The people of Poso [says Schrieke] used to take the bodies of their dead out of their coffins several months after burial, clean the bones, and replace them. For reasons of health the authorities decided that this must cease. They were allowed to celebrate the Feast of the Dead which accompanied the cleaning of the bones, but they were not allowed to remove the bodies from the coffins. The authorities did not realize that in doing this they were banning the essential feature of the Feast of the Dead and the ancestral worship. The people believed that as long as the dead stank, they were not allowed to enter the Death City. This was why the bones were cleaned, after which the pure soul was carried to the Death City to the accompaniment of the chants of the priests. What was the use of all these ceremonies, if the soul was to remain "unclean," because they were not allowed to clean the bones.²

²Schrieke, B.n/an/an/an/an/a, , 5–6 (Batavia: G. Kolff & Co.).