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Death and Buriall. 127
"Selves against the hauntings and affrightments of DemcnS, this if they
" do, no ghofts afterwards appear ; if they negleft to do it, they are
perpetually interrupted and infested with the apparitions of their too
offi-"cious kindred. They are So far from burying the corps under the hearth
that they rather remove them to as great a diftanceas they can, But it is a
Singular and memorable palfage, that theSe especially who are lefs
obfer-v.tnt of Christian rites,do ufe to bury with their deceaSed first an hatchet,
and next a flint and steel, of which ceremony they give this account, that
if rhey ever come to rife againe in that darkneSs they Shall have great need
of Springing a light; to which the flint and steel may help them , as
likewise there will be occasion Sor a ready way, wherein they may travel! to
Heaven, to which purpofe their hatchet m.iy stand them inftead , them
efpecially that are buried among thick Woods , that iSany Trees obftruft
their paSTage, they may cut them down. And this do they themSelves at
this day affirm, now they have heard of a laftday, and a Refurretftion of
the dead. But I fuppcfe it rather to be an ancient fuperflition remaining
still in thefe Countries, nor ufed only by the Laplanders. I my Self faw
fome few miles diftant from Vpfal, raked out of the Sepulcherofa famous
perfLn , the great Treafurer of this Kingdom, M. Steno Bielke, a steel and
flrnt; which that it was a relique only of PaganiSm, not the place only, but
Tomb over him did Sufficiently testify. It is certain that it was the
ancient p-rSuaSr n cf Pagans, that there was no other way Sor the dead to
arrive at the abodes oS the BleSTed, but thorough darkneSs, which they
are the more afraid of, becaufe it is the nature of their Country to have
thick.r darknefsand of more durance then is ufual among others. As
con-cerning the hatchet, it is no wonder, whereas in other places it is a
received custom to lay by dead People their Weapons, of which the principal
one, among the L planders, is the hatchet. As for what appertains to
the modern Laplanders, Olaus Petri imagines that they bury thefe things
with their dead, becaufe they beleive that after the Refurredion they llull
take the fame courSe of life they lead before, and for that reafon they
furni’lh them with the fame utenfils. Thus do they who are lefs obfervant
cf th^^^iftiari ceremonies, and dwell farthest off from the Chriftian
CliulflfeJ^I^take Special care to have their dead carried to the
Clvirch^wt^^^-icfioo the Priests do earnestly request of them. It is
fiid too^mfMbn^flief. them, when they have bin accustomed to bury .in
fuch a place are fo ambitious as to give money to have their deceafed
buried ri^wBjli^ard, hut the Church.
But ner^Bne’awyfe Laplanders will willingly dig up a grave, unlefs he
be extraordinary poor, fuch whom rhe richer of them hire at a confidera’
ble rate to fuch an emploiinent, or fome other of Swedland, whom they ran
procure. So the deceafed perfon is buried according to the Chriflian rite,
when they have mourned for him, putting on the worft clothes they have,
ti t ispeculiar to them, that they leave behind them the fledg whereon the
courfewas brought to the Church-yard and allthe veSlments wherein the
deceaSed lay during SickneSs, theSe they bring to the Sepulcher, Sor fear
I fnppofe left any deadly thing Should cling to them, anjl that cannot be
ufe by others without harm. So when the Perfon is buried, a funeral
ban-q ;tis provided, the tim; of it is ufually, the third day after the burial,
I i % the
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