It is true, I was afterwards informed that this grief is mostly merely assumed, since custom requires that the chief mourner shall be, or pretend to be, weak and ill with sorrow.
On arriving at the grave, which was seven feet deep, and dug on the declivity of a hill, they laid the pall, flowers, and rice on one side, and then, after throwing in a vast quantity of gold and silver paper, lowered the coffin, which I then for the first time perceived was of the finest workmanship, lacquered and hermetically closed.
At least half an hour was taken up by this part of the proceedings.
The relations at first threw themselves on the ground, and, covering their faces, howled horribly, but finding the burial lasted rather long, sat down in a circle all round, and taking their little baskets of betel, burnt mussel-shells, and areca-nuts, began chewing away with the greatest composure.
After the coffin was lowered into the grave, one of the attendants advanced to the upper part of it, and opened the small packet of rice, on which he placed a sort of compass.

A cord was then handed to him.

He placed it over the middle of the compass, and altered its position until it lay exactly in the same direction as the needle.

A second cord, with a plummet attached, was then held to the first and let down into the grave, and the coffin moved backwards and forwards according to this line, until the middle was in the same direction as the needle: this arrangement consumed at least another quarter of an hour.
After this, the coffin was covered over with numberless sheets of white paper, and the person who had conducted the previous operation made a short speech, during which the children of the deceased threw themselves upon the ground.

When it was finished, the speaker threw a few handfuls of rice over the coffin and to the children, who held up the corner of their outer garments so as to catch as many of the grains as possible; but as they only succeeded in obtaining a few, the speaker gave about a handful more, which they tied up carefully in the corner of their dress, and took away with them.
The grave was at last filled in, when the relations set up a most dismal howl, but, as far as I could remark, every eye was dry.
After this, boiled fowls, ducks, pork, fruit, all kinds of pastry, and a dozen cups full of tea, together with the tea-pot, were placed in two rows upon the grave, and six painted wax tapers lighted and stuck in the ground near the refreshments.