680 ARTS AND CRAFTS OF GUIANA INDIANS [BLH, ANN. 38 
wak stock) of the River Apaporis (ARW, 346), and also among the 
Apaliii (Carib stock), Cayenne. In the latter case it takes the follow- 
ing form: With their backs turned, the candidates for marriage have 
to throw cassava pellets at a piece of board on which a circle has been 
traced, and those who fail to hit it three times running are subjected 
to another ant and wasp stinging (Cr, 307). [For further informa- 
tion re puberty and prenuptial ordeals for both sexes consult WER, 
vi, sec. 267-278A. ] 
885. Women may have corresponding proofs to show of their 
fitness for permanent sexual union, first and foremost of which would 
be the advent of puberty, i. e., the marriageable state, the first signs 
of which, by the Makusi and others, were met with a whipping 
(WER, v1, sec. 271). With the present-day Pomeroon, Arawak, War- 
rau, and sophisticated Carib, the general practice is for the parties 
not to “marry” until the girl has given proof of her child-bearing 
capacity by becoming pregnant. An Indian requires his wife mainly 
for this purpose, being always able to satisfy his lust elsewhere. In 
olden times the Guayquirie of the Orinoco before marrying their 
daughters are said to have subjected them to a 40 days’ fast. Three 
fruits of the Murichi [Mauritia palm] and three ounces of cassava 
with a pitcher of water was their daily ration, with the result that 
on the day of the nuptials they appeared to be more like corpses 
than brides. The reason for this semistarvation was given by a 
cacique to Gumilla as follows: “ Our ancestors observed that wher- 
ever women, at their monthly periods, trod, everything withered, 
and if any man trod where they had placed their feet his legs swelled. 
Having studied the remedy, they ordered that we should starve our 
women so that their bodies might not contain poison” (G, 1, 159). 
Similar practices were observed with the Island Carib: When the 
girl became marriageable she was made to fast in her hammock for 
10 days on dry cassava and a little oviku (sec. 260). If the poor 
girl, pressed by hunger, should, during the night, take a piece of cas- 
sava, she was sure to be a sluggard and not likely to work (PBR, 
250). 
886. With regard to marriage ceremonies, the statement of Brett 
that none are to be observed in their heathen state (Br, 101) is in 
strange contrast to that of Gumilla, who talks of having seen somany 
in even one particular tribe that it would require pages to describe 
them (G,1, 159). Speaking in his day of the coastal country west- 
ward of the Guianas, Depons says that dancing and drunkenness 
constitute the whole ceremony of marriage. The relations on both 
sides are invited on such occasions. The men bring along with them 
materials proper to build a hut for the young pair and the females 
present them with fish, fruit, bread, and drink. The former chant 
