The grave is not dug nor marked out at all, till the funeral party arrive. On their arrival the body is laid down on the ground under the shade of a large tree, and the grave-digging begins. As hoes are the implements used, the process takes a long time. It often begins about noon, and is not concluded till night. No one enters the grave except the undertakers. After a sufficient depth has been reached they bring forward the body to measure whether the size and shape of the grave will exactly suit. After this measuring is completed the body is again laid aside out of the hot rays of the sun. By and by other men are at work with an axe cutting pieces of trees to form a kind of palisade round the inside of the grave. The shaping of these sticks takes a long time. The structure when finished resembles the piling used to keep the banks of a river from falling in or being washed away. It forms the sides of a strong wooden house which is erected over the body. When these posts have been securely fixed two forked sticks are driven into the ground, one at each end of the grave. The body is then lowered, and the forked sticks receive the projecting parts of the bamboo that carried it to the grave. The body when lowered is suspended between these forked sticks, and remains hanging without touching the ground. Other logs are put above so as to form the roof of this strong wooden house, and afterwards the earth is filled in; only before filling it in they have certain articles to bury with the deceased. The wooden house is for the purpose of keeping away the witch who caused the death, and who now wishes to eat the flesh of her victim. It serves to keep away carrion eaters of all kinds, for the witch may assume the shape of a hyena. 39.—OFFERINGS AT THE GRAVE. Along with the deceased is buried a considerable part of his property. We have already seen that his bed is buried with him, so also are all his clothes. If he possesses several tusks of ivory one tusk or more is ground (siaga) to a powder between two stones and put beside him. Beads are also ground down in the same way. These precautions are taken to prevent the witch from making any use of the ivory or beads. If the deceased owned several slaves an enormous hole is dug for a grave. The slaves that were caught immediately on his death are now brought forward. They may be either cast into the pit alive, or the undertakers may cut all their throats. The body of their master or their mistress is then laid down to rest above theirs, and the grave is covered in. After this the women come forward with the offerings of food, and place at the head of the grave. The dishes in which the food was brought are left behind. The pot that held the drinking water of the deceased and his drinking cup are also left with him. These, too, might be coveted by the witch, but a hole is pierced in the pot, and the drinking calabash is broken.