Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 51 The Chief's Funeral

What is "God Forbidden"?Why did the bone gnawing demon keep shouting "God Forbidden"?

This bone gnawer is a tribal chief and also "Aliji". He has all the authority of the master of worshiping gods, and he can protect people or things by virtue of "divine prohibition".

Among the aborigines of various ethnic groups in Polynesia, there is a custom that everyone must avoid people and things that are "forbidden by God".

There is such a regulation in the Maori canon: if anyone breaks the "God's Forbidden" command, then whoever will be executed by God.Of course, at some point, it was the masters of worship who helped the gods put those criminals to death.

Among the Maori people, there is a fixed time and occasion for "God Forbidden".In addition, the tribal leader also has the power to declare.

A Maori will experience several days of "divine prohibition" in a year.For example: hair cutting, tattooing, shipbuilding, house building, illness, death, etc. are all "forbidden by God".There are also other situations, such as: to protect fish fry in the river, sweet taro in the field, etc., these can also use "God Forbidden".

And the chief can "forbid" his house to avoid being disturbed by others; or he can "forbid" a certain merchant ship to prevent it from getting in touch with others; sometimes, he can even "forbid" What about the European merchants who offended him?

If a certain item is "forbidden by God", then no one can touch it again, otherwise they will be severely punished.If a certain person is "forbidden by God", he must not eat; however, after the fasting period, his hands cannot touch food casually.If he is rich, then he can let the slaves feed him; on the contrary, if he is poor, then he has to eat with his mouth - not much different from animals. The customs and habits of "God Forbidden" abound in the lives of New Zealanders, from big to small, from rough to fine, almost all-encompassing.The rules of God's power bind the entire society and have powerful legal orders.And it allows every Maori to obey unconditionally.At that critical moment of life and death, the bone gnawer shouted the command of "God's Forbidden", and the guards immediately "turned enemies into friends" and protected the Europeans who were about to be killed.

However, Glenarvan knew very well in his heart that even though he was "forbidden by God" and no one dared to touch him, he still had to die in the end, because he killed a chieftain just now.

As soon as he thought of death, he immediately imagined the scene of being hacked into pieces in his mind.If the Maori want to kill you, they will never let you die easily. They want to play with a cat and a mouse, slowly torturing, humiliating, and consuming you forever!
Glenarvan thought in his heart that he had made all the psychological preparations.He has no hope now, the only thing he hopes is that he can do things alone; don't blame others, don't let that bone-gnawing monster take his anger out on his companions!

It seemed that this was the eve of death.Everyone is in pain at this moment, not because of the anxiety of life and death, but because of the uncontrollable and worrying about the impending parting of life and death.Could it be that everyone can't even die together!We can't die together!
Where would Robert and Paganel be now?They are likely to have become the ghosts of the Maori swords now!Is there still a way to survive in such a ghost place?

In this regard, the major really thought so: there is no game!Mary, on the other hand, was deeply saddened by her younger brother's disappearance. The love of her brother and brother made her heart and mind full of sorrow.Seeing Mary like this, John was almost mad with distress.As for Glenarvan, whenever he thought of his wife asking him to kill him first, he would feel sore. He had the courage to kill the chief, but he didn't have the courage to kill himself, let alone his beloved wife!
"Where do I have the courage to kill my beloved Mary with my own hands?" John was also having a fierce ideological struggle at this moment, and his heart had already been broken.

Didn't they ever think about escaping from this cottage?Whoever said that he hadn't thought about it, but it was also in vain. There are 110 burly men with weapons in their hands, and their eyes are fixed on the door. It's hard to fly even if you have wings!In this way, until the morning of February 2th.During this period.Not a single Maori came to make trouble, because this is the time of "God Forbidden".Although there was something to fill the stomach in the temple, none of them took it.People who are in grief have long forgotten their hunger, and they have not eaten a drop of water for a whole day and night.

Loneliness hangs over the temple.According to this situation, it is very likely that the funeral of the chieftain and the execution of the murderer were held at the same time.Glenarvan stubbornly believed that the bone gnawer would no longer exchange them for any master.The major's opinion is just the opposite; yes, for now, after all, that is the hope of survival! "Maybe it's about it!" The major reminded Glenarvan all the time to think carefully about the expression that the bone gnawer showed when he saw Karatet was shot to death just now, "Maybe he also has to thank you for your help." He executed a rival who was competing with him!"

