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The Widows Approach the Chief

The wives of the soldiers who have fallen in battle or died of disease assemble before the chief on a certain day. They approach him with loud demonstrations of sorrow. They squat on their heels, hiding their faces in their hands. They beg him to avenge the death of their husbands, to provide for them during their widowhood, and to give them permission to remarry at the end of the period appointed for mourning.

After the chief agress to their requests, the widows return to their homes, crying and lamenting in loud tones to show how much they loved their husbands. When they have mourned in this way for days, they carry the weapons and drinking cups of their dead to the burying grounds.

Monday, 15-May-95 14:17:42 PDT