Funeral Part Two

Well after reading my previous post, I dont think I should blog after a funeral and especially after a funeral and a few glasses of wine....lol
Anyway, Bill and I hadnt planned on attending the burial of his cousin's ashes. We ended upgoing and I am so glad we did. The "ceremony" (cant think of a good word for it) was even more moving than the funeral the day before. Bill and I got up to the burial site early, to help arrange the flowers around the grave and decorate the table that the ashes would rest on before being poured into a lauhala basket (woven by a family friend). Around noon, the horses and riders arrived. There were 29 horses with 28 riders, the riderless horse carried the ashes. Charlotte's father explained the history of the site (a cliff over looking a beautiful valley) and how special the place was to his daughter. Several people spoke, then Charlotte's daughter poured her mother's ashes in to the basket, it was then covered. People threw flowers, lei etc in the grave. It was then filled with dirt and covered with the sod that had been removed. A stone from the beach area was placed on it as a marker. More flowers and lei were placed. It was amazing the amount of flowers. We all then toasted to Charlotte and headed to the mountain house for food and company. Charlotte's father told the riders to make a "thundering noise" and gallop past the house when they arrived. It was quite a site seeing the horses come by. All in all a very moving day.