PANAMA AND ITS PEOPLE—BELL. 627 
some tribes adorn themselves by hanging heavy gold rings through 
their noses, while those of other tribes wear collars of colored beads, 
also bracelets and anklets which oppress and disfigure the arms and 
legs. They wear only a short skirt reaching to the calf. Many 
of the men, Valdes says, have not preserved their old picturesque 
costumes adorned with the headpieces of brilliant birds’ plumage. 
Especially is this so among the San Blas Indians. The Cunas wear 
their hair long, and it is very black, coarse, and abundant and does 
not turn gray or fall out even in old age. The men have no beards. 
All have very prominent cheek bones and small, sunken, bright eyes. 
Formerly they anointed their bodies with the juice of the “ gerripa 
Americana,” which keeps the flesh fresh and cool. For the great 
fétes they paint their faces with the “ bixa orellana.” Their speech 
is strange, resembling a monotonous chant, and each phrase is spoken 
with great volubility, accentuating the last word and punctuating the 
phrases with pauses that the interlocutors take advantage of to ex- 
press their assent or comprehension. General terms, moral or ab- 
stract sentiments can not be expressed. The Cunas measure time . 
by the moon and count by tens, referring to the number of figures. 
Their villages are collections of scattered houses spread over great 
distances, and each has its “ina” (cacique) and its “piaces” or 
“1616,” who is the medicine man, priest, and magician, the third 
person of the community being the “camotura,” master of cere- 
monies and chief musician; then comes the “ urunia,” or head warrior, 
usually the strongest man of the tribe. The favorite dance of the 
Cunas is the Guayacan, in which the men and women form a ring 
around the camotura,- who occupies the center, playing his instru- 
ment, a kind of flute called “ camo6.” Presently, all strike the ground 
twice with their feet, take two steps forward, breaking the circle; 
then the couples unite, turning around and around together rapidly 
to the rhythm of the music. The women give birth to their babies in 
isolated huts under the care of an old woman, who, after bathing the 
mother and child in the river, conducts them to the lélé, to be purified 
with clouds of tobacco smoke and to drive off bad fortune. As with 
the Guaimies, the age of puberty for a girl is the occasion of a fiesta; 
then, after the year following she can marry the man of her choice. 
Wafer (20) says that it was the custom for all the neighbors and 
friends to make a clearing, build a house, and plant the ground for a 
young couple during the time before the wedding ceremonies were 
completed. A husband among the Cunas acquires rights over all 
the women with whom he becomes related by marriage. Children 
are buried alive or drowned if illegitimate; also those born deformed, 
according to some writers. Formerly, if any man was present when 
a woman gave birth to a child he was punished by death. At the 
time of death the sign of mourning among some tribes is a toucan’s 
