140 THE TOCANTINS. Chap. IV. 



the-way parts of the country, was a large, open, palm- 

 thatched shed, having one end inclosed by means 

 of partitions also made of palm-leaves, so as to form a 

 private apartment. Under the shed Avere placed all 

 the household utensils ; earthenware jars, pots, and 

 kettles, hunting and fishing implements, paddles, bows 

 and arrows, harpoons, and so forth. One or two common 

 wooden chests serve to contain the holiday clothing of 

 the females ; there is no other furniture except a few 

 stools and the hammock which answers the purposes 

 of chair and sofa. When a visitor enters he is asked 

 to sit down in a hammock ; persons who are on 

 intimate terms with each other recline together in the 

 same hammock, one at each end ; this is a very 

 convenient arrangement for friendly conversation. 

 There are neither tables nor chairs ; the cloth for 

 meals is spread on a mat, and the guests squat 

 round in any position they choose. There is no 

 cordiality of manners, but the treatment of the guests 

 shows a keen sense of the duties of hospitality on the 

 part of the host. There is a good deal of formality in 

 the intercourse of these half-wild mamelucos which, I 

 believe, has been chiefly derived from their Indian 

 forefathers, although a little of it may have been copied 

 from the Portuguese. 



A little distance from the house were the open sheds 

 under which the farinha for the use of the establish- 

 ment was manufactured. In the centre of each shed 

 stood the shallow pans, made of clay and built over 

 ovens, where the meal is roasted. A long flexible 

 cylinder made of the peel of a marantaceous plant, 



