ROTH] DEATH AND MOURNING 653 
inside the house, the ring itself moving around. Every now and 
again one of them would leave the circle for the center and make 
himself as it were temporary master of ceremonies. From here he 
would stop the ring, speak, start it again, and after whipping pro- 
miscuously here and there twice, return to join the ring, which an- 
other thereupon left to take his place. Only one whip was used, and 
no women took part in it. The whip was apparently similar to 
that observed among the Arawak. | 
850. Otomac.—‘Although the dead,” says Gumilla, “are buried, 
and with them bread and liquor, they disinter the skulls, after the 
lapse of a year, and carry them to the shade of their ancestral home, 
depositing them in the crevices that are to be met with between the 
crags and stones forming this Barraguan Rock, where a large number 
of calvaria are to be seen, unless they are already turned into stone, 
as the people believe” (G, 1, 113). It was customary for these 
Otomac to build their own places of sepulture beforehand (G, 1, 154), 
and to bewail the dead as a matter of daily routine. Thus, as soon 
as the cocks crow, about 3 o’clock in the morning, the air is rent with 
a sad and confused sound of cries and lamentation, mixed with 
tears and other appearances of grief. They are mourning the absence 
of their dead. Some mourn for their fathers, some for their husbands, 
others for their mothers and brothers. They mourn not by way of 
ceremony, but in very truth. When day breaks, the wailing ceases, 
and joy reigns—reigns until midnight, the hour at which, overcome 
with dancing (unless it rains or thunders), they go to sleep for three 
hours. This practice is very different from that observed by other 
nations, who lie down to rest at nightfall, and get up to bathe at the 
first dawn of day (G, 1, 167). 
851. Saliva.—Records of the burial and mourning customs of this 
nation and its allied stocks, the Piaroa and Ature, are to be found in 
the writings of Gumilla, Crévaux, and Von Humboldt, respectively. 
The following is an abridged description of that of a brother of the 
Saliva chieftain Pugduga. Some men were ornamenting the grave 
which was in the middle of the house where he had died. Others were 
gone to fetch turtle and fish for the guests, while the women were 
busily engaged in making chicha or beer. The deceased’s relatives 
repaired to the different villages with invitations for the appointed 
date. “On the evening fixed for the celebrations the chieftain took 
us,” says Gumilla, “to have a look at the place of sepulture, close to 
which the widow was weeping. Her hair was clumsily hacked off, 
and she wore none of those ornaments which women usually sport; 
indeed, widows are not allowed to anoint themselves until after a con- 
siderable period of mourning. The grave itself (pl. 160 B) was in- 
closed with well-made latticework decorated in various colors. At the 
