Burials!

The procession moved slowly forward until it reached the open graves. Each body was supported by three men, one at each shoulder and one carrying the feet. The pomp and ceremony that had marked traditional burials in the old world was gone but there was an increased feeling of dignity which surprised her.

Perhaps because their hands made direct contact with the body, rather than a wooden casket in which it was housed, the men were softer in their approach and more tender with their charges.

Using ropes strung over the open holes, the bodies were lowered one at a time into the receiving earth.