820 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



The tattooing of the Mundurucus is not only connected 

 with this dim idea of a primitive creative command ; it is 

 also indicative of aristocracy. A man who neglected this 

 distinction would not be respected in his tribe ; and so 

 strong is this traditional association, that, even in civilized 

 settlements where tattooing is no longer practised, an 

 instinctive respect is felt for this mark of nobility. A 

 Mundurucu Indian, tattooed after the ancient fashion of 

 his tribe, arriving in a civilized village, such as the one 

 we visited, is received with the honor due to a person of 

 rank. "II faut souffrir pour etre beau," was never truer 

 than among these savages. It requires not less than ten 

 years to complete the tattooing of the whole face and body ; 

 the operation being performed, however, only at intervals. 

 The color is introduced by fine puncturings over the whole 

 surface ; a process which is often painful, and causes swell- 

 ing and inflammation, especially on such sensitive parts as 

 the eyelids. The purity of type among the Mundurucus 

 is protected by stringent laws against close intermarriages. 

 The tribe is divided into certain orders or classes, more 

 or less closely allied ; and so far do they carry their 

 respect for that law, which, though recognized in the 

 civilized world, is so constantly sinned against, that mar- 

 riage is forbidden, not only between members of the 

 same family, but between those of the same order. A 

 Mundurucu Indian treats a woman of the same order 

 with himself as a sister ; any nearer relation between them 

 is impossible. Major Coutinho, who has made a very care- 

 ful study of the manners and habits of these people, assures 

 us that there is no law more sacred among them, or more 

 rigidly observed, than this one. Their fine physique, for 

 which they are said to be remarkable, is perhaps owing 



