NOTICES OF BRAZIL. 



29 



centres, eight pieces of steel wire about- six inches long ; their 

 ends curve upwards, and being of different lengths, form an 

 octave. The longer ends of these keys play free, and when 

 touched, vibrate a sleepy sort of note, which can hardly be 

 called disagreeable. The instrument is clasped betw^een the 

 hands, hanging down in front, and is played upon by the 

 thumbs. There is another form of the marimba,^' in which 

 the keys are placed on a thin piece of board ; this is secured to 

 a thinly scraped cocoanut shell, and is the better kind, sound- 

 ing much clearer, and more musical. The servants, (porters) 

 who are always seated at the doors of private dwellings — 

 which by the by always have the family coach standing at the 

 foot of the stairs, on the lower floor, fitted for the purpose, by 

 way of demonstrating the quality of the master — pass hours 

 together, nodding over their own music, produced with about 

 the same effort required to twirl the thumbs ; — playing on the 

 marimba" is just one degree beyond dolce far niSnte.'^ 

 When we came up, the dancing had ceased, and the blacks 

 were making way for us to pass. I called the musician, that I 

 might examine his instrument. He grinned, and appeared gra- 

 tified by the notice taken of him. He was young and full of 

 health, but with a most stupid expression of countenance, pro- 

 duced by a chain of fleshy nodules extending from the point of 

 his nose in a line over his forehead ; when his attention was 

 not otherwise engaged, his eyes were always directed towards 

 this distinguishing mark. At our request, he played a lively 

 air, and accompanied himself with a short see-saw motion of 

 the body. So soon as he commenced, all the negroes drew 

 nearer and nearer, till we were completely encircled by grin- 

 ning spectators. I inquired into the origin of the bumps, and 

 Brunner informed me that it is a species of tatooing, done in 

 infancy by their parents, designed as the distinguishing mark 

 of the tribe. He pointed out in the crowd around us, one whose 

 face was scratched or gashed on one cheek ; one marked in the 

 same way on both cheeks ; some on their temples ; some on 

 their breasts and backs ; and there was one who had each of 

 his teeth cut off diagonally, so as to make them serrated or 



