292 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I33 



In general children were modest. When visitors stayed all night, 

 their children and those of the family had to sleep close together — 

 "we all slept on the floor, and there was not much room in most 

 houses." Each child, and each adult, as well, rolled himself up in a rug 

 or blanket, "or whatever they gave us to roll up in," and lay down on 

 the floor alongside of each other. "We must have looked like loaves of 

 bread in an Argentine bread pan. But never did we think of even so 

 much as touching one another." 



Neither boys nor girls were given sex instructions. Speaking of 

 sex matters was practically taboo. "We would not talk about it ; it 

 was too delicate. Things were very strict formerly. A girl 20 years 

 old knew nothing about sex ; today very young girls know everything 

 they should not know. Formerly, if a young man touched a girl, like 

 putting his hand on hers or holding hers, his father had to make a 

 payment in animals to the girl's father." In rare instances, however, 

 a mother or a grandmother told the girl the purpose of menstruation. 



The boy's change of voice was taken notice of — "his voice becomes 

 thicker and higher and stronger, and people say of him, 'He is now 

 growing up to be a man,' " but there was no puberty rite, nor was a 

 boy at puberty isolated. An occasional family held a feast. "But it 

 was not a custom to do so," said an 85-year-old man ; "there were some 

 people who gave a feast on many occasions, and such people probably 

 gave one on this occasion also." 



The two institutional performances, however, namely, the katan 

 kawih and the personality test, described above, might be performed 

 for a boy at puberty. Also, a son who had been so tested when he was 

 very young might be retested at puberty to see what changes, if any, 

 had occurred. The katan kawifi, resembling the katawe in that the 

 skin on the back of the hand was pierced (cf. p. 272), was, on 

 this occasion, performed by a cacique if it were done at a gathering of 

 the people. However, instead of injecting pure urine into the opening 

 of the skin, as was done at the katawe, urine mixed with salt and 

 blood of a strong animal, such as the sparrow hawk (rjishem or iishem, 

 cernicalo) or the puma, was injected. Fresh urine, of either a young 

 boy or girl, had to be used. Occasionally horse grease was also 

 pushed under the skin through the piercing. The purpose of the katan 

 kawiii was to make of the boys successful fishermen and hunters. 

 Occasionally, the katan kawifi was performed on older men for the 

 same purpose ; it was never performed on girls or women. Someone 

 might threaten a lazy preadolescent girl with it; because of fear of 

 it she would then do her weaving or other assigned work. 



