At the death of a Nowan, a fairly complex series of behaviors begins. Each Nowan clan has one elder man and one elder woman designated as ttér.wum.qúl, (literally one good at the news of death). Ideally, one or both will begin notifying members of the family of the death and begin making the arrangements for the funeral. The local za.qúl of the Dte.húl, "Dtemolnál" is contacted and told that a rite will be performed soon. Tradition calls for public rites to begin the day after death if possible so it is necessary to carry out certain steps very quickly.
The zaqúl and the ttérwumqúl accompany the body to the ño.bde.pon. There the zaqúl and his assistants za.wár prepare the body. It is stripped and washed in a room where incense is kept burning continuously. Once the body is cleansed, one of the ttérwumqúl assists the priests in painting the body and face. The designs typically reflect a mix of clan tradition, caste affiliation, the deceased's own tastes, and religious symbolism. Once this step is finished, the zawár place the body on a litter and carry it to a zañí.
At dawn, the family and friends gather around the zañí. The priests step down and the ttérwumqúl step onto the platform. Each takes the hand of the dead and leads the family in the clan's death song tténg.ttér. The song is usually accompanied by much wailing and shouts of grief. All day, the body remains there as friends and relatives pause to remember the deceased and make a small donation in his/her name to the temple. Shortly before dusk, the priests return. They gather up the body, place it on a hearse qél.ttér.ngán and drive it to the funerary grounds.
Each city or village has a designated funerary ground ga.ttér.pár. Here will be found a large za.kong (or sometimes, za.ttér.kong). To the Nowans, this structure usually associated with fertility rites, is appropriate as they believe the dead person will soon be reborn. Members of the clan had already been at the site for much of the day as they build a funeral pyre into which many branches of the Deathbush, k'o.ze.ttér, an aromatic incense plant, have been placed. Chanting prayers, the family surrounds the pyre as the za.qúl sets it alight. They remain until both pyre and corpse are consumed. Then, the priests gather up some of the ashes and help the ttérwumqúl place them into small bags or pouches.
The day after the funeral, the clan gathers for a group meal za.ttér.qa.kin prepared by the non-immediate family. Before they eat, the family members gather into small groups to pray, meditate and remember. When the meal is ready, the clan sits around various tables and while they eat, begin what is called the Lifesong dó.wum.ning. Every individual who knew the deceased will briefly stand and tell of some episode the two had shared. If it is familiar to others, they will shout out "mne-zhu-po.q'a-pang-ñi-ptong ne-me an q'a.mer-dta-pe", (I remember that event!) or simply "xé", (yes!). Ideally it is a time to laugh, to praise and to do honor to the dead. As the meal draws to a close, those who knew the deceased best will each stand and utter some variation of words to the affect of "I hope to know him/her in his/her next life" or if the person is especially well thought of, the hope that no rebirth awaits him/her.
After the meal, the ttérwumqúl give each person present, one of the small pouches filled with ashes of the deceased. The ashes are to be added to the soil of the gardens they tend if possible. If they are young and unmarried, they will keep them until they have a garden in which they can place them. Families begin to disperse slowly although some may stay for hours longer, talking and remembering.
The ttérwumqúl will go around among
family members over the next few days and gather the stories that
were told at the zattérqakin. They put them into
chronological order and take them to a local printing house which
specializes in Lifebooks dó.lan. A
dólan is a bound book which includes family photos
of the deceased as well as the account of the deceased's life.
Copies are given to each family in the clan. In older times,
dólan were simple handwritten manuscripts and would
be kept by the clan, modern printing capabilities have led to its
extension. The distribution of the dólan, which
ideally should occur within 20 days of the death, marks the end
of funerary cycle for Nowans.