﻿956 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  [B. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  requires 
  that 
  only 
  the 
  patient 
  fast. 
  He 
  spits 
  coca 
  juice 
  on 
  various 
  

   parts 
  of 
  the 
  sick 
  man's 
  body, 
  and 
  at 
  night 
  performs 
  a 
  ritual 
  to 
  "take 
  

   out 
  the 
  dirt," 
  i. 
  e., 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  the 
  disease. 
  In 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  his 
  

   treatment, 
  the 
  shaman 
  goes 
  out 
  to 
  a 
  hill 
  to 
  gather 
  fireflies. 
  He 
  places 
  

   them 
  in 
  a 
  vessel 
  and 
  buries 
  them, 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  

   harmful 
  evil 
  spirits 
  sent 
  by 
  the 
  person 
  who 
  caused 
  the 
  sickness. 
  

   They 
  are 
  thought 
  to 
  turn 
  against 
  the 
  person 
  who 
  sent 
  them, 
  whom 
  

   the 
  shaman 
  identifies 
  by 
  his 
  shadow, 
  which 
  he 
  detects 
  in 
  the 
  darkness 
  

   of 
  the 
  night. 
  

  

  THE 
  CULTURE 
  OF 
  THE 
  PIJAO 
  

  

  Despite 
  48 
  expeditions 
  prior 
  to 
  1611 
  against 
  the 
  Pijao, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   most 
  fearsome 
  and 
  savage 
  people 
  in 
  Colombia, 
  the 
  Spaniards 
  learned 
  

   little 
  about 
  their 
  culture. 
  Friar 
  Pedro 
  Simon 
  collected 
  the 
  most 
  

   details 
  regarding 
  their 
  usages 
  and 
  customs. 
  

  

  SUBSISTENCE 
  ACTIVITIES 
  

  

  Pijao 
  food 
  was 
  very 
  similar 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  peoples 
  previously 
  de- 
  

   scribed. 
  The 
  most 
  common 
  cultivated 
  plants 
  were 
  maize, 
  yuca, 
  

   arracacha, 
  beans, 
  potatoes, 
  and 
  other 
  roots 
  and 
  tubers; 
  and 
  many 
  

   fruits, 
  such 
  as 
  avocados 
  (cura), 
  papayas, 
  plums, 
  pineapples, 
  ana 
  

   uchuva 
  (a 
  kind 
  of 
  cherry). 
  The 
  Indians 
  got 
  many 
  fish 
  from 
  the 
  

   rivers, 
  especially 
  the 
  Magdalena 
  River, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  mountains 
  they 
  

   hunted 
  pumas 
  and 
  "ocumares," 
  a 
  sort 
  of 
  anteater. 
  They 
  cultivated 
  

   vegetables, 
  but 
  not 
  fruit 
  trees, 
  in 
  fields 
  which 
  the 
  Spaniards 
  always 
  

   sought 
  to 
  destroy 
  and 
  burn. 
  

  

  HABITATIONS 
  

  

  Dwellings 
  were 
  spacious 
  and 
  high. 
  They 
  had 
  walls 
  of 
  wood 
  and 
  

   mud 
  (bahareque), 
  whitewashed 
  with 
  clay 
  or 
  white 
  earth, 
  and 
  were 
  

   provided 
  with 
  furnishings, 
  such 
  as 
  wooden 
  chairs. 
  The 
  conquerors 
  

   found 
  the 
  chief, 
  Carlaca 
  or 
  Calarca, 
  sitting 
  in 
  state 
  in 
  one 
  of 
  those 
  

   chairs 
  in 
  his 
  house. 
  Some 
  people 
  lived 
  temporarily 
  under 
  the 
  shelter 
  

   of 
  trees 
  and 
  palms, 
  perhaps 
  only 
  while 
  farming. 
  

  

  DKESS 
  AND 
  OKNAMENTS 
  

  

  The 
  Pijao 
  generally 
  went 
  entirely 
  naked, 
  hence 
  the 
  name 
  "Pinao" 
  

   (men 
  of 
  large 
  sex) 
  given 
  by 
  the 
  Spaniards, 
  a 
  word 
  which 
  soon 
  became 
  

   " 
  Pijao.' 
  ' 
  They 
  painted 
  their 
  bodies 
  with 
  the 
  substance 
  obtained 
  

   from 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  the 
  arnotto 
  tree, 
  and 
  some 
  groups 
  wore 
  small 
  cotton 
  

   blankets 
  (mantas) 
  . 
  Men 
  and 
  women 
  protected 
  their 
  heads 
  and 
  long 
  

   hair 
  with 
  hats, 
  not 
  unlike 
  bonnets, 
  woven 
  of 
  palm 
  leaves. 
  They 
  

   adorned 
  their 
  bodies 
  with 
  many 
  feathers 
  in 
  a 
  manner 
  which 
  the 
  

   Spaniards 
  described 
  as 
  "quaint 
  and 
  odd 
  liveries 
  made 
  of 
  feathers 
  in 
  

   various 
  and 
  pleasant 
  colors," 
  and 
  wore 
  some 
  gold 
  ornaments. 
  They 
  

  

  