To obtain any further information on this subject is extremely difficult, and, as in other races, each man and woman has a different idea of the future state, some of which are particularly quaint. The Solomon islander’s idea of a heavenly condition would be anything but heavenly to us, in fact some of our worst ideas of the other place would pale before their crude notions of heaven. Another fancy they all seem to hold is that the spirits of the departed return to earth, some as fireflies, and some as birds, etc. They all {126} believe that the Supreme Spirit is the embodiment of good, and yet in the same breath they will tell you that He becomes angry and needs that His anger should be appeased either by incantations or the sacrifice of human beings. On the death of a chief, a great personage, male or female, universal mourning is adopted, accompanied by feasting, which they believe helps the spirit on its journey to the better land—for all great people and chiefs go there direct, a fact about which they seem to deplore, as they will talk of the departed one as the “poor chief.” The names of the dead are held in great reverence, and in some islands they are never mentioned except under the breath, or in the greatest secrecy. Funeral rites differ a good deal on the various islands, but the most common ones constitute a feast which is celebrated when a powerful personage dies. Directly the news of his death is announced the natives of his tribe set about procuring a supply of food, and calling together all the natives, and then they commence the feast, which is followed by a dance and the last rites peculiar to these islands. [Illustration 43: A SHRINE OR TOMB OF A CHIEF, AT SIMBO, SOLOMON ISLANDS] Most of the ceremonies take place round the house of the departed one, who is laid out and covered with leaves; subsequently his head is cut off {127} and prepared in the approved style, which is either by placing it in the bush near an ant-hill until all the flesh is eaten off, or skinning it and afterwards scraping it. This last horrible act is enjoyed by the lucky native who is chosen to do it. After this the skull is bleached to a perfect whiteness and adorned with rings, which represent the chief’s worldly possessions, and are bound to the skull by a kind of flax. Thus prepared the head is placed in a head house.