A CHINESE FUNERAL.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2323, 27 August 1880, Page 3

A CHINESE FUNERAL.

The burial of Ah Song, the Chinese gardener, who was killed by the upsetting of his vegetable cart, took place to-day, and attracted a crowd of between 200 and 300 persons to the cemetery. Prior to the departure of the funeral procession from Saltwater Creek, a Chinese wake of a most interesting character was held, the deceased having his mouth and nostrils stuffed with spices, while his lamenting countiymcn distributed brancty, opium, and other luxuries with a prodigality that knew no bounds. In the meantime neatl} r printed funeral invitations were sent reund to the European population, and punctually at one o’clock, the “dead inarch in Confucious ” took place. As the almond-eyed mourners marched with solemn tread along the dusty road, considerable interest was displayed in their behaviour. One of the foremost had a quantity of slips of rice paper, which he distributed one by one over his shoulder. At the grave a number of sixpences were thing down the shaft prior to the lowering of the coffin, which was rendered weighty by the delicacies in which the body was packed. The soil filled in a quantity of tapers were arranged in a circle, stuck in the new earth and lighted. In the centre, a number of large sheets of painted and gilded paper was made into a bonfire, and over this brandy was poured in considerable quantities. Finally a piece of wood with an inscription in Chinese characters was inserted at the end of the mound, and the crowd dispersed.