The man realized he was dying, and he asked his family to carry him into a patch of sacred forest. They placed him on the ground under the trees, where he died surrounded by his loved ones. Afterward, following local tradition, the man’s friends and family members took turns lying next to his body in the forest. They embraced the body, wept over it, and ate meals next to it during which they served foods that the man had liked. This was a way of remembering the man and cherishing their love for him. The disease attacked some of the mourners afterward.
