CULTURE OF PEOPLE OF SOUTHEASTERN PANAMA 47 



his father on hunting and fishing journeys as soon as he is able to 

 do so and big enough to carry his own provisions. Children learn 

 to shoot little birds and to catch fish by diving into the water and 

 bringing out the fish with their hands. The little girls join in this 

 sport, although usually they stay at home and learn to practice the 

 domestic arts. 



Many toys are found in the possession of the Choco and Tule chil- 

 dren. Some of these are really useful, such as the diminutive boat 

 paddles, basketry containers, stiff leather sandals, "nagukka" 

 (Tule), and small bows and arrows. Others are purely objects of 

 play and have been shaped by the Indian artist and modeler to 

 suit the imagination and fancy of the little Indian child. 



A feather play bird (pi. 29, No. 4) is suspended from the roof 

 beams and dangles back and forth before the delighted eyes of the 

 Choco Indian child; little marbles (Cat. No. 167665, U.S.N.M.) are 

 made of vegetable ivory, and tops of palm wood, 17.8 cm. (7 in.) 

 long, with mimosa seed disks (Cat. No. 272597, U.S.N.M.), are spun 

 by the Choco children, even as their parents spin for purposes of 

 divination a top composed of a polished volumba seed disk perfo- 

 rated with a short and thin palmwood (Guilielnia speciosa) shaft 

 passing through its axis (Cat. No. 315042, U.S.N.M.). Small, 

 crudely carved dolls fastened from balsa, together with a variety 

 of animal, fish, reptile, and bird carvings from wood and pottery 

 are the most numerous among the toys of the Tule and Cuna chil- 

 dren and of the Choco as well. 



A number of pottery toy figurines collected by the Marsh-Darien 

 expedition illustrate the skill of the Tule potter (pi. 13). Alto- 

 gether there are 15 pottery objects representing the human figure, 

 animal, and other life forms in a realistic manner. A sloth, or ant 

 bear, "atsu minimi toduwedi " (Tule), 17 cm. (6.7 in.) in length, 

 with long nose, wide pendant ears, long recurved tail, and dragging 

 feet, are features realistically modeled in terra cotta (Cat. No. 

 327306, U.S.N.M.). 



A light brown colored pottery toy. figurine of a tapir 13.7 cm. 

 (5.4 in.) long, with a long pointed snout, short erect ears and tail, 

 and the characteristic three-grooved incisions representing toes, is 

 another example of the Tule potter's art as a modeler of life forms 

 (Cat. No. 327407, U.S.N.M., pi. 13). 



Other pottery toy figurines are those of an alligator 9.5 cm. (3.7 

 in.) in length, represented as walking with mouth opened and tail 

 erect (Cat. No. 327308, U.S.N.M., pi. 13) ; pottery bird effigies (Cat. 

 Nos. 327310 and 327316, U.S.N.M., pi. 13) ; toy seats and bowls of a 

 few centimeters dimensions from the Cuna-Cariba tribe at Sasardi 

 village, at the mouth of the Segurdi River (Cat. Nos. 327317-20, 



