Yawangka, thJ; ArJjüüna Settlement 
163 
and green, with yellow streaks pushing their way in between, that very 
forcibly recalled to my ow n and brother's memory the golden meadows 
of the homeland in their spring elotlies. The rielily blossomed Cassia 
poli/stachi/a had developed here into a nourishing forest tree, and had 
in some places crowded out the other ones. To the W. and S.W. the 
enraptured gaze a\ as arrested Ijy Mounts A\'aruugkaieng and Ariwaiyang 
until the horizon in tlie blue distance elosed in the Saraurayeug ranges. 
Finally, the last of the tlowcry decking disai)peared, and like silvery 
hands the Muyang and its tributaries meandered through the wanton 
abundance, to pour its waters into the Zuruma. 
39U. After glaneing back onee more upon the forces of miture lu'oken 
out in w ild revolt, we made our way down to the valley, — which we only 
reached after a tiresome struggle with the quartz and granite boulders 
rendered moist and slippei'y by the dew, — where we iiiuigined ourselves 
no longer within the Kanges l)ut in one of the most luxuriant spots on 
the coastline. We turned to the West. We entered a Avoody oasis, 
through which a small tributary of the jMuyang had spun its way, that 
was formed of giant forest timbers, proud palms, nourishing ffj liconioc 
and Ferns. As we crossed it we turned to the S.W. and up towards a 
wavy stretch of rising ground where a landslij) al)out 20 feet deep, elioked 
with uprooted trees in heaps of confusion, liarred our further progres;?. 
We doubled round this Avide space and thereupon reached' the elevation, 
from Avhich Ave saAv seA'eral Indians who Ave were told Avere Areknnas 
standing upon one of the outlying si)urs of the I'oaghepping. As soon 
as they noticed us approaching, they left the rise and hurried down the 
slope. After turning more towards the north we descended a ravine of 
the Poaghepping down into the valley again, where ahead of us, upon a 
pleasant and attractive flat was sitnate a large house, the longed-for 
Arekuna settlement Yawangia. We had set foot in the country of the 
Arekunas, a tribe which, as it appeared, formerly occupied' tlu' basin of 
the Uaupes, and whom Monteiro and Rilxuro describe as cannil)als. 
They noAv oavu the mountain-ranges and savannahs of the sources of the 
Caroni, Cuyuni, and ^Nfazaruni, and are one of tlu^ most populous tribes 
of Guiana: about 500 souls live in the British area. Before i-eaching 
the house, in front of which a crowd of red figures took up their position, 
we had still to wade another tributary of the Muyang. 
391. That the residents had expected us to-day, was to be concluded 
[both by the sentries that had been posted as well as by the careful toilette. 
The whole of the body with the exception of the hair was coloured red 
with arnatto, the face on the contraiy with stripes and spots of Caraveru, 
a name given by almost all the Guiana tribes to the colour obtained from 
the Rif/nonin rJiica. We w^ere given a friendly and hearty reception by 
the almost blind chief in a long pathetic speech, of which our interpreter 
only told us so much that we could obtain neither bread nor meat, but at 
most, a few plantains, yams, and some sugar-cane. 
392. The facial expression of the Arekunas had something much 
more martial than that of the Macusis : their figure was stronger, more 
robust, if also not larger: the colour of the skin was the darkest T had yet 
seen. Three-inch-long pieces of bambu, painted and incised with artistic 
patterns of all kinds, were worn through the nasal septum : siniilar 
K2. 
