320 A JOUENEY IN BRAZIL. 
The tattooing of the Mundurucus is not only connected 
with this dim idea of a primitive creative command ; it is 
also indicative of aristocracy. A man who neglected this 
distinction would not be respected in his tribe ; and so 
strong is this traditional association, that, even in civilized 
settlements where tattooing is no longer practised, an 
instinctive respect is felt for this mark of nobility. A 
Mundurucu Indian, tattooed after the ancient fashion of 
his tribe, arriving in a civilized village, such as the one 
we visited, is received with the honor due to a person of 
rank. "II faut souffrir pour etre beau," was never truer 
than among these savages. It requires not less than ten 
years to complete the tattooing of the whole face and body ; 
the operation being performed, however, only at intervals. 
The color is introduced by fine puncturings over the whole 
surface ; a process which is often painful, and causes swell- 
ing and inflammation, especially on such sensitive parts as 
the eyelids. The purity of type among the Mundurucus 
is protected by stringent laws against close intermarriages. 
The tribe is divided into certain orders or classes, more 
or less closely allied ; and so far do they carry their 
respect for that law, which, though recognized in the 
civilized world, is so constantly sinned against, that mar- 
riage is forbidden, not only between members of the 
same family, but between those of the same order. A 
Mundurucu Indian treats a woman of the same order 
with himself as a sister ; any nearer relation between them 
is impossible. Major Coutinho, who has made a very care- 
ful study of the manners and habits of these people, assures 
us that there is no law more sacred among them, or more 
rigidly observed, than this one. Their fine physique, for 
which they are said to be remarkable, is perhaps owing 
