roTH] HUTS AND HOUSES 253 
But the framework of sticks may be done away with in its entirety if 
it is to afford shelter from rain only for an hour or two, when the 
banab consists only of a few leaves of some palm, laid flat one upon 
the other, and the stalks, which are bound together, stuck into the 
ground at such an angle that the natural curve of the leaf affords 
some shelter (IT, 208). 
296. A portion of truli or other similarly large leaf affords a port- 
able rain shelter, which is discarded after use. There are, however, 
certain specially plaited ones of the Arawak, Carib, and Warrau 
made from manicol leaf that are brought into requisition time after 
time (pl. 55). They may be balanced on the head, or, if the wind be 
fairly strong, held in position with a hand. They may occasionally be 
used as a sail on a corial (sec. 797). 
297. There are certain outhouses which, in a sense, combine more 
or less the order of structure of the banab with that of the permanent 
house. These may be either the kitchen, the sleeping quarters of one 
or both sexes, the stranger’s house, or the women’s retiring quarters 
during menstruation or confinement. The last mentioned, to be seen 
among the Warrau, certain of the older Moruca River Arawak, etc., 
may be distinguished by having tied onto them, in some conspicuous 
place, often the corners, some bundles of spent ite—i. e., the young 
leaf after removal of the outer cortex for fiber making. 
298. A convenient method of classification for permanent huts and 
houses is according to their methods of construction, whether in the 
form of a lean-to, an arched roof, a circular elliptical or rectangular 
ground-plan, and if built on posts or piles. Crévaux says of the Trio 
on the upper Parou, Cayenne, that their houses are less complete 
than those of the Oyampi and Ouayana. Not only have they no floor, 
but some of them are only covered on one side. They are simple 
shelters, not at all more complete than the ajoupas (banabs), which 
one constructs when traveling (Cr, 276). In fact, an interesting 
comparison can be made between this structure and the permanent 
lean-to of the Makusi and Patamona, one of which I came across 
(fig. 70) measuring some 16 or 17 feet in height. It was capable of 
easily accommodating half a dozen people, and had been thatched 
with ite leaf. The fixation of all the different parts had been effected 
with vine rope. 
299. On the Cuyuni the Carib and Arawak huts were alike (SeG, 
226). The houses of the Carib,says Hilhouse (on the upper Essequibo 
and Cuyuni), are constructed of two rows of elastic rods, about 20 
feet long, stuck firmly into the ground and bent over at the top in the 
shape of a pointed arch. The base is about 20 feet and the whole is cov- 
ered with the leaves of the palm laid horizontally from bottom to top 
