{"id":"01KG8AKKX2ZDSV4DJN181FX22Q","cid":"bafkreieyzsls42qhpx32zxm7jd5qotlnov2jxdpl2kzjef766p6e6snpmi","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":635,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:09.927Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 1","source_file":"01KG89J1954N2G0NAERBNJXEX9","start_line":565,"text":"CHAPTER V.\r\nThey Visit The Great Morai\r\n\r\n\r\nAs garrulous guide to the party, Braid-Beard soon brought us nigh the\r\ngreat Morai of Maramma, the burial-place of the Pontiffs, and a rural\r\npromenade, for certain idols there inhabiting.\r\n\r\nOur way now led through the bed of a shallow water-course; Mohi\r\nobserving, as we went, that our feet were being washed at every step;\r\nwhereas, to tread the dusty earth would be to desecrate the holy Morai,\r\nby transferring thereto, the base soil of less sacred ground.\r\n\r\nHere and there, thatched arbors were thrown over the stream, for the\r\naccommodation of devotees; who, in these consecrated waters, issuing\r\nfrom a spring in the Morai, bathed their garments, that long life might\r\nensue. Yet, as Braid-Beard assured us, sometimes it happened, that\r\ndivers feeble old men zealously donning their raiment immediately after\r\nimmersion became afflicted with rheumatics; and instances were related\r\nof their falling down dead, in this their pursuit of longevity.\r\n\r\nComing to the Morai, we found it inclosed by a wall; and while the rest\r\nwere surmounting it, Mohi was busily engaged in the apparently childish\r\noccupation of collecting pebbles. Of these, however, to our no small\r\nsurprise, he presently made use, by irreverently throwing them at all\r\nobjects to which he was desirous of directing attention. In this\r\nmanner, was pointed out a black boar’s head, suspended from a bough.\r\nFull twenty of these sentries were on post in the neighboring trees.\r\n\r\nProceeding, we came to a hillock of bone-dry sand, resting upon the\r\notherwise loamy soil. Possessing a secret, preservative virtue, this\r\nsand had, ages ago, been brought from a distant land, to furnish a\r\nsepulcher for the Pontiffs; who here, side by side, and sire by son,\r\nslumbered all peacefully in the fellowship of the grave. Mohi declared,\r\nthat were the sepulcher to be opened, it would be the resurrection of\r\nthe whole line of High Priests. “But a resurrection of bones, after\r\nall,” said Babbalanja, ever osseous in his allusions to the departed.\r\n\r\nPassing on, we came to a number of Runic-looking stones, all over\r\nhieroglyphical inscriptions, and placed round an elliptical aperture;\r\nwhere welled up the sacred spring of the Morai, clear as crystal, and\r\nshowing through its waters, two tiers of sharp, tusk-like stones; the\r\nmouth of Oro, so called; and it was held, that if any secular hand\r\nshould be immersed in the spring, straight upon it those stony jaws\r\nwould close.\r\n\r\nWe next came to a large image of a dark-hued stone, representing a\r\nburly man, with an overgrown head, and abdomen hollowed out, and open\r\nfor inspection; therein, were relics of bones. Before this image we\r\npaused. And whether or no it was Mohi’s purpose to make us tourists\r\nquake with his recitals, his revelations were far from agreeable. At\r\ncertain seasons, human beings were offered to the idol, which being an\r\nepicure in the matter of sacrifices, would accept of no ordinary fare.\r\nTo insure his digestion, all indirect routes to the interior were\r\navoided; the sacrifices being packed in the ventricle itself.\r\n\r\nNear to this image of Doleema, so called, a solitary forest-tree was\r\npointed out; leafless and dead to the core. But from its boughs hang\r\nnumerous baskets, brimming over with melons, grapes, and guavas. And\r\ndaily these baskets were replenished.\r\n\r\nAs we here stood, there passed a hungry figure, in ragged raiment:\r\nhollow cheeks, and hollow eyes. Wistfully he eyed the offerings; but\r\nretreated; knowing it was sacrilege to touch them. There, they must\r\ndecay, in honor of the god Ananna; for so this dead tree was\r\ndenominated by Mohi.\r\n\r\nNow, as we were thus strolling about the Morai, the old chronicler\r\nelucidating its mysteries, we suddenly spied Pani and the pilgrims\r\napproaching the image of Doleema; his child leading the guide.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 1"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJNK0SRQXJTP5TJ1QJQ4K","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1954N2G0NAERBNJXEX9","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AKKX5PNFH0HRXGT3YX2BM","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:10.146Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:19.600Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}