However, the Jazz are still calm.The next day passed like this.Why didn't the Maori come quickly to execute the murderer?There is a saying among the Maori people: if a person dies, the soul will not leave within three days; so the burial of the dead has to wait until three days later. February 3.The cottage is empty.

John stepped on Wilson's shoulder, quietly observing the movement and all the scenes outside.

Inexplicably, the entire cottage was silent.Only the soldiers outside the temple gate stood guard with guns.

Later, the bone gnawer finally walked out of the house.Some other chiefs followed behind him.

They walked to the very center of the cottage one after another, and boarded a large mound several feet high.

All the Maori followed closely, forming a semicircle a few meters behind the mound.Although there were so many people, there was no sound in the entire venue at the moment.I saw the bone gnawing demon waved his hand lightly, and then a soldier came towards the temple. "Don't forget my last request!" Mrs. Helen said to her husband fearfully.

Glenarvan held his wife tightly in his arms; could it be that the time for life and death has come?

Mary also walked up to John at this moment: "In the minds of Sir and Madam, a wife can ask her husband to kill her. In the same way, a fiancée can also ask her fiancé to do the same thing .John, the matter has come to this point, I can confess my heart, in my heart, I have already regarded you as my fiancé! Can I, my dear John, I can tell you the same request? "

"Mary!" The young captain actually jumped up and down excitedly, "Oh, my dearest Mary!..."

Before she could finish speaking, the door of the temple opened.All of them were brought to the front of the bone gnawer again.These two weak women have already made up their minds, so now they have a look of death.However, the two gentlemen felt as if their hearts were twisted at this moment, and they were in pain.However, in front of the Maori, the two of them showed no flaws at all, showing awe-inspiring and unyielding demeanor with amazing perseverance.I saw them all standing there firmly, poised.The chief said: "It's you, kill Carla!" He squinted at Glenarvan. "It's me!" Jazz showed righteousness. "Tomorrow, as soon as the sun rises, you will die immediately!" This is the sentence.

"I die alone?" Glenarvan's tone was very sonorous, but his heart was still trembling.

"Hey—hey! If it wasn't for the fact that the life of our 'Tuohonga' is worth more than yours, hum!..." The bone-gnawing golem howled wildly like a wolf, with annoyed anger in its eyes.

At this moment, commotion began in the ranks of the Maori people.Glenarvan scanned the audience quickly with piercing eyes.I saw a Maori warrior running out from the crowd, sweating profusely, panting and out of breath.The bone gnawer immediately asked the soldier—he spoke English, as if intending to let all the prisoners present hear clearly: "Are you sure you came from the European position?" "Yes!" The soldier replied. "Then have you seen our 'Tohonga'?" "Yes."

"Live?"

"He's dead, those british guys killed him!" Obviously, hearing what they said, Glenarvan's life was even hopeless. "Let them all die!" the bone chewer gritted his teeth and cursed, "Damn it! You all die to me as soon as the sun rises tomorrow!" This was the final verdict.Yes, everyone is going to die together!For Mrs. Helen and Mary, this turned out to be a kind of extravagant gratification.They were forced to attend the chief's funeral.

First, a large group of Maori came and escorted 8 of them under a big "kudi" tree.The guards stared at them closely, hardly even turning their eyeballs, as if they were afraid that they would run away.

All the Maori on the field fell silent, and the mourning began.

Karate has been dead for 3 full days.His body rested on that mound.The luxurious and luxurious funeral gown was wrapped with a layer of delicately woven and beautiful straw mats.There are feathers and green leaves on the head.The face, arms and chest had been oiled so that none of the dead color showed through.

His relatives came to the side of the mound.In an instant, there was a burst of crying and howling. The people in the audience almost unanimously released all the bitter crying that had been suppressed for a long time without any discussion in advance.

The cries rolled out layer by layer, and could even shake the entire cottage.

I saw that the chief's close relatives were all beating his head hard, while the distant relatives had already scratched his cheeks.So the blood and tears mixed together and flowed all over his body.On the surface, their attitudes are extremely pious, and their actions are extremely sincere.Yes, they are to better settle the soul of the dead, and at the same time prevent it from torturing the people of their own clan.

