644 ARTS AND CRAFTS OF GUIANA INDIANS [ETH, ANN. 38 
to the grave, and so that no earth should fall on top of him, a strong 
hurdle is fixed at about a hand’s breadth above the body. Upon 
this are put many broad leaves, upon which the earth is finally 
trampled. The same practice is observed by the Achagua [Arawak 
stock], but only with their captains and chiefs, and with the pe- 
culiarity that the last layer to be put over the grave is one of clay 
or mud well trodden in. Every morning for a long time after they 
plaster up the crevices arising from the drying up of the clay. This 
is done not for the prevention of any bad smells but to stop the ants 
entering and worrying the deceased. Other nations have a contrary 
belief—that as soon as the body is buried the ants come and eat it. 
Indeed, to express their anger when much annoyed with any one 
they will say, “I hope to goodness that the ants may soon attack 
you” (G, 1, 199-200). This same objection to the close contact of 
the body with Mother Earth was also noted by Crévaux among the 
Piapoco, another Arawak stock of the lower Guaviar. They bury 
the deceased in his hut, in a hole about 1.50 meters deep, where he 
is laid with his feathers and weapons. They place a canoe bench on 
his face and body to prevent their contact with the earth. Men are 
on the one side of the grave, women on the other, and all the chant- 
ing and wailing consists of two words, which, translated, mean “ My 
brother has left me” (Cr, 526). 
There is evidence that exhumation among the Guiana Arawak has 
been practiced up to comparatively recent times, not only in connec- 
tion with the chieftains but also the common people. As to the latter 
we have Bancroft’s authority for the following: After the body has 
lain in the earth for several months, and the flesh is supposed to be 
perfectly rotten, the grave is opened and the bones taken out and dis- 
tributed among the relatives, on which occasion the same ludicrous 
scene of riot and sorrow is again reacted (BA, 316). The Tariana 
(an Arawak stock) of the Uaupes River practiced exhumation in 
Wallace’s day (sec. 854). Although Gumilla makes mention of 
certain drunken revelries and their attendant decorations celebrated 
upon the anniversary of a cacique’s or captain’s death among the 
Caberre (Arawak stock) of the Orinoco (G, 1, 124), no details are 
furnished. On the other hand, certain information is procurable rel- 
ative to the Pomeroon and Berbice district Arawak, which, pieced to- 
gether, forms a fairly complete account of the festivities, dances, and 
ceremonies taking place at shorter or longer intervals subsequent to 
the death and burial of the deceased. Of the dances, there were two, 
the Makuari and Hauyari, which would seem to have been originally 
restricted to the special occasion of a male and female, respectively. 
