8 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 79 



a temporary chief of war is generally only called unta^ " the old 

 one," because the chiefs are nearly always old, experienced men who 

 have killed many enemies and captured many heads. The small 

 blood feuds within the tribe, on the other hand, have a more private 

 character and as a rule are not fought out under the leadership of a 

 common chief. 



The dignity of a chieftain is hereditary in a relative sense, in so 

 far that the son of a chief is generally elected a chief in time of war 

 after his father has died or grown decrepit. This, however, can only 

 take place in case he has proved a valiant and skilled warrior and 

 has killed enemies. No Jibaro is selected as a chief if he has not 

 killed at least one enemy. The Jibaros have absolute faith in the 

 heritability of prominent qualities, and ascribe an extraordinary im- 

 portance to education and the power of example. The son of a 

 great chief, they say, must necessarily also become an able warrior 

 because he is, as it were, a direct continuation of his father, has re- 

 ceived a careful education for the deeds of war, and has always had 

 the good example of his great father before his eyes. 



The authority of the chief elected for a war is very great. It is he 

 alone who disposes everything for the expedition planned, who 

 decides about the time for and the mode of making the attack, and 

 the younger warriors oblige themselves to obey him in everything. 

 But as soon as a war has been carried to a successful end the power 

 of the chief ceases, and he has, in spite of the great repute he always 

 enjoys, no more authority or right to decide over the doings of his 

 tribesmen than any other family father among the Jibaros. 



CAUSES OF THE WARS 



Before describing the modes of making war among the Jibaro 

 Indians it is necessary to state what the causes of these wars generally 

 are. 



The Jibaros are by nature impulsive and choleric, qualities that 

 among them frequently give rise to disputes and quarrels which may 

 degenerate into sanguinary feuds. Their unbounded sense of liberty 

 and their desire to be independent, not only of the whites but also 

 of each other, is one of the reasons why they do not live in villages 

 but each family separately, for in this way conflicts are more easily 

 avoided. It may, for instance, happen that the swine, the most im- 

 portant domestic animals, who during the day are allowed to roam 

 about freely in the forest, penetrate into the plantations of a neigh- 

 boring family and devastate the crops. The owner gets angry and 

 claims compensation for the damage done. In this way quarrels 

 easily arise which may develop into bloody fights; at any rate there 

 enters general discord and distrust between the two families. Some 



