276 TlMEHRI. 



The following are some Macoosi children's dramatic 

 representations of the doings of animals : — In the 

 kaikoosi, or jaguar dance, all but three of the players 

 form one long procession, each player with his hands on 

 the shoulders of the one immediately in front of him, 

 and then the whole procession winds here and there, 

 with rhythmic sway of bodies from side to side, and 

 with rhythmic monotonous chanting of the words ''Kai- 

 koosi brahma celeribe.'' (" There is no jaguar here to- 

 day.") Then from the encircling crowd of onlookers 

 breaks a player, one of the three omitted from the pro- 

 cession, and he, moving on his two hands and one leg — 

 the other leg held high in the air to represent a tail — is 

 the jaguar whose task it is to catch the hindermost 

 member of the procession before its leader, encumbered 

 by his followers, can turn and tace the dangerous beast, 

 and then' to carry him off and place him among the 

 spectators. One thus caught and placed, the next has 

 to be caught also, and so on until all the members of the 

 procession have been removed f.o the jaguar's lair among 

 the spectators. The two other players not involved in 

 the procession are two small boys who, on 'all-threes,' 

 imitate the jaguar cubs, running here and there after 

 the full-grown kaikoosi, doing nothing else, but adding 

 considerably to the pi6luresqueness of the scene. 



In the monkey dance all form in single file and move 

 in procession, but very quickly, and with ever quicker 

 and quicker movement until a considerable pace is 

 attained ; they wind round and round the open space, and 

 across and across it, till, at a sudden and unexpected 

 signal from the leader, the line is in an instant broken, 

 and, so quickly that it is impossible in the half-light to 



