Shells
Conch shells appear on graves around the Caribbean, including the American South, sometimes serving as candle holders. The striking parallel between the absence of the shell's inhabitant and that of the dead is apparent to some.
Elswhere, where shells are used as money, they form a part of the goods the deceased is allowed to take along to its next existence. The use of particular kinds of shells -- such as the puka shell necklaces draped over the headstones of former Hells Angels -- serve to mark the dead one's membership in a group.
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