Post by NZBC on Aug 10, 2011 20:45:32 GMT 12
CHINESE BURIAL.
After "waking" Mow Tai for four days, Sun War On and his fellow-countrymen came to the conclusion that the overdose of opium had done its work effectually. The remains of Mow Tai were wrapped up in the fineßt of linen and silk, and instructions issued to Mr Geddes to furnish a hearse with nodding black plumes and a mourning coach lined with drab silk, so that the departed Celestial might be conveyed with all due ceremony to his last resting-place in the Southern cemetery. The hearse and mourn' ing coach, accompanied by a couple of cabs and an express waggon, drew up in front of Sun War On's establishment in Princes street on Thursday, 27th ult., and were soon surrounded by a crowd of curious sight-seers. The express waggon was first filled with Mon Tai's old clothes, a rough stretcher, and some baskets, containing a large quantity of paper, candles, biscuits, bottles of arrack, and a duck roasted whole. Four Chinese then brought out the corpse in a coffin, constructed after European fashion, and painted black, which was placed in the hearse. A plain bit of board, on which was written in Chinese characters the deceased's epitaph, was placed alongside the coffin in such a position that it might be read (by those who were able to read it) through the glass side 3of the hearse. About a d»zen Celestials, with white mourning bands round their hats, stepped into the coach and cabs, and the cortege moved at a solemn pace towards the Cemetery. On arriving there, the coffin was deposited in a grave at some distance from the spot where a number of Chinese are already buried, and all the deceased's wearing apparel, bedding, &c, with a new pair of Wellington boots, were tumbled od top of the coffin', and, along with the white mourning bands, were covered up with earth. A mat was placed at the foot of the grave, and the roast duck, arrack, and some confectionary were spread as if for a feast. Mow Tai's fellow-countrymen and mourners then performed some devotional exercises, going one by one to the foot of the grave, clasping their hands, and bowing two or three times. Each one sprinkled the grave with arrack. A large heap of paper and a number _ of small wax candles were set on fire, and a businesslike Chinese, who appeared to act as Master of Ceremonies, scattered a quantity of sweetmeats broadcast among a crowd of squalling larrikins, who paid little respect to the home of the dead. Thus ended the funeral obsequies of Mow Tai. Otago Witness , Issue 1149, 6 December 1873, Page 4
After "waking" Mow Tai for four days, Sun War On and his fellow-countrymen came to the conclusion that the overdose of opium had done its work effectually. The remains of Mow Tai were wrapped up in the fineßt of linen and silk, and instructions issued to Mr Geddes to furnish a hearse with nodding black plumes and a mourning coach lined with drab silk, so that the departed Celestial might be conveyed with all due ceremony to his last resting-place in the Southern cemetery. The hearse and mourn' ing coach, accompanied by a couple of cabs and an express waggon, drew up in front of Sun War On's establishment in Princes street on Thursday, 27th ult., and were soon surrounded by a crowd of curious sight-seers. The express waggon was first filled with Mon Tai's old clothes, a rough stretcher, and some baskets, containing a large quantity of paper, candles, biscuits, bottles of arrack, and a duck roasted whole. Four Chinese then brought out the corpse in a coffin, constructed after European fashion, and painted black, which was placed in the hearse. A plain bit of board, on which was written in Chinese characters the deceased's epitaph, was placed alongside the coffin in such a position that it might be read (by those who were able to read it) through the glass side 3of the hearse. About a d»zen Celestials, with white mourning bands round their hats, stepped into the coach and cabs, and the cortege moved at a solemn pace towards the Cemetery. On arriving there, the coffin was deposited in a grave at some distance from the spot where a number of Chinese are already buried, and all the deceased's wearing apparel, bedding, &c, with a new pair of Wellington boots, were tumbled od top of the coffin', and, along with the white mourning bands, were covered up with earth. A mat was placed at the foot of the grave, and the roast duck, arrack, and some confectionary were spread as if for a feast. Mow Tai's fellow-countrymen and mourners then performed some devotional exercises, going one by one to the foot of the grave, clasping their hands, and bowing two or three times. Each one sprinkled the grave with arrack. A large heap of paper and a number _ of small wax candles were set on fire, and a businesslike Chinese, who appeared to act as Master of Ceremonies, scattered a quantity of sweetmeats broadcast among a crowd of squalling larrikins, who paid little respect to the home of the dead. Thus ended the funeral obsequies of Mow Tai. Otago Witness , Issue 1149, 6 December 1873, Page 4