506 TOBACCO 



Father G-ili, designate even now, at the distance of one hun- 

 dred and sixty leagues from the Amazon, the Acacia niopo 

 by the name of curu^a. Since the geographical researches 

 which I have recently made on the scene of the exploits of 

 Philip von Huten, and the real situation of the province of 

 Papamene, or of the Omaguas, the probability of an ancient 

 communication between the Ottomacs of the Orinoco and 

 the Omaguas of the Maranon has become more interesting 

 and more probable. The former came from the Meta, 

 perhaps from the country between the Meta and the 

 Guaviare; the latter assert, that they descended in great 

 numbers to the Maranon by the Rio Jupura, coming from 

 the eastern declivity of the Andes of New Grenada. Now, 

 it is precisely between the Guayavero, (which joins the 

 Guaviare,) and the Caqueta, (which takes lower down the 

 name of Japura,) that the country of the Omagua appears 

 to be situate, of which the adventurers of Coro and Tocuyo 

 in vain attempted the conquest. There is no doubt a 

 striking contrast between the present barbarism of the 

 Ottomacs and the ancient civilization of the Omaguas ; but 

 all parts of the latter nation were not perhaps alike ad- 

 vanced in civilization, and the example of tribes fallen into 

 complete barbarism are unhappily but too common in the 

 history of our species. Another pojit of resemblance may 

 be remarked between the Ottomacs and the Omaguas. 

 Both of these nations are celebrated among all the tribes of 

 the Orinoco and the Amazon for their employment of caout- 

 chouc in the manufacture of various articles of utility. 



The real herbaceous tobacco * (for the missionaries have 



* The word tobacco (tabacco), like the words savannah, maize, 

 cacique, maguey (agave), aud manati, belongs to the ancient language 

 of Hayti, or St. Domingo. It did not properly denote the herb, but the 

 tube through which the smoke was inhaled. It seems surprising, that a 

 vegetable production so universally spread should have different names 

 among neighbouring people. The pete-ma of the Omaguas is, no doubt, 

 the pety of the Guaranos ; but the analogy between the Cabre and Al 

 gonkin (or Lenni-Lenape) woids, which denote tobacco, may be merely 

 accidental. The following are the synonymes in thirteen languages. 



North America, Aztec or Mexican ; yetl: Algonkin ; sema: Huron; 

 oyngoua. 



South America. Peruvian or Quichua ; sayri : Chiquito ; pais . 

 Guarany ; pety : Viiela ; tusvp : Mbaja, (west of the Paraguay) nalo- 

 dtigadi : Moxo (between the Rio Ucayale and the Rio Madeira) sabare . 

 Oinagua ; petema ; Tamanac ; cavat Maypure ; jema . Cabre ; scema. 



