222 



THE LOWER AMAZONS 



which forms a kind of festival of a semi-reUgioiis char- 

 acter. They begin by drinking large quantities of cay- 

 suma and cashiri, fermented drinks made of various fruits 

 and mandioca, but they prefer casha9a, or rum, when they 

 can get it. In a short time they drink themselves into a 

 soddened semi-intoxicated state, and then commence 

 taking the Parica. For this purpose they pair off, and 

 each of the partners, taking a reed containing a quantity 

 •of the snuff, after going through a deal of unintelligible 

 mummery, blows the contents with all his force into the 

 nostrils of his companion. The effect on the usually dull 

 and taciturn savages is wonderful ; they become ex- 

 ceedingly talkative, sing, shout, and leap about in the 

 wildest excitement. A re-action soon follows ; more 

 drinking is then necessary to rouse them from their 

 stupor, and thus they carry on for many days in suc- 

 cession. The Mauhes also use the Parica, although it is 

 not known amongst their neighbours the Mundurucus. 

 Their manner of taking it is very different from that of 

 the swinish Muras, it being kept in the form of a paste, 

 and employed chiefly as a preventive against ague in the 

 months between the dry and wet seasons, when the 

 disease prevails. When a dose is required, a small 

 quantity of the paste is dried and pulverised on a flat 

 shell, and the powder then drawn up into both nostrils 

 at once through two vulture quills secured together by 

 cotton thread. The use of Parica was found by the early 

 travellers amongst the Omaguas, a section of the Tupis, 

 who formerly lived on the Upper Amazons, a thousand 

 miles distant from the homes of the Mauhes and Muras. 

 This community of habits is one of those facts which 

 support the view of the common origin and near relation- 

 ship of the Amazonian Indians. 



After leaving Matari, we continued our voyage along 

 the northern shore. The banks of the river were of 

 moderate elevation during several days' journey ; the 

 terra firma lying far in the interior, and the coast being 

 either low land or masked with islands of alluvial forma- 

 tion. On the 14th we passed the upper mouth of the 

 Parana-mirim de Eva, an arm of the river of small breadth, 

 formed by a straggling island some ten miles in length, 

 lying parallel to the northern bank. On passing the 

 western end of this, the main land again appeared ; a 

 rather high rocky coast, ^clothed with a magnificent forest 



