die!The bone gnawing demon yelled, all of you will die to me when the sun rises tomorrow! The sentence was thus passed, and all these unfortunates served their sentence together indiscriminately.Lady Helene and Mary looked at the sky, expressing infinite gratitude. The captives were not escorted back to Walledus.They are also supposed to attend the chief's funeral and the blood sacrifice that accompanies it on this day.A party of natives led them to the foot of a great kumar tree, and the watchman stayed with them, watching them constantly.The rest of the Maori fell into a kind of mourning, as if they had forgotten themselves. From the time of Karate's death, three days have passed since the dead body was not allowed to be moved according to the rules.The soul of the deceased must have left his sack.The funeral has begun. The corpse rested on a small mound in the center of the fort, dressed in a gorgeous shroud, wrapped in a beautiful straw mat, with feathers on its head and a ring of green leaves.The face, arms, and chest were all oiled, and there was no sign of decay. Relatives and friends all walked to the foot of the mound.Suddenly, as if a conductor was playing to the time of a mourning song, there was a symphony of weeping, howling and whimpering, resounding sonorously through the sky.Everyone wept for the dead with lamenting rhymes and heavy rhythms.The close relatives of the deceased beat their heads; the distant relatives scratched their faces, showing that they shed more blood than tears for the deceased.Those poor women showed this barbaric morality to the fullest.However, even such a scene is not enough to soothe the soul of the dead, and the anger of the dead has to find vent on the heads of the living in the tribe.His warriors felt that since they could not bring the dead back to life, they must try to make the dead not lack the pleasures of life in the underworld.Karatet's wife must not leave her husband alone in the grave.And the unfortunate woman herself did not want to live alone.This is a custom, but also a duty. This kind of martyrdom is common in the history of New Zealand. Karatet's wife enters the scene.She is still very young.Her hair was disheveled on her shoulders, and she wailed and choked up, and her wailing was loud.While weeping, she complained, her indistinct voice, lingering condolences, and intermittent sentences all praised the virtues of the deceased.At the height of her grief, she lay down at the foot of the mound and banged her head on the ground. At this time, the bone gnawer walked up to her.The poor girl got up again at once, and the chief waved the terrible big mallet in his hand, and knocked her down again. she died. Immediately there was another terrifying cry.Countless fists threatened Glenarvan and the others who were terrified.None of them dared to move, because the funeral was not over yet. Karate's wife met her husband Huang Quan.The two bodies lay side by side.But in that eternal life it is not enough for the dead to have a good wife for company.Who will serve them if their slaves do not die with them? The six poor slaves were again brought before the body of their master.Those were a few captives who had been enslaved according to the cruel laws of war.When the slave owners were alive, they suffered from cold, hunger, abuse, and never had enough to eat. What they did was the labor of animals. Now, according to the primitive religious habits of the Maori, they have to go to the underworld to continue this kind of work. The endless life of slavery. These poor wretches seemed content with their fate.They had expected to be buried long ago, so they were not frightened.Their hands were not tied, proving that they were buried willingly. Fortunately, this method of death was quick, which relieved them of long-term pain.Maori torture was only prepared for these European murderers.They were huddled together at a distance of twenty paces, their eyes turned away, afraid to look at this endless scene of horror. Six strong warriors held up six big mallets and beat down together, and all six victims fell in a pool of blood immediately.Then there was a signal, and the scene of cannibalism began. The corpses of slaves are not the same as those of masters. They are not forbidden by God, so they belong to all the people who fell.A kind of wine money distributed to mourners.So once the sacrifice was over, all the natives, leaders, soldiers, old people, women, and children, regardless of age or gender, threw themselves on the corpses of the six slaves like a maniac. Glenarvan and his traveling companions were breathless with terror, and tried to shield poor Helen and Mary from the horrific sight.At this time, they also realized what kind of death was waiting for them when the sun went up the mountain tomorrow, and they didn't know what kind of torture they would have to suffer before such a tragic death!They were so shocked that they couldn't even speak. Then, the funeral dance program began.A kind of strong wine made from the best peppers, which enhanced the drunkenness of those natives.They have no humanity left.Will they forget the chief's divine prohibition, and come to attack the stunned Glenarvan and the others?Fortunately, the bone gnawer kept his sobriety when everyone was drunk.He gave one hour for everyone to eat and drink to their heart's content. After they had had their fill of human flesh, they continued with the customary ceremony for the last scene of the pilgrimage. The corpses of the Karatets were lifted up, according to the New Zealand custom, with their hands and feet bent over their stomachs.Now it's time to bury it, not forever like this, but until the earth has rotted away the skin and flesh and only the bones are left. The location of the cemetery is chosen on the top of a hill three kilometers away from the fort. This hill is called Mengganam Mountain, which is on the right bank of the lake. The body will be carried there.Someone carried two very primitive sedan chairs, which were two soft sedan chairs, and were placed at the foot of the mound.The corpses were curled up and supported by rattan hoops, and their hands and feet were placed on the soft sedan chair.The four warriors hoisted the sedan chair onto their shoulders, and those who had fallen all wailed mournful songs, and formed a line to follow the sedan chair to the cemetery. Glenarvan and the others were watched all the time, watching the funeral procession leave the outer city of the castle, and then the singing and crying gradually died down. For half an hour the mourners disappeared into the depths of the valley, out of sight.Then I saw them coming out again, wriggling on the mountain road.From a distance, this long and winding team fell to the ground together, like a line of ghosts. All those who descended stopped at a height of 250 meters, that is to say, at the place prepared in advance for the burial of Karatet on the top of Montganamutong. An ordinary Maori grave is just a pit and a pile of stones.But a powerful chief must become a god in the future, and the people of this tribe built a large tomb commensurate with his reputation and status during his lifetime. There is a fence around the cemetery, and there are many stakes beside the tomb, with figures carved on the stakes and painted bright red.The relatives of the deceased did not forget that the soul of the deceased was the same as before, and wanted to eat, so a lot of food was placed in the tomb, together with the weapons and clothes of the deceased. All the things to enjoy in the tomb were arranged, so the corpses were lowered down and lay side by side.Then, after crying for a while, he buried the body with earth and grass. At this point, the funeral procession went down the mountain in silence.From now on, no one can go up to this mountain anymore. Anyone who goes up will die, because it is forbidden by God, just like Mount Garilo, there is also a chief buried there, in 1846 was crushed to death during the earthquake.