dead person is called to "go back home" to live at the altar to the family's ancestors. "Transferring the sons" (if the dead is female) - This is a ceremony in which the duties of filial piety are transferred from the deceased mother to her eldest brother or the eldest brother's representative. Environment An average-size Kam village has 200–300 homes, although the smallest ones have only 10–20 and the largest ones have more than 1,000. Kam villages typically have: Ganlan-style wooden houses (stilt houses) Ancient and sacred trees Covered ("wind-and-rain") bridges Wayside pavilions with wooden or stone benches Bullfighting arenas, which are fields Wells surrounded by stone rims and usually dug near trees Fish-ponds, traditionally communally owned Racks for drying grain and granaries Village entrances - to protect against intruders, and also are where "blocking the way" ceremonies are held Drum towers - usually found only in southern Kam areas today. Drum towers may be village towers or extended-family towers (Geary 2003:47). Altars to Sa Sui, the main deity of the Kam pantheon Popular scenic spots in Kam-speaking territories are the Jiudong region, Liudong region, Chengyang village, Pingdeng region, and Yuping region. Agriculture and Economy The Kam people cultivate dozens of varieties of glutinous rice (known locally as "Kam" or "good" rice). The Han Chinese cultivate non-glutinous rice, which is called "Han (Chinese) rice" by the Kam. Supplementary foods inclusive maize, millet, vegetables, plums, peaches, pears, mushrooms, mandarin oranges, pomelos, and watermelons. Cotton is cultivated for textile production. Generally the Kam occupy lower-lying land than the Miao and are thus wealthier. Animals frequently raised by the Kam people include: Water buffalo: 1–3 per household Pigs: 1–3 per household Chickens: 2–20 per household. Hens raised by the Kam generally lay around 100 eggs per year. Ducks: 2–4 per household (about half of all households). Ducks tend to destroy rice seedlings and are thus less preferable than chickens. Geese: 2–4 per household (about one-tenth of all households). They are recent introductions from the Han Chinese. Fish: raised in fish-ponds and sometimes hunted The "four pillars" of Kam cuisine are glutinous rice, sour (pickled) food, hot pepper, and rice wine. Other popular local dishes and condiments include barbecued fish, intestines sauce, purple blood pork, chicken-blood sauce, oil tea, gongguo (glutinous rice snack sweetened with liana) and bianmi (another glutinous rice snack). The giant salamander is a rare local specialty. Two hot meals (breakfast