270 ANIMISM AND POLK-LOKE OF GUIANA INDIANS [bth. ann. 30 



Riv(>r Indians blame their coiTesponding spirit, the Jurupari, for 

 the thunderstorms; it is at these times that he is angi-y witli them 

 (ARW, 348). The Kobenas beUeve that at death separation of spirit 

 from body is takin<;; phxce (KG, ii, 152). Warraus beheve thunder 

 to be the roar of Bhxck Tiger (Sect. H8). The Surinam negroes 

 regard the old-time Indian stone weapons as thunderbolts, and look 

 on them as taUsmans with which they part only with reluctance (WJ, 

 71). Many people [Indians, '^Spaniards] at Caracas and elsewhere 

 wear them on their necks as amulets for protection against light- 

 ning and thunder (AR, 461). 



319. With regard to storms generally, the Carib Islanders — 



When they have to cross over sea to go to another island like St. Alousi or St. Vin- 

 cent ... no pure water is drmik, and tliey are very careful not to spill any in the 

 canoe or in the sea (Sect. 19S); it would cause the sea to swell and make rain and bad 

 weather come. . . . They cannot pass certain places at sea without throwing over 

 food: it is for some Caribs who have perished there, and now have their huts at tlie 

 bottom of the sea. They could otherwise not pass without the boat capsizing. When 

 a storm cloud is seen, they all blow in the air and drive it away with their hands to 

 turn the rain in another direction. To make the sea calm, and allay a storm, they 

 chew cassava, then spit it in the air and sea to appeaise the Chemeen (Sect. S9) who is 

 perhaps angry because he is hungry. If they have an unfavorable wind, an old man 

 out of the crowd takes an arrow and hits the hydrant of the canoe, which is supposed 

 to let the canoe go as straight as an arrow: if a gust of wind makes them lose sight of 

 land, they consult the devil. [BBR, 245.] 



