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386
THE LÎ ki.
BK. XXXIV.
that of one wearing the sackcloth for a mother is now and then broken; in the mourning of nine months, after the first burst there are three quavers in it, and then it seems to die away; in the mourning of five and three months, an ordinary wailing is sufficient.
These are the manifestations of sorrow in the modulations of the voice .
3. When wearing the sackcloth for a father, one indicates that he hears what is said to him, but does not reply in words; when wearing that for a mother, he replies, but does not speak of anything else. During the nine months' mourning, he may speak of other things, but not discuss them; during that for five months or three months, he may discuss other things, but does not show pleasure in doing so.
These are the manifestations of sorrow in speech.
4. When a mourner has assumed the sackcloth for a father, for three days he abstains from food; for a mother, for two days. When he has commenced the nine months' mourning, he abstains from three meals; in that of five months or of three, for two. When an ordinary officer takes part in the dressing (of a friend's corpse), he abstains from one meal. Hence at the mourning rites for a father or mother, when the coffining takes place, the children) take gruel made of a handful of rice in the morning, and the same quantity in the evening. During all the rites for a mother, they eat coarse rice and drink only water, not touching vegetables or fruits. During the nine months' mourning (the mourners) do not eat pickles or sauces; during that of five months or three, they do not drink prepared liquor, either new or old.
I have read something of the same kind as this account of the wailing' in descriptions of the 'keening' at an Irish wake.
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