64 H. B. Ferris, M.D. 



on slabs of bone and nuts. They make fire with fire stick and 

 cotton fibre. They see some good influence or something to 

 revere — a good Spirit — in the sun, but 'Bad Spirits' in nearly 

 everything. They have no regular feast days. The marriage 

 ceremony is very simple, and seems mostly an excuse for a dance 

 and chicha drinking. . . . Men never have more than three 

 wives, usually only one and seldom change. There is an average 

 of four children to each woman. Infant mortality is high. The 

 age of marriage is not known, physical development is chiefly 

 considered. They have no idea of time except the day and 

 month ; no year or record of time and cannot count beyond 

 three. The women spin cotton and weave bags, wristbands and 

 shirts and make nets, also mats of palm leaves. The men make 

 bows and arrows and hunt, also catch fish in traps. They raise 

 yuccas, corn, cofifee, cotton, pineapples and bananas, and build 

 their huts. 



They have Pan pipes, fifes, drums and rattles. They keep 

 for pets parrots, monkeys and domestic birds resembling large 

 guinea fowls. 



They are active and quick to learn simple things and play and 

 joke among themselves. . . . They have names for two dis- 

 eases, or two names for ailments. . . . Marinchi — a fever, sore 

 throat, coated tongue, thick mucus from nose, and cough, with 

 recovery in three or four days. This disease is very contagious 

 and fatal and afTects all ages. The second disease is Manchi- 

 gorinchi, showing fever, diarrhoea, headache and vomiting. . . . 



This evening the old gentleman sat by the fire with one of the 

 girls, about ten years old, squatted opposite and together played 

 on small Pan pipes. It is curious music, nearly all of the notes 

 are of the same length with much accent and three-fourths time 

 mostly. 



The following are a few Machiganga words spelled phonet- 

 ically according to the Spanish pronunciation : — 



man — cerarc come — tycna 



woman — huayua money — so r roc hi 



father — apd fire — cliiclii 



mother — end pipt—.suiigachi 



boy — noctome tobacco — tobaco (Spanish) 



girl — nociendo hair — 



house — pancoche head — noquiti 



