ABSTRACT
In speaking of death one must distinguish between the immediate and the ultimate causes. Immediate causes of death may be illness (ku anange) or violence (ku swendegh), i.e., a death which involves bloodshed. The latter may, in turn, be accidental (sa aikor), as when a tree falls on someone, or intentional (sa apera), as in homicide. As regards ultimate cause, almost all deaths are the result of human intervention, through witchcraft. Even in the cases of the very old and the very young, someone is usually to be found who insists that in this case too one must look for human agency.1
