services; but in that case no sooner has he got home than he puts the
jewels in the henhouse. If the hens remain quiet, it is a good omen
and he can keep the trinkets with an easy mind; but if the fowl
flutter and cackle, it is a sign that the ghost is sticking to the
jewels, and in a fright he restores them to the family. The old man or
old woman into whose hands the trinkets of the dead woman thus
sometimes fall cannot dispose of them to other members of the tribe;
for nobody who knows where the things come from would be so rash as to
buy them. However, they may find purchasers among the Shans or the
Chinese, who do not fear Kachin ghosts.[136.1]
[Sidenote: Precautions taken in the Indian Archipelago against the
ghosts of women who die in childbed.] The ghosts of women who die in
childbed are much dreaded in the Indian Archipelago; it is supposed
that they appear in the form of birds with long claws and are
exceedingly dangerous to their husbands and also to pregnant women. A
common way of guarding against them is to put an egg under each armpit
of the corpse, to press the arms close against the body, and to stick
needles in the palms of the hands. The people believe that the ghost
of the dead woman will be unable to fly and attack people; for she
will not spread out her arms for fear of letting the eggs fall, and
she will not clutch anybody for fear of driving the needles deeper
into her palms. Sometimes by way of additional precaution another egg
is placed under her chin, thorns are thrust into the joints of her
fingers and toes, her mouth is stopped with ashes, and her hands,
feet, and hair are nailed to the coffin.[136.2] [Sidenote: Attempts
to lame and otherwise disable ghosts.] Some Sea Dyaks of Borneo sow
the ground {137} near cemeteries with bits of sticks to imitate
caltrops, in order that the feet of any ghosts who walk over them may
be lamed.[137.1] The Besisi of the Malay Peninsula bury their dead in
the ground and let fall knives on the grave to prevent the ghost from
getting up out of it.[137.2] The Tunguses of Turukhansk on the
contrary put their dead up in trees, and then lop off all the branches
to prevent the ghost from scrambling down and giving them
chase.[137.3] The Herbert River natives in Queensland used to cut
holes in the stomach, shoulders, and lungs of their dead and fill the
holes with stones, in order that, weighed down with this ballast, the
ghost might not stray far afield; to limit his range still further
they commonly broke his legs.[137.4] Other Australian blacks put hot
coals in the ears of their departed brother; this keeps the ghost in
the body for a time, and allows the relations to get a good start away
from him. Also they bark the trees in a circle round the spot, so that
when the ghost does get out and makes after them, he wanders round and
round in a circle, always returning to the place from which he
started.[137.5] The ancient Hindoos put fetters on the feet of their
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