A Swahili funeral on the Sofala coast 16th century.
Taken from: Ethiopia oriental, Volume 1 By João dos Santos. (d1622); His book is about 1580-1600.
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All the Moors on this coast, even if they are very poor, and not have much to eat in their lives, with everything they do they have kept a thin cloth or canequim (a course calico), to shroud themselves when they die. They also bury themselves in the bushes like Kaffirs, and put rice, corn, butter and water in a vase and then cover everything with earth. Over the grave they placed two stones raised as landmarks, one at the head and one at the foot, which they anoint with fragrant ground sandalwood, not only immediately when they bury the deceased, but also from that time onwards, their relatives come there to anoint him with sandalwood stones, and throw rice at him over the pit, and some place a test over it with burning coals over the grave, with incense inside, that is smoking that place. These Moors bring their dead to be buried on the mats, or cots on which they died, who leave them to remain in the same pits and no one uses them anymore, even if they are new, and there they wear out and consume over time, and this custom seems to have been taken over from the Kaffirs, who all do the same. ……