The chief's warriors all thought that the chief's wife should be buried with him; and his wife thought so too, and she didn't want to live alone.In New Zealand, there are many examples of this kind of martyrdom, both customs and customs, but also the moral meaning of conscientiousness.So Karatet's wife appeared.She looks very young, and she is not ugly.Her hair flew in a mess and howled loudly, as if she had no soul in her whole body.

In her sad, lingering and resentful voice, there are both cries and narrations, of course, most of the content is about the deceased himself.

I saw her crouching beside the mound in pain, hitting the mound with her head fiercely.

At that moment, the bone gnawing demon held a "wooden beater" - a kind of big wooden stick, and walked straight to her.

She seemed to be struggling to get up again with all her strength.But the bone gnawing demon picked up the wooden beater and hit her.

She just died.

There were bursts of shouting and cursing in the audience, and at the same time, all the people waved their fists at the prisoner under the tree, as if they wanted to release the blood debt and the anger that would be paid with blood.

The funeral is still going on.The two dead bodies lay side by side.

However, it is not enough for the chief to only have his wife as his companion in the underworld. He also needs slaves to serve him.

Thus, six slaves were brought over.What poor wretches!They were treated as cows and horses, and lived a life of hunger and cold, and they still had to suffer in the same way after death!Is it a deliberate trick of fate, or their willing choice?In fact, death is just a kind of relief for their lives, and it's over.Where have those Europeans under the tree seen such a "big" scene?None of them dared to raise their faces and open their eyes.

I saw those 6 strong soldiers holding 6 big "wooden beaters", and with one swing, 6 humble lives were buried like this.

Then came the appalling cannibalism.How can the corpses of slaves be compared with those of the chiefs, and of course they cannot be "forbidden by God", so their meat is just used to roast as an appetizer for mourners.I saw that all the people were scrambling to rush to the six slaves, and the scene of grabbing meat began.Glenarvan and the others are holding their breath at this moment.Especially these two ladies have almost reached the limit of their patience.

Yes, tomorrow is tomorrow.In the morning, when the sun comes out, they too will be doomed one by one!And, before dying, you have to suffer a lot of pain... After that, there is dancing.Crazy crowd, followed by crazy shaking.It is a spirit brewed from "extreme peppers" - almost pepper essence - which has anesthetized the blood and nerves of the Maori, making them completely out of control of their humanity, which can be called a wild dance of demons.

In this situation, and in this situation, can they still remember the "God's Forbidden" at this moment?Maybe they rushed over and gnawed these Europeans alive.

Fortunately, the bone gnawer was not drunk.He gave everyone a quarter of an hour to continue with the last ritual of the funeral after they were full of wine and food.

The bodies of Karatet and his wife were lifted up.Then someone came over and bent all the hands and feet of the dead to the belly-this is also the custom of their funerals.Now it's about to go into the ground.

Will the body be buried in the soil forever like this?Of course not, as long as the soil rots the skin and flesh, the bones can be seen again.

The cemetery - called "Wudouba" stands on a small hill 2 miles from the cottage.

The hill is called Mengganamu, and it is located on the right bank of Lake Dobo.

It was two very old sedan chairs, which looked a bit like chair lifts, and the two dead bodies were carried up.

The dead body was curled up on the sedan chair, looking weird.The four soldiers lifted the sedan chair and moved forward.Followed by the people of the tribe mournfully mourning the funeral.All the captives under the tree gasped when they saw this scene.All the people at the funeral left the cottage, and the cries and songs that followed also left the cottage.After half an hour.

The mourners were completely lost in the valley.After a while.On a mountain a little farther away, the funeral procession reappeared.Twisting and moving slowly.

Mt. Mengganam is 8 feet high and on the top of the mountain is built the great tomb of Karatet.

In the Maori tradition, the burial of ordinary dead is very simple, just dig a pit and pile some stones.But the chief of the tribe must build a luxurious cemetery.

The outside of the cemetery is surrounded by a fence, and many wooden stakes are buried inside the fence. The wooden stakes have been dyed red by ochre, and there are some carvings on them.In order to prevent the dead from starving and freezing in the underworld, a lot of food, clothing, weapons and other things will be placed in the tomb.

The bodies of the Karatet couple lay side by side in the tomb, and the crying sounded again.

Grass and dirt fell on the corpses.The undertakers had begun to walk back.Since then, Mengganamu Mountain has also been "forbidden by God", so no one dares to cross the "Thunder Pond" half a step.

(End of this chapter)