ROTH] OMENS, CHASMS, TALISMANS 281 



again, the Pomeroon Indian \\'ill gash the snout with a sting-ray barb 

 and pour on the raw surface a few drops of a solution made as foUows: 

 Some of the hottest kind of peppers are squeezed into a swab of 

 cotton akeady moistened ^\^th a httle water; a sugar-loaf funnel is 

 then made of a suital)le loaf, the cotton swab expressed into it, and a 

 few drops allowed to trickle down thi'ough the fimnel on the inci- 

 sions. It is said that in two or three days' time the animal is ready to 

 hunt, and when on the chase will keep his nose close to the ground, 

 this action allowing of all grass and undergrowth being well turned 

 over and scoured. Ants are also sometimes made to bite the crea- 

 ture's snout: or the same hairy caterpillar j)reviously mentioned 

 (Sect. SSO). is rubbed into it. There is reported, however, an equally 

 painful method as practised by the Makusi, Arekunas, and Akawaios. 



Two hole.s are dug in the ground, and by pushing a etick from one to the other of 

 these, and then withdrawing this, a tunnel or covered passage is made between the 

 two holes. A fire in wliich parings of the hoofs of tapirs and other animal suVistances 

 are burned, is then kindled in one hole; ants and wasps are also put into this hole, 

 and it is then covered over with sticks and earth. The smoke . . . pa.sses tlirough 

 the tunnel into the second hole. The poor dog is then caught, and its head is held 

 down in the second hole, until the animal sometimes drops senseless from pain. 

 ' [IT, L'2S.] 



233. Binas are charms, plant or animal, which effect their purpose 

 by enticing or attracting the j)articular object or desire yearned for, 

 whatever it may be — from the capture of an animal to the gratifica- 

 tion of a wish. The real source of the term bin-a is from the Arawak 

 bia^bina, meaning " to entice, attract," etc., and so comes to be applied 

 to all those things, plant or animal, which act on those lines. I have 

 found nothing of this nature in the inorganic world, unless the cjuartz- 

 pebbles within the piai's rattle are to be considered such. As against 

 this view, it might be urged that the medicine-man's tobacco-smoke 

 constitutes the real or at least co-equal attraction for the Spirits 

 (Sect. 170). Im Thm-n is certainly incorrect in speaking of the word 

 being of Carib origin. As a matter of fact, the Carib term is tnralMri; 

 for example, the Caribs speak of the bush-hog bina as ponjo-turallari. 

 The Warrau word is aibihi; for instance, toma-aibihi means the bina 

 for meat, in general. As a rule there is but one bina for each special 

 object or thing, but not necessarily. I know of one that is employed 

 for small hog, deer, and acom"i; and with very few exceptions, the 

 plants employed as binas are the different varieties of caladium. 

 Indian huntsmen place great value on the use of the caladia, each 

 variety being a bina or charm to assist in the taking of a particular 

 kind of game. Not only do these plants grow spontaneously in old 

 fields, but the Indians carefully remove and plant in the immediate 

 neighborhood of their dwellings the most valued kinds, as the binas 

 for tapir, wild hogs, deer, labbas, turtle, and those for the various 



