62 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [VOL. 50 



shaped shells they are strung tightly together on a cord or rod, and 

 a bit of grinding stone is rubbed up and down their edges till they 

 are of equal size. A wide belt is made by placing two bamboo rods 

 in the ground two feet or more apart and winding around them the 

 thread that is to serve as warp, placing each thread close beside the 

 preceding one. The woof is then worked with the fingers and a 

 wooden blade. 



Wild cotton is pulled out and rolled into thread by hand just as the 

 fiber of the palm is made into cord. 



Bows and arrows are used in war, but they prefer to fight at close 

 quarters with a club of heavy wood, shaped nearly like a baseball bat, 

 about 3^2 feet long. A smaller club is also used as club or sword. 



The ceremony of naming baby boys is very interesting.* Early in 

 the morning the family and friends, with the little one coated and 

 ornamented with feathers of crimson and white, accompanied by a 

 priest, take up a position on the highest ground near the village. At 

 sunrise, the priest pierces the lower lip of the embryo warrior with a 

 long, sharp, bone-pointed instrument made for the occasion and dec- 

 orated with many-colored feathers. At the same time he pronounces 

 ' ' Piadudu ' ' or the name of some bird, animal, or object whose name 

 the child is to bear. "Piadudu," softly repeat the family and 

 friends, and thus " Piadudu," humming-bird, a favorite name, be- 

 comes the name of the child. They are very jealous of their names 

 and will not make them known to any one not belonging to their 

 tribe, always when asked responding "parduko" — I do not know. 

 A woman is totally disfranchised and can scarcely consider herself a 

 citizen. She is merely an adjunct to the man. 



These savages, although so filthy in their habits, are sometimes 

 quite sensitive to noxious odors, and we were sometimes much 

 amused to see them rush about in disgust to escape some disagree- 

 able odor. 



They make no canoes, but are satisfied with small rafts sufficient 

 to float their cocoanuts or mano down the river. 



The Bororo are the tallest of any South American Indians I have 

 seen. I do not remember one man under five feet seven inches, and 

 they are sometimes six feet three or four inches tall. They are full 

 faced, the nose well shaped and not large nor particularly flat, nor 

 are the cheek bones especially prominent. Many of the children 

 and some of the young men are quite handsome. 



The tribe is supposed to number between five and ten thousand 

 souls. We visited eight villages and settlements. 



