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 must get back into relation, vivid and nourishing relation to the cosmos and the universe. The way is through daily ritual, and is an affair of the individual and the household, a ritual of dawn and noon and sunset, the ritual of the kindling fire and pouring water, the ritual of the first breath, and the last.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)