136 TJie Idol Head of the Jivaros. 



canos of the North. At that period they made the governor 

 of Macas prisoner, and killed him by pouring molten gold 

 down his throat ; afterwards they destroyed the Spanish settle- 

 ments in their part of the country in one day, killing the men, 

 but taking the women into captivity. In modern times many 

 expeditions have been organized to punish them, but all have 

 failed. 



The Jivaros are a warlike, brave, and astute people; they 

 love liberty, and can tolerate no yoke. Their bodies are mus- 

 cular, they have small and very animated black eyes, aquiline 

 noses, and thin lips. Many have beards and fair com- 

 plexions, most probably arising from the numbers of Spanish 

 women they captured in the insurrection of 1599. They have 

 fixed homes, cultivate yucas, maize, beans, and plantains, and 

 their women wear cotton cloth. They live in well-built huts 

 made of wood, and sleep in fixed bed-places instead of hammocks. 

 Their lances are made of the Chonta palm, the head being trian- 

 gular, thirty to fifty inches long, and ten to fifteen inches broad. 

 They are accustomed to take a strong emetic every morning, 

 consisting of an infusion of the guayusa, or tea plant, for the 

 sake of getting rid of all undigested food, and being ready for the 

 chase with an empty stomach. Their hair hangs over their 

 shoulders, and they wear a helmet of bright feathers. Yelasco, in 

 1789, divided them into three branches; Yillavicencio, in our 

 own times, divides them into ten, all speaking the same lan- 

 guage, which is sonorous, clear, and harmonious, easy to learn, 

 and energetic. Their branch tribes are constantly at war with 

 each other, but readily unite against a common enemy. Their 

 dissensions are frequently caused by their good living; the 

 abundance of fish and game makes them saucy to each other, 

 which often leads to serious quarrels. 



At each village they have a drum called Tunduli, to call the 

 warriors to arms, and the signal is repeated from village to village. 

 When engaged in war, their faces and bodies are painted ; but 

 during peace they wear breeches down to their knees, and a 

 shirt without sleeves. 



One of their prominent customs is to deify the heads of their 

 prisoners. This fact has been known for some time, but only 

 lately have any specimens been obtained. The first was 

 brought to Europe by Professor Cassola in June, 18G1, and 

 was exhibited to a few persons in London. This had been 

 stolen from a temple on the river Pastasa. At the latter end 

 of the same year another specimen fell into the hands of Don 11. 

 de Silva Ferro, Chilian consul in London, with an explanatory 

 document, which has been translated by Mr. Bollaert, and com- 

 municated to the Ethnological Society, together with some 

 account of the Jivaros themselves. 



