“Move quickly women, wash the body and drape it in new clothes, the cremation proceedings will begin soon,” commanded the old head mourner. In Madera, the wailers were a group of tribal women whose traditional occupation involved bathing and dressing the mortal remains of the departed soul. They would also wail loudly and beat their chests as the body burned on the pyre. The wailers covered their body in black soot before washing the body as they believed it warded off evil spirits hovering about. Presently, one of the wailers wept silently as she bathed the body and saw the stab wounds that had killed her mother. Sambhu Asan had asked Makaran’s wife to take Kanchi to the wailers and explain her situation and they had wholeheartedly complied with her wishes. It was impossible to recognize her behind all the black soot that covered her entire face and body. “Go bring the new clothes to adorn the body,” said the head mourner to the disguised Kanchi. Kanchi retreated to her m
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