66 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY {bull. Tfl 



Those persons who have played some particularly important part at 

 the ceremonies are, however, obliged to fast. This, of course, first 

 of all applies to the slayer himself, his wife, and daughter, who, as 

 mentioned before, have to abstain from every kind of meat and are 

 only allowed to eat certain fruits. The priest {whuea), who as- 

 sists them, both now and during tlie following days must abstain 

 from eating swine's flesh. His most important duty is to prepare 

 tobacco juice, mixed with saliva, which medicine he has continually 

 to give to the slayer, as well as to his wife and daughter. Should 

 he touch swine's flesh, which the persons mentioned are strictly pro- 

 hibited from eating, the tobacco which he gives them would become 

 polluted and made ineffective. Likewise the priestess (ohdha), who 

 conducts the ceremonies of the women, is prohibited from tasting 

 pork. Like the priest, she, during the feast, mainly eats chicken, 

 together with manioc and other fruits. The two warriors, who, 

 previous to the dance ihidmhrama, rushed into the house with lances 

 and shields, and the third warrior, who followed them, firing a shot 

 into the air. are also obliged to fast on that day on account of their 

 having taken part in an important ceremony of conjuration. Thus 

 they are allowed to drink only a small quantity of manioc beer, 

 which is served to them in small clay dishes specifically made for 

 the purpose. 



Later in the forenoon the preparation of the manioc wine, which 

 wa^ begun three days ago, is continued. The roasted manioc, which 

 was then hung up in the three baskets, filled and arranged with so 

 much care, is now supposed to have properly ripened. The slayer, 

 accompanied by the priest and other men, goes to the shelter where 

 the bahkets had been hung up. The slajer, with the aid of the priest, 

 takes down the baskets one after the other and starts to open them, 

 proceeding with the utmost care and being always assisted by the old 

 man. The slayer and the priest both taste the fruit in each basket 

 to convince themselves of its having acquired the necessary virtue 

 for the preparation of the wine. The women start to masticate the 

 roasted fruit in the same way as the boiled manioc is masticated for 

 brewing ordinary manioc beer. A part of the fruit masticated is 

 then separated from the rest for the purpose of preparing a special 

 manioc substance from it by means of fermenting it. Of this sub- 

 stance a kind of manioc beer will be brewed, to be drunk after the 

 most important ceremony of the feast, the washing of the tsantsa, 

 two days later. Again, of the rest of the fruit masticated the proper 

 manioc wine {sangucha shiki), to be consumed on the last day of the 

 feast, is prepared in the following way : 



A clay pot is placed on the ground, and the slayer and his wife and 

 daughter, as well as the priest, take their stand in front of it. On a 



