(h) A kafkati, or knife, called on ordinary occasions kudrval.
(i) A masth, the axe used to kill the buffaloes on the previous day, called on this occasion îrkîpmasth.
(j) A miturkwadr, the palm-leaf umbrella, so called because procured from Mitur in the Wainad.
(k) A kudshmurn, a special kind of sieve made by the Kotas and not used in ordinary life.
At the funeral of a woman boxes called pettei or miturpettei are burnt instead of the wak. These are small boxes made of rattan, covered with cloth and adorned with cowries. There are also burnt the three objects especially connected with women, the pounder (wask), sieve (murn), and broom (kip), but the pounder is only burnt after the following ceremony has taken place.
As soon as the things have been placed on the fire, there follows the ceremony[8] called îrsankâti. At the funeral of a male, the matchuni, or cousin, of the dead man puts on the woman’s ornaments known as tagars, keiveli, and pulthi, and stands at the opening in the circle of stones with his right arm outside his cloak (kevenarut). He is joined there by the man who has lighted the fire, and they cry together, both standing at the entrance of the azaram, where they [[382]]remain till the fire is extinguished. Owing to the fact that the fire is lighted by a man of the same clan as the deceased, the two men who cry together will also be matchuni—thus, at the funeral of Karspisti (12), the fire was lighted by his half-brother Karzo. Pakhwar (16), who performed the irsankati ceremony, was the matchuni of both Karzo and Karspisti, being the son of the brother of Tedjveli, the mother of Karzo and stepmother of Karspisti.
At the funeral of a female, the woman who stands at the entrance should also be a matchuni of the deceased. She is decorated with ornaments, in this case proper to her own sex, and she stands at the entrance of the azaram holding the pounder. She is joined by a woman closely related to the deceased and the two women cry together. After crying together for a while, they go round the circle and then put the pounder on the fire, after which they take off their ornaments.
At the funeral of Narskuti (56 and 63), Mutkadrk (56 and 72) stood in front of the circle holding the pounder, and was joined by Munat, the daughter of the dead woman.
At the funeral of Tersveli (52 and 63), Edjog (56) stood at the entrance; she was the matchuni of the dead woman, being the daughter of Tüliners, the brother of Tersveli’s mother. She was joined by Teimidz (52), the sister of the dead woman’s husbands.
The fire is now extinguished by pouring on water (kêdr tüt ârs kudrchi). Some of the food put into the pocket of the putkuli and in the various vessels may now be taken out[9] and given to the Kotas, who up to this time have been playing the special funeral tunes called sagerthkwelv.