292 TlMEHRI. 



their whips pointing to a common centre, at which 

 lies the square board. Suddenly, at a signal from 

 the time-beaters in the centre, and always in time 

 with this beating, the men come forward with a curious 

 little running motion, and the circle contracts. The 

 time-beaters beat on, now faster, now slower; and 

 as they beat, the circle of dancers round them ad- 

 vance and retreat, faster or slower; and, as they dance, 

 in constant alternation the points of the whips are 

 now raised toward the sky, so that the men's figures 

 are bent backward out of the circle, now are turned, as 

 at first described, down toward the ground. Descrip- 

 tion entirely fails to give any idea of the curious grace- 

 fulness of this measured swaying backward and forward 

 of bodies, and of the unusual grace and unusual activity 

 of these dancers. 



After a time the women occasionally break in and in- 

 crease the circle of dancers, to the destruction both of 

 the gracefulness and, it must be said, rapidity of the dance. 

 The Warrau game, called taratoo, in which the most 

 marked feature is that each player is provided with a 

 large shield made of palm-leaf stalks, is both, as far as I 

 know, unrecorded as played by any other people, and is 

 remarkable for certain features peculiar to it. Chief 

 of these are, that it is the only game, except mere 

 children's games, known to me which is not accompanied 

 by drinking, and that there is a real element of conten- 

 tion in it, in that it is used as a practical means, a trial 

 by ordeal, of settling disputes which may have arisen 

 between distinct groups of Warraus, generally between 

 two groups, respectively occupying adjacent rivers or 

 creeks. 



