name (wera=vela, sail), I wonder whether, in view of its 
simplicity, sailing by yawihi wera does not antedate the 
arrival of the white man in northeastern South America. 
Since Manicaria is ubiquitous in the Lower and Intermediate 
Delta zones, a “sail” can be picked up at practically any point 
of departure and simply tossed away upon arrival at the 
destination. In other words, Manicaria leaf-sails are handy, 
free, and uncomplicated. 
Manicaria leaves, or certain parts, are put to other uses 
by the Warao Indians. The tips of the leaves are improvised 
for use as fans (yami); several, 2 m. long pieces of rachises 
of leaves are tied together in the form of a Venetian blind to 
serve as fish weirs (noba); sections of midrib are rubbed 
together to produce fire by rotation (Im Thurn 1967: 257). 
The “plumes of the sun” represent a materia prima of great 
importance to Warao technology. 
A final comment on the etymology of the Warao term 
“plumes of the sun.” It is derived from far more than the 
shape of leaves that flicker in the sun (as some authors seem 
to suggest). The Manicaria leaves obviously resemble over- 
sized bird feathers; but why they are linked to the sun is 
less evident. Manicaria, like many other palms, are closely 
connected with a symbolism of light and darkness, day and 
night, and I discuss this aspect below. 
The spathe. Next in importance are the pouch-like spathes 
that cover the entire inflorescence and the large pendant 
infructescence (PLATE LXXIV). The brown spathes from 
which the genus and the species derive their names ° are from 
40 to 60 cm. long, “of fine, closely woven texture, and are 
used by the natives to make soft brown caps without seams 
or joinings” (McCurrah 1960: 129). The Warao refer to 
these hood-like caps as yasi nona. After carefully peeling 
the spathe off the fruit cluster, the Indians wet and stretch 
it on the head to give it the desired fit (Appun 1871: 479; 
Wilbert 1963: 9). By pleating them and decorating them 
with bast ribbons the long-peaked caps sometimes acquire 
a bizarre appearance (PLates LXXV-LXXVII). They are 
[ 295 ] 
