To face East is to face the solar dawn and hence the source
of light. The same for sleeping with the head pointing East.
The South is the direction of Yama, the deva of death. This is
why in India the corpse is turned with the head pointing toward
the South - it is a signal for the Yamadutas, the servants of Yama,
to come take the jiva-soul to Yama and not allow it to wander lost
and alone in the antarbhava, the interspace between the worlds.
All of this is part of the mythogeography defining the South entrance as
a direction of loss and is another reason it is sometimes sealed off
from common use.
