CuaPrer IV 
’ TWINE, CORDS, AND BANDS: OTHER THAN COTTON 
Mauritia (ite) twine (57): Sarau (58) and uses (59); sensoro and uses (60); knapsack 
straps (61, 62); bina strings (63). ? 
Bromelia (silk grass, kuraua) twine (64): Use for fishlines (65-69); employed with 
needle (70); three-yarn hammock ropes (71). 
Astrocaryum and remaining twines, etc.: Attalea funifera, Leopoldina piassaba, 
Carludovica, etc. (72). 
57%. Mauritia, ite (zeta) twine.—The young unopened leaf of the 
‘ Mauritia flecuosa palm, the ite of the Creole, Arawak, etc.,is cut away 
from the tree, skaken 
out, and opened, and the 
distal extremity of each 
segment treated as fol- 
lows: While the segment 
is firmly secured in posi- 
tion with the left hand, 
its extreme tip is bent 
between the right thumb 
and forefinger, the por- 
tion of blade imme- 
diately below being 
doubled upon itself and 
eripped between the 
same thumb and middle 
finger (fig. 25 A). Dur- 
ing the course of a com- 
paratively slow move- 
ment which the right 
hand now makes toward 
the operator it glides 
over the doubled por- 
tion of segment, but at 
the same time squeezes 
it so tightly as to pro- 
duce a kink on both its surfaces. It is owing to this kink that 
the cortex can now be seized, and once seized, stripped to its 
base, both front and back, where it remains until all the remain- 
ing segments have been similarly treated. These cortical strips, 
now known as tibishiri (Arawak) are finally all removed and 
either soaked in water for a week or boiled for half an hour or so 
and washed; they are next sundried for a week or ten days, those 
obtained from one leaf being usually tied up at one end together into 
lll 
Fic. 25.—Manufacture ofite (mauritia) twine. 
