There she sat rocking her body to and fro, wailing all the time, the other women wailing too, until the grave was quite covered in.
When it was filled in Hippi made another big smoke, thoroughly smoked himself, calling to all the men to do the same.
An old woman made a big smoke behind where the women were sitting; she called them one by one and made them stand in the thick of it for a while.
Hippi said something to her.

I caught the word 'Innerah'-- they called me Innerah, which meant literally a woman with a camp of her own.

The old woman gave the smoke fire a stir, and out at once came a thick column of smoke circling round my guest and myself.
They covered the grave with logs and boughs and then swept round it.
All was over, we turned homewards.

As we did so a flock of screeching gilahs flew over, their bright rose colouring lighting up the sombre scene where the only colour was that of the dark pines silhouetted against a sky from which the blue had now faded.

Going home Bootha told me that the smoking process was to keep the spirits away, and to disinfect us from any disease the dead might have; and she said had we not been smoked the spirits might have followed us back to the house.
They would at once change their camp; the old one would be gummarl--a tabooed place; but before they left it they would burn smoke fires there to scare away the spirits.
I asked her why they swept round the grave.