ADMIXISTRATTVE REPORT 27 



a wonderful tree, while SDine animals arose from the spirits of men. 

 The both' of man was originaUy considered immortal; it was reno- 

 vated by a change of skin or by a fountain of j'outh, and the inuiiortal 

 character of the body was assured by its transformation into stone. 



The body is the abode of several spirits — the shadow, head, heart, 

 pulse-beat, blood, spittle, footprint, and bone sj)irits possessed by 

 both men and the lower animals. Stages in the" conception of spirit 

 iramortahty are shown in the mortuary customs: the attitude in 

 which the corpse is buried; flattery and adulation; festivals and 

 feasts; furnishing the dead with the means of capturing the assailant; 

 supplying the dead with dogs, women, w(^apons, ornaments, and food; 

 eating his flesh and bones; exhumuig lus remaijis for witchcraft and 

 prophecy; abandonment of place of sepulture, etc. Spirits which 

 have assumed anthropomorphic forms may reach their final destina- 

 tion direct, or only after pa.-;.sing tlirough trials and ordejds. The 

 conception of a future existence conditioned on conduct in this life is 

 pro])ably a borrowed ono. Sjiirits are good or bad accordmg iis they 

 help or harm the Indians, and not according to the bodit^ whence 

 they have been derived, as has been generally supposed. Itulividuals 

 can be relieved of the presence of imdesirable spirits Ijy the use of 

 rattles and by blowing. Dreams aro caused b}' spii-its which resiile 

 in the head. Imbeciles are in intimacy with good spirits, hence their 

 words and actions are regarded as signs of divinity and their douigs 

 and sayings are oracular. The cult of faniihar spirits rtuichod a high 

 development among the Island Carib. Though presented with offer- 

 ings, these spirits could be invoked only l)y tln^ medicine-man, and 

 being more or less intimately jissociated with liumaii bones, were 

 often called into requisition for purposes of witchcraft and prophecy. 

 Doctor Roth assembles the available information regfarding: tha vari- 

 ous spirits, and incorj)oratc« in his nuMuoir the myths and tal«« 

 respecting them. Of prime importance among these are the bush 

 spirits: there are also spirits of tho mountain, spirits of the water, 

 and sjiirits of the sky, all of which are treated ami the related myths 

 given. 



Omens, charms, and taUsmans, with the behefs respectmg them 

 antl the strange uses to which they aro put, are described by tho 

 author, who presents also a chapter on restrictions as to game and 

 food, visions, arts and crafts, and nomenclature. Sexual hfe (puberty 

 ordeals, courtship and marriage, and childbirth ordeals); the medi- 

 cine man, liis practices, insignia, and supposed power; the terrible 

 spirit known as Kanaima and its influence over human beings, are 

 adequately' treated. Tho closing chaptei-s of the memoir on these 

 hitherto little-known tribes of Guiana are devoted to miscellaneous 

 beliefs concerning men and animals ; animism of recent introduction, 

 and miscellaneous folk-lore independent of animism. 



