The body of the deceased has been embalmed by his own son with chemicals purchased in town, and has been shrouded with several different sets of cloth. The time has come, three days after the death and four days before the burial, for the body to be placed in the coffin. Traditionally, an Akha coffin is an elaborate affair, but you will see that the pressures of modern life have had an effect on even a ritual as important as a burial.

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