Gaora Halagana III, "Funeral Watch"

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This scene from the eastern wall of the Gaora Halagana-III cave depicts a woman who has died lying on a carpet surrounded by her loved ones in the upper right corner of the panel. The world-famous composition was popularized worldwide through a postage stamp reproduced from one of Bailloud's surveys in 1957, titled "Veillée Funèbre" (Funeral Watch). This widely recognized scene serves as the key to an orderly narrative that is revealed clearly by merely labeling the different scenes. The funeral takes place on the outskirts of a village where women and children are shown near their huts. Women work on grindstones or mortars while engaged in conversations. In the upper-middle section, a drum player is entertaining warriors from the clan as they dance in honor of the dead matriarch. Touching shoulders is a traditional way to express condolence. Geometric motifs to the left are known as "labyrinths" and likely represent tribal emblems that have been processed by DStretch_CRGB.