314 
NOTES OF A BOTANIST 
CHAP. 
painting themselves with carajuru, the men, being naked above the 
waist, on their bodies, faces, and arms, and the women on their 
faces and arms. At length they appeared ascending the hill in a 
file, beating the ground with their drums, and, arrived on the 
terrace, formed themselves into a ring, still drumming away. 
Cauim (rum) was now brought out in bottles and large cuyas, 
from which it was decanted into small cups, and cups of caraipe 
(pottery) (the latter were two together at each end of a short rod of 
the same material, the whole gaudily painted). The flageolet-players 
now headed the procession, followed by little boys bearing the cups 
of cauim, and the whole made the circuit of the ring, each Gany- 
mede in succession offering his cup to every drummer, who was 
obliged by the etiquette of these assemblies to sip of every one. 
Attendant men and women replenished the cups as they were 
emptied, and after the drummers had partaken, cauim was in like 
manner handed round to the rest of the company. 
All the women were now sent down to the port to bring up 
the gifts (being the contribution of all the ruler's party). 
The fish, farinha, and beijil (Port. Cassiwa cake) were deposited 
in the house, and the roots of mandiocca piled in a heap in front. 
The women immediately set to work to make caribe of the beiju, 
and filled several gassabas with it. The drummers now began to 
dance round the heap of mandiocca, the step being a sort of skip 
which finally quickened to a gallop, and singing to the beating of 
their drums. Their songs seemed to have been divided into short 
stanzas, each ending in a sort of refrain. The first song was the 
legend of the discovery of the Mandiocca in the Barre language, 
and this is the substance as translated to me. Like the Tree of 
Life in the Garden of Eden, the Mandiocca tree stood solitary in 
the midst of the forest. It was an immense tree, as large as the 
Samauma nowadays, and every mortal shunned it, knowing its 
deadly properties. At length the bird called japu showed an 
Indian how the roots might be divested of their poison and con- 
verted into a nourishing food. Every one flocked to supply him- 
self with the wonderful root, until the tree had no more to yield. 
They then set to work to cut off the branches. Each branch was 
the size of the stem of the Mandiocca plant as it now exists, and 
being stuck into the ground, produced tubers like those of the 
parent plant. Each main branch gave a variety distinct from the 
rest, hence all the Mandiocca and all the varieties of it now culti- 
vated ; and it may now with truth be called the Tree of Life to the 
dwellers of the Amazon and its tributaries. 
Afterwards came another song recounting the offerings they 
had brought, and praying the giver of the feast to accept them. 
Part of it was in substance as follows : " Receive, we pray thee, 
these products of the earth and the waters which thy brethren 
offer thee. We bring them not to thee expecting of thee pay- 
