204 THE ABORIGINES OF PORTO RICO [eth. ann. 25 



piece of wood in the shape of a beast with very short legs and the tail 

 held up, the head before, with eyes and ears of "old." As Professor 

 j\Iason has shown, the wooden seats which were sent to the National 

 Museum by Mr Gabb "are facsimiles of those spoken of by Herrera." 

 It is probable that the stools or seats were chairs of state and that the 

 two Spaniards, t)eing regarded as supernatural personages, were led 

 to these seats on that account. These <h//io.y were regarded in a way 

 as sacred and were highly prized, although, according to Herrera, 

 sometimes given to the Spaniards as tribute. 



Many references to the use of seats called tureys among Orinoco and 

 other South American tribes might be c[Uoted from early writings, 

 but one or two will be sufficient to show their similarity to those of 

 the West Indian aborigines. Gumilla writes of the Guayquiries, one 

 of the poorest of the Orinoco tribes, which since his time has disap- 

 peared, that their houses had no furniture except hammocks, and seats 

 "roughly made of solid logs of wood and called ////vy.y."" 



Mr im Thurn mentions the use by the Indians of Guiana of similar 

 wooden seats and points out their resemt)lance to those used by the 

 aborigines of the West Indies. He thus describes these wooden stools 

 of the Guiana Indians:* 



IVext in importance among the wooden articles made and used by the Indians are 

 the low seats or benches common in their houses, which are also hewn in spare 

 moments from solid blocks of wood. The very desirable object of these seem to be 

 to raise the hams of the Indian, when sitting, out of the reach of the jiggers which 

 usually abound on the floors of the houses, and are painful enough when they enter 

 the flesh of the feet, but are far more inconvenient in other parts of the body. These 

 benches are from 6 to 10 inches high, and they are often so carefully scooped out and 

 shaped to fit the body of the sitter that they are as comfortable as any cushioned 

 stool could be. They are often formed into grotesque figures of tortoi-ses, frogs, arma- 

 dillos, alligators, and other animals. One in the Christy collection, which, though 

 not from Guiana, is Carib, is in the form of a man on all fours, the middle of the back 

 forming the seat. Bright-colored seeds, and occasionally jiebbles, are inserted to 

 represent the eyes. 



The diiho-s or tureyft, by both of which names the aboriginal seats or 

 stools were designated by the aborigines of Porto Rico, were of two 

 t^'pes, one Hat and stool-like, without back, but horizontal with short, 

 stumpj' legs, the other having a curved back, rounded to tit the body, 

 also with stumpy legs, and commonly with a carved head on the 

 lower rim. 



The first type (plate xcii) is always made of stone and has been con- 

 sidered a kind of metate upon which seeds, pigments, or even maize 

 were gi'ound. This consists of a slightl}' concave stone slab of small size, 

 genei'ally having scanty decoration, but always with legs. One of these 

 objects is represented from three sides in plate xcii, a. «', a". The 



"This Eame word is applied at present by the country people of Porto jtlieo to a characteristic chair 

 that is still used among them. 

 & Among the Indians of Guiana, p. -JHS, London, 1883. 



