BOTH] THE BODY AND ITS ASSOCIATED SPIRITS 163 



distinction existing between the Evil Spirit, or Maboya, of tlie 

 Carib Islanders, and tlieir Good Spirit, or Cliemin, when pui-suing 

 evil courses. It will be convenient to rectify tliis error, as far as 

 possible, here. Maboya, or Matoia, was undoubtedly of human 

 origin. Thus, of the several spirits whicli the body possesses (Sect. 

 69) some "remain on earth clianged into beasts or into Maboia" 

 (BBR, 2.37) : they go and live in the woods and forests and are called 

 Maboyas (RoP, 484). That is to say, in the same ^ay that others 

 of the body's spii'its attach themselves to the waters, mountains, 

 skies, etc., and remain there, so the Maboya attaches itself to the 

 bush and forest. Indeed, there can be no donbt that the Maboya of 

 the Antilleans corresponds in every sense with the mainland Spirit 

 of the Forest, that is, the Yawahu, Hebu, Yurokon, etc. (Sect. 94). 

 The Mainland Caribs of Cayenne actually used the identical term 

 Maboya (PBa, 2U6). The people never invoke Maboya, as some 

 imagine (RoP, 472): notwithstanding the extent to wliich he or it 

 may be feared, and in si)ite of the brutality of the treatment received 

 at his hands, the folk do not honor iiim with offerings, prayers, adora- 

 tion, or sacrifice (ibid., 476). When the proverbial "pain and anguish 

 wring the brow," Indians behevc that tliese are duo to the Familiar 

 Spirits of some of theh- enemies by whom they have been sent (ibid., 

 473). When a person is sick, the offerings (anacri, Sect. 89) laid on 

 the little table (matutu) are not for the Maboya, as (incorrectly) 

 stated in one passage by Rochefort and Poincy (ibid., 563), but for 

 that Familiar Spirit wliich had been instructed to convey the sickness, 

 or for that FamiUar Spirit which liad played an important part in 

 effecting the cure, as (correctly) mentioned by the same authors in 

 another passage (ibid., 472). It is known also that the Island, as 

 well as the Mainland, Caribs painted or carved a hideous figure of tliis 

 spii'it in front of their canoes, not only to frighten their enemies, 

 but in order that the spirit's contemplation of its own likeness might 

 divert its attention into other channels. Tliis figure was said to be 

 Maboia (e. g., BBR, 23G), but as it would be ridiculous to assume the 

 existence of Bush or Forest Spirits upon the bosom of the waters, I 

 am forced to the conclusion that it represented a Chcmin, or Familiar 

 Spirit, capable of course of committing good or evil according to its 

 "master's" instructions (cf. Sect. 4^). 



85. Individuals can be relieved of the presence of undesirable 

 spirits by means of the piai-rattle (Sect. 289), as well as by so-caUed 

 "kissing" and "blowing." It is tliis latter method that I propose 

 discussing here. Wliile one writer talks of kissing being "unknown 

 among Indians" (IT, 193), another speaks of these people expressing 

 tenderness by kissing, not on the lips, but on aU parts of the body 

 (Cr, 175). If osculation is to be regarded as a sign of amativeness, 

 the former is an error, because certainly among Caribs, Akawai^ 



