r.OTH] THE MEDICINE-MAN 349 



309. Among the Pomeroou Caribs I have been present on several 

 occasions on the Manawarin River at the procedure adopted by a piai 

 to affect a cure. It has always been at night, with the doctor seated in 

 a small temporary cone-shaped structure rouglily made of manicole 

 leaves, and the rattle brought into requisition. Operations invariably 

 commenced with the invocation of four particular Spirits by "sing- 

 ing" to them, each with a different song, by tobacco smoke, and 

 by shaking the maraka. As a matter of fact the medico is said to 

 call up only the fii-st Spirit; the latter, however, invokes the sec- 

 ond, and so on. The names of these four Spirits, in the order in 

 which they are summoned, are Mawari (Sect. 122), Makai-abdni, 

 lakai-a, and Aturar6ni. All except the second live somewhere in the 

 bush, but they come when summoned by the rattle. Makai-ab&ni, 

 on the other hand, remains in the maraka, coming out only when 

 shaken, and then he envelops himself in the tobacco-smoke. All 

 these four are good Spirits and friends of the piai; they are male and 

 female, like people, and come from the bodies of old-time medicine- 

 men; they tell the celebrant whether the disease from which the sick 

 man is suffering has been sent by another Spirit or by another piai 

 at the instigation of some enemy. The three evil Spirits who send 

 sickness, ill-luck, and other calamities to mankind, belong to Cloud- 

 land, and to Water; Kwamaraka lives in the sky below the clouds and 

 is something like a "gaulding" bird (Pilerodius) ; Tokoroi-mo has his 

 home below the clouds, and resembles the "doraquarra" bird (Odorv- 

 tophorus); wliile Oko-_vumo is the " water-mamma" (Sect. / 77). These 

 thi'ce have a master, called No-s6no, who lives somewhere above the 

 clouds ; he is a man, a very bad one, is always for killing somebody, and 

 is his own master. But to return. If the disease has been sent by one 

 or other of these bad Spirits, the piai gets Mawari to take it far, far 

 away, away to the Orinoco River; but if by another piai, the present 

 celebrant will send it back to him, and woe betide the latter if he is not 

 smart enough to avoid it, for unless he takes very great care he is 

 sure to die from it. Should, however, the sickness prove stubborn, 

 "Tiger" is finally called on; dii'ectly his voice is heard the disease 

 comes out to be speedily devoured by him. But if Tiger should prove 

 unsuccessful, nothing now can possibly save the patient. 



310. The Galibi piai of French Guiana practised similar methods, 

 according to the accounts left us by Barrere: After placing the 

 maraka below the patient's hammock, the piai starts sucking at 

 those parts of the sick pei-son's body where the pains are greatest, 

 afterward passing both hands over the patient; he then strikes his 

 hands together and blows on each palm (Sect. S5) so as to drive 

 away the "Devil" [Spirit] that has attached itself there (Sect. 74) y 

 the piai will sometimes pinch up pieces of his own skin, and thus 

 extracting corpulency (embonpoint) and good health, wiU apply 

 these in handsful to the patient while making the passes over him. 



