When one of the Betsileo dies oxen are killed and certain initiatory
ceremonies are performed. The corpse is placed in a long box, and
for a period of two days the relations utter plaintive cries and dole-
some lamentations, while conch trumpets are blown, drums are beaten
and other musical performances take place. On the third day the
inflated body is removed from the coffin, and is rolled upon planks
to render the putrifying flesh soft and pulpy. On the fourth day the
corpse is placed in an upright position leaning against the beam of
the house for support; and an incision being made in the heel of
each foot, the putrid liquid which oozes out, is collected in large
earthen pots. After the putrifactive process is completed, and most
of the fleshy matter has been liquified and discharged, the skeleton
covered by the skin is strapped to the beam with strips cut of the
hides of the slaughtered oxen, and here it remains for an indefinite
period of time. The Betsimisaraka and the Benzano-zano never bury
their dead, but enclose them in a wooden coffin made of a hollowed
out tree trunk, which they either expose on the top of a mound of
earth or place it on a rude kind of trestle firmly fixed in the ground.
308 OCEANO-MELANESIANS.
