Ritual Cremation
The Cahuilla response to death was a six night affair intended to mark the passing of a member of the community and put an end to grief. The Cahuilla seem to have had a practical view of death that included it as a necessary component of their world. It was held annually during the winter months, and its date fluctuated according to supplies and internal factors.
Commonly, these rites took place in a large structure called the kis-amnawut (roughly translated as house power-great)). It should also be noted that the ritual for the dead was interwoven with other aspects of Cahuilla life; it wasn't until the fourth day of the mourning ritual, for example, that infants of the tribe would be publicly named.
Read more about this topic: Cahuilla Mythology
Famous quotes containing the word ritual:
“We have long forgotten the ritual by which the house of our life was erected. But when it is under assault and enemy bombs are already taking their toll, what enervated, perverse antiquities do they not lay bare in the foundations.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)