204 



the warlike nation of the Guaypunabis*. He 

 gained their favour by presents, and with them 

 founded the mission of San Fernando, to which, 

 in order to dazzle the ministry of Madrid, he 

 gave the pompous appellation of Villa. 



To make known the political importance of 

 this mission, we must recollect, what was at 

 that period the balance of power between the 

 petty Indian tribes of Guyana. The banks 

 of the Lower Oroonoko had been long ensan- 

 guined by the obstinate struggle between two 

 powerful nations, the Cabres and the Caribbees. 

 The latter, whose principal abode since the close 

 of the seventeenth century is between the sources 

 of the Carony, the Esquibo, the Oroonoko, and 

 the Rio Parima, once not only bore sway as far 

 as the Great Cataracts, but made incursions also 

 into the Upper Oroonoko, employing portages 

 between the Paruspaf* and the Caura, the Ere- 



* Guipu naves, properly Uipunavi. They must not be 

 confounded with the Puinaves or Poignaves of Ventuari, the 

 names of some of the stars among whom I made known above. 

 Father Gili thinks, that the names Massarinavi, Guaypu- 

 navi, and Puinavi, denote the descendants, or sons (navi), of 

 three heads of families called Massari, Guay, and Pui. Thus 

 the Ackaguas call in the Maypure tongue a tribe of Caribs 

 Chavinavii or children (sons, navi) of the tiger (ckavi) ; thus 

 the Portugueze are called Jaranavi, or children (navi) of 

 the flute (jara). Stor. Amer. vol. 2, p. 205. 



t The Rio Paruspa falls into the Rio Paragua, and the 

 latter into the Rio Carony, which is one of the tributary 



