64 THE ABORIGINES OF PORTO RICO 



older writings. Doctor Cronau tiouri's two Luoayaii clay pipe l)owls 

 of a bird form identical with certain mound pipes that are now in the 

 Nassau lil^rary, New Providence island. Bahamas. As similar forms 

 have not been recorded from the more southerly' West Indies and lit- 

 tle is known of the history of those from Bahama, it is desira1)le to 

 determine their antiquity and to know detinitely the locality in which 

 they were found. 



In aboriginal secular smoking- it was customar}^ to roll the tobacco 

 leaf in much the .same waj' that cigars are now made, and a cigar is 

 even now called a "tobacco" in the West Indies. The companions 

 of Columbus noticed the Cuban Indians smoking- tobacco in this form. 

 Gomara says that the islanders ate tobacco, but it is more probable 

 that they simply chewed the i °rb fv.r its narcotic influences, the object 

 being to obtain psycho-religiou* "-ug':, tions. 



A beverage made from the root ^ the manioc was used in dances, 

 many of which closed with a general debauch in which all the partici- 

 pants became intoxicated. There is every reason to suppose that this 

 drink was pi'epared in the same way as the intoxicant employed by 

 the Guiana Indians described by im Thurn. 



Rites and Ceremoxies 



For our knowledge of the ceremonies of the prehistoric Porto 

 Ricans we must rely whollv on early authors whose accounts relate 

 to the Indians of Haiti rather than to those of Porto Rico. As all 

 agree that there was close similarity in the inhabitants of the two 

 islands we are justitied in the belief that the descriptions given hold 

 good also for the Indians of Borincjuen, or Porto Rico. There is, 

 besides, a certain parallelism in the ceremonies of all primitive peo- 

 ples, a knowledge of which may be used in interpreting the ritual 

 of any individual tribe. 



The most important communal ceremonies among the Haitians were 

 performed for rain and the growth of the crops, but there were cere- 

 monies for success in war and for curing the sick, commemoration 

 rites over the dead, initiation rites, and various others. In some 

 instances these rites took the form of elaborate dances, accompanied 

 by prayers, songs, and other performances. Dramatization played an 

 important part in all ceremonies and was especialh- prominent in war 

 dances, in which were represented the motive of the war, the depar- 

 ture of the warriors, ambuscades, surprise of the enemy, combat, cele- 

 bration of the victoiy, and return of the war party, accompanied with 

 mortuary rites of a commemorative nature, for the fallen (plate ix). 

 These dramatizations were called by the same name as other cere- 

 monial dances celebrated on important occasions. A dance, or arelto, 

 accompanied the birth of a child and the death of a cacique. In 

 medicinal practice it was regarded as a means of augmenting the 



