330 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I33 



gradually dropped after the Argentine army moved in. An informant 

 in her seventies had not been paid for ; neither had her 30-year-old son 

 paid for his wife. 



Love charms, such as nail parings or hairs of the one to be charmed, 

 were not known. Informants had a hearty laugh at the idea. Ac- 

 cording to Kolupan, however, a man could ask women who were his 

 relatives to take an unwilling girl, in a guileless way, to an under- 

 ground place in which two sorcerers lived. These would impose a 

 spell on the girl and then influence her to love the man. "From then 

 on the girl would be willing to marry the man !" 



Today, young girls in the area about San Martin de los Andes 

 speculate as to the kind of husband each will marry, probably follow- 

 ing a custom of Argentine girls. On an evening, especially the Eve 

 of St. John (December 26), each of several girls will take soot from 

 the bottom of a tea kettle, mix it with water, let a drop fall on a 

 piece of paper, fold the paper where the drop is, put the folded paper 

 under her pillow, and sleep on it. (Ink, if available, is used in place 

 of soot.) In the morning the girls will read their fortunes regarding 

 a husband from the dried blots ; or they will take the dried blots to 

 persons who have the reputation of being professional interpreters of 

 them. If the blot, for example, looks like a dog or a puma, the girl's 

 marriage will be an unfortunate one; if it looks like the head of a 

 horse, or any large animal, the prediction is favorable. 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIAL 



Formerly, before dawn, by the time the roosters crowed, the man, 

 his parents, his brothers and sisters, and many other relatives were 

 already at the home of the girl. Soon after their arrival they presented 

 the bride price, and, following this, formal conversation was carried 

 on. "It took a great part of that day," said Kolupan, "until the many, 

 many, many words were spoken that it was customary to speak before 

 the man got his girl." Following this formal conversation an abundant 

 meal of meat was served, provided by the parents on both sides. The 

 man's parents and relatives had brought with them the heart of a cow 

 or of a horse, which was eaten at the beginning of the meal by the 

 couple in the presence of all that had come to the marriage. "All 

 persons present saw these two together eat that heart ; that was a 

 sign to them that these two were now married." — In more recent years 

 it has been the custom for the couple, and the parents, brothers and 

 sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles of both bride and groom to 

 squat in a circle and each take a bite of the heart. — When the meal 



