roTH] MARRIAGE, POLYGAMY, DIVORCE, WORK 681 
couplets to the bridegroom and the latter to the bride. As soon as 
it becomes dark the young wife is presented to her husband, which 
concludes the ceremony. . . . The same ceremonies prevail 
among all the tribes inhabiting the banks of the Orinoco. They 
merely differ with respect to the kind of couplets chanted by the old 
women to the bride (FD, 54). Gumilla supplies us with a few more 
particulars concerning the Orinoco, Guayquirie, and Mapoye, among 
whom it would appear that several brides were married at the same 
time. The evening and night before the nuptials is spent in all an- 
ointing and feathering themselves. A large number of old women 
apply themselves specially to decorating the brides with feathers. The 
cacique is the master of the ceremonies. From his seat he gives the 
necessary directions, etc. As soon as day breaks there comes from 
the bush close at hand a dancing party, with flutes and kettledrums, 
which circuits backward and forward around the house and houses 
of the brides, from whence an old woman presently emerges with a 
plate of food and gives it to one of the dancers. The latter then 
all rush at top speed back to the bush, and, scattering the plate and 
food, one of them will say: “ Here, you perro demonio,take this food 
and don’t come and upset our entertainment” (G, 1, 161). This 
ceremony completed, the dancers put on wreaths of flowers; a nose- 
gay in the left hand and the timbrels (sonaja) in the right; to the 
accompaniment of flutes they return dancing to the door of the 
bride, where another set of dancers in other decorations are already 
standing in a line. These latter are provided with flutes. ... 
In truth these flutes are in- pitch and have a sweet consonance 
when played in pairs, not less than when two violins, one for 
tenor and the other for contralto, are played. The _ bride- 
grooms, feathered in a particular fashion, join in the midst of this 
dance. They are able to frolic about nimbly because they have 
not been starved like the brides (sec. 885). The latter now emerge 
in sorry plight. The matrons who have been feathering them have 
not Jet them sleep the whole night; and what causes greater ran- 
cor is that each bride is accompanied by a frightful old woman 
on either side of her. These old hags already sing and cry for very 
truth, “Ah, my girl, if you only knew what troubles your husband 
will bring you, if you only knew what the pains of travail are, 
you would not get married,” and in this manner, with the men danc- 
ing, the old women weeping, and the brides out of their wits, they 
make the round of the whole village (G, 1, 161). Only among the 
Betoya and their various branches (capitanias) did Gumilla observe 
the parents express any interest in the welfare of the brides when 
handing them over, somewhat as follows: The father-in-law asked 
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