196 P{CTURE-WRITING OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS. 
on several other rocks in the same region, and as they appear in 
many inscriptions of Central Amevica and at various points of North 
America, 
Senhor Araripe (b) gives the following account: : 
In Banabuiu, Brazil, about three-quarters of a league from the plantation of Caza- 
nova, on the road to Castelo, is a stone resting upon another, at the height of a man, 
which the inhabitants call Pedra-furada (pierced stone) having on its western face 
the inscription in Fig. 155. 
The characters have been much effaced by the rubbing of cattle against them; 
the stone has also cracked. Some fragments lying at the foot of it bear on their 
upper faces round holes made by a sharp tool, and resembling those shown in this 
figure. 
e 
e e 
Fig. 155.—Cup seulptures in Brazil. 
Cup stones, called by the Frenea pierres « ecuelles and pierres a 
cupules and by the Germans Seiaiensteine, are found throughout Hin- 
dustan, on the banks of the Indus, at the foot of the Himalayas, in 
the valley of Cashmere, and on the many cromlechs around Nagpoor. 
At this very day one may see the Hindu women carrying the water of 
the Ganges all the way to the mountains of the Punjab, to pour into 
the cupules and thus obtain from the divinity the boon of motherhood 
earnestly desired. 
The cup sculptures often become imposing by their number and_com- 
bination. In the Kamaon mountains there are numerous blocks that 
support small basins. One of them is mentioned as being 13 feet in 
length by 9 in breadth and 7 in height, and showing five rows of cupules. 
At Chandeswar (see Fig. 146) the rocks themselves are covered with 
these signs. They present two different types. One of the most fre- 
quent groups shows a simple round cavity; in the others, the cupels 
are encircled by a sort of rg carved in intaglio and encircling figures. 
One of these figures recalls the swastika, the sacred sign of the Aryans. 
The present Hindus are absolutely ignorant of the origin of these sculp- 
tures; they are fain to attribute them to the Goalas, a mysterious race. 
of shepherd kings who preceded the great invasions which imprinted 
an indelible stamp on the Indies as well as on Europe. These eupels 
are correlated with the worship of Mahadeo, one of the many names 
given to Siva, the third god of the Hindu triad, whose emblem is the 
