﻿650 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  [B. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  if 
  they 
  did 
  not 
  have 
  sons." 
  This 
  seems 
  to 
  suggest 
  a 
  real 
  governing 
  

   cast, 
  a 
  fact 
  not 
  proved 
  by 
  other 
  evidence. 
  

  

  The 
  family. 
  — 
  Little 
  is 
  known 
  of 
  the 
  composition 
  of 
  the 
  family. 
  

   Polygyny 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  general, 
  and 
  occurred 
  in 
  sororal 
  form 
  

   according 
  to 
  the 
  statement 
  that 
  "if 
  a 
  man 
  marries 
  a 
  woman 
  with 
  many 
  

   sisters, 
  all 
  of 
  them 
  must 
  be 
  the 
  wives 
  of 
  the 
  husband 
  of 
  the 
  oldest 
  

   sister." 
  The 
  levirate 
  was 
  the 
  corollary 
  of 
  this: 
  when 
  a 
  man 
  died, 
  

   his 
  brother 
  became 
  the 
  husband 
  of 
  all 
  these 
  women. 
  Barzana 
  (1885) 
  

   adds: 
  

  

  Among 
  these 
  fierce 
  people 
  I 
  found 
  something 
  good 
  and 
  worth 
  praising: 
  they 
  

   marry 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  grown 
  up, 
  and 
  they 
  know 
  women 
  very 
  late. 
  It 
  is 
  not 
  because 
  

   of 
  the 
  fear 
  of 
  God, 
  whom 
  they 
  do 
  not 
  know, 
  but 
  because 
  they 
  say 
  that 
  to 
  indulge 
  in 
  

   that 
  vice 
  and 
  to 
  eat 
  flesh 
  makes 
  people 
  old, 
  and 
  thus 
  they 
  have 
  great 
  strength. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  light 
  of 
  modern 
  knowledge, 
  this 
  statement 
  seems 
  to 
  indicate 
  a 
  

   long 
  period 
  of 
  preparation 
  and 
  initiation 
  for 
  men, 
  with 
  required 
  chas- 
  

   tity, 
  until 
  the 
  tribal 
  rules 
  were 
  fulfilled 
  and 
  the 
  man 
  became 
  an 
  initiate. 
  

  

  Del 
  Techo 
  (1673) 
  states 
  that 
  circumcision 
  was 
  practiced 
  among 
  the 
  

   ancestors 
  of 
  the 
  natives 
  found 
  by 
  the 
  Spaniards, 
  and 
  that 
  special 
  

   ceremonies, 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  tribal 
  shaman 
  participated, 
  were 
  performed 
  

   when 
  young 
  persons 
  reach 
  puberty. 
  

  

  The 
  Spanish 
  census 
  shows 
  that 
  the 
  Diaguita 
  family 
  consisted 
  of 
  

   only 
  4 
  or 
  5 
  persons. 
  These 
  data 
  obviously 
  come 
  from 
  a 
  time 
  when 
  

   polygyny 
  had 
  been 
  abolished 
  by 
  the 
  White 
  invader 
  and 
  when 
  the 
  

   regime 
  of 
  encomiendas, 
  a 
  disguised 
  slavery, 
  was 
  unfavorable 
  to 
  

   expanding 
  families. 
  

  

  SICKNESS, 
  DEATH, 
  AND 
  BURIAL 
  

  

  The 
  Diaguita 
  did 
  not 
  believe 
  in 
  natural 
  death. 
  To 
  them 
  death 
  was 
  

   caused 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  secretly 
  by 
  an 
  enemy. 
  Hence, 
  suspicion 
  of 
  witch- 
  

   craft 
  within 
  a 
  family 
  and 
  between 
  families 
  and 
  tribes 
  often 
  led 
  to 
  

   bloody 
  fights. 
  

  

  Sick 
  people 
  were 
  cured 
  by 
  the 
  tribal 
  doctor, 
  who 
  also 
  was 
  a 
  witch. 
  

   Nothing, 
  however, 
  is 
  known 
  of 
  the 
  native 
  therapeutics. 
  When 
  the 
  

   cure 
  failed 
  and 
  the 
  patient 
  was 
  about 
  to 
  die, 
  the 
  relatives 
  began 
  a 
  

   period 
  of 
  vigil, 
  keeping 
  watch 
  and 
  drinking. 
  This 
  evidently 
  was 
  in- 
  

   tended 
  to 
  protect 
  the 
  sick 
  man 
  from 
  the 
  malignant 
  forces 
  which 
  

   threatened 
  him, 
  for 
  Del 
  Techo 
  (1673) 
  says 
  that 
  they 
  fixed 
  spears 
  

   around 
  the 
  place 
  where 
  the 
  patient 
  was 
  lying, 
  so 
  that 
  death 
  could 
  not 
  

   reach 
  him. 
  If 
  these 
  precautions 
  were 
  unsuccessful 
  and 
  death 
  oc- 
  

   curred, 
  laments 
  and 
  cries 
  started. 
  Food 
  and 
  drinks 
  were 
  placed 
  near 
  

   the 
  corpse 
  and 
  special 
  herbs 
  were 
  burned. 
  

  

  According 
  to 
  Lozano 
  (1873-75), 
  the 
  mourners, 
  dancing 
  and 
  jump- 
  

   ing, 
  approached 
  the 
  corpse 
  and 
  offered 
  it 
  food, 
  but 
  seeing 
  that 
  he 
  did 
  

   not 
  touch 
  it, 
  ate 
  it 
  themselves. 
  These 
  ceremonies 
  lasted 
  for 
  8 
  days, 
  

   after 
  which 
  the 
  burial 
  was 
  performed. 
  

  

  