476 ARTS AND CRAFTS OF GUIANA INDIANS [BrH. ANN. 38 
servations the following may be considered a fairly dependable ac- 
count of the present-day Makusi festivities which seem to have a 
regular place in the Indian calendar about the end of December when, 
with the early rains, the supply of cassava is more or less at its best. 
A large brew, often several dozen gallons, having been prepared 
of the cassava drink, a start is made with the humming-bird dance, 
for which the performers are painted with white clay and decorated 
with gaudily-colored feather hat crowns. A Makusi gave me the 
following five verses of what are now sung and repeated ad lib. He 
assured me that he could remember no more unless I made him 
drunk. On the other hand, it is said that no one man can give all 
the verses, that no two men have all the verses alike, and that in 
many cases the words are extemporized. Even when intoxicated 
they do not get their words without constant prompting. The 
tepuru or master of ceremonies may assist. Here are the verses: 
1h Tawa ke wapurai menokai 
(greyish) clay with kaolin to mark 
To paint with white clay, kaolin. 
ii, Tawa chimoka i ya 
clay digsup he (sign of subject) 
He digs up clay. 
iii. Tawa-ri ke  wataramingkai 
Clay-his with to paint up. 
iv. Tawa ke, tawa _ ke, i mota ramingkai 
Clay with, cay with, his shoulder, to paint 
v. Wai-i wai-i yarakamu ya 
Gourd gourd Tempty (sign of subject) 
I empty all the gourds. 
589. Parishara is the name of a bird that builds a long dependent 
nest, but from the descriptions given me I have not been able to 
identify it. On different occasions I have been led to believe it to be 
a btinia (one of the mocking birds), a troupial, a crested manikin, a 
small blackbird variously colored. At any rate, the men who dance 
it daub their bodies, arms, and faces with kuari (Makusi), a black 
dye made from the fruit of a species of wild guava. From the split 
pinnules of the kokerit and perhaps other palms they plait crowns, 
necklaces, and skirts (see. 551), and deck themselves up in them 
(pl. 169 A, B, C). The leaves of the crowns are in two rows, one 
pointing outward and the other downward over the forehead and 
round the head. Of course they are cut to a suitable length. The 
necklace of leaves hangs down over the chest, shoulders, and back as 
far as the waist, while the skirt hangs around, reaching to the knees 
and below them. The costume is decidedly effective as the parishara 
appear in the distance emerging from the forest or coming into view. 
