624 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1909. 
that at the time of the conquest the Guaymies were the most im- 
portant nation of the Isthmus, and defines the territories of their 
principal tribes, which are the Move-Valiente, Murire-Bukueta, and 
the Muoi. The Valientes are to-day the chief tribe of all, though 
the Muoi was the mother tongue of all Guaymie dialects. 
A free translation of Valdes’ (5) description of the Guaymies who, 
he says, remain, at the present time, completely pure in language and 
customs, is as follows: 
The Guaymies live in groups for the most part in the high Valle de Miranda 
in the Cordillera de Veraguas, cut off from communication with the plains by 
defiles, difficult of access. They have retained their independence, having 
warded off invasions of both blacks and whites, who can not penetrate their 
land without the favor of the powerful chief. They are called (one tribe) 
Valientes on account of the great cruelties with which they punish the least 
offenses. Formerly, it was rare to see a Valiente whose body was not covered 
with scars. Some families * * * seem to be descended from those who, 
before the arrival of the Spaniards, carved symbolic figures on the rocks of 
the mountains and placed gold ornaments in their graves. In former times they 
“were without doubt more civilized, but modern progress has destroyed their 
industries, as they now provide themselves with arms, tools, utensils, cloth, 
ete., from their neighbors, which formerly they made themselves. 
Valdes further says: 
The political rule of the Guaymies is varied, but they all obey a powerful 
cacique who has centralized the power. The Guaymi is small, muscular, and 
robust, with a large head and flat features, and is an indefatigable walker and 
earrier. AS iS common with all Central American tribes, the Guaymies have 
the “totem” or animal god. When the youths come to adolescence they submit 
themselves to rude tests and go to the forests in company with their comrades, 
far from their parents, for a period of novitiate. Old men, with bodies painted, 
masks on their faces, and crowns of leaves on their heads, teach them the 
traditions and songs of their tribe, composed in a strange and sacred dialect. 
Afterwards, when the youths have endured sufficient hardships—all that they 
can without complaining—they are admitted to the tribe and called “los 
hombres”? (men) and each is given a distinct name—for the first time. For 
the girls, also, at this period® are held ceremonies, and soon after, they are 
either married or rather sold. The principal fiesta of the Guaymies, called 
“balceria ” by the Spanish, usually takes place in summer. The day is indicated 
by knots tied in reeds along the wayside or sent to the different families. 
After a general bath, the women employ some hours in painting the men’s 
bodies red and blue, adorning their faces with arabesques and extravagant 
figures much resembling those on the old vessels (pottery), and then the men 
array themselves in some historical attire, wearing a loin cloth of bark and the 
pelt of an animal. Ata signal the dancing commences for the game of balsa, 
which consists in the breaking up of light wood and flinging it at the legs, 
knocking each other down and falling amidst the heaps of broken sticks. It 
is said these Indians feel the injuries thus inflicted very little. 
@Pinart (16) says, “that during the time of puberty a girl’s tooth is broken, 
which is regarded as proof of the fact that she is nubile.” In this paper Pinart 
gives also a complete illustrated description of the ‘“ Petroglyphes dans l’Isthme 
Americain,” etc. 
