Hereditary Piai-Men. 
133 
exorcism ceremony repeated every evening, until Nature herself lends 
help and mediates a favourable crisis. The might of the Piai has now, 
forced the Yawahu [Hebu] to tell him everything: this is of help to the 
patient because the real seat of the disease is now known. The Piai ap- 
proaches the hammock, puts his lips to the painful or most painful spot 
and sucks away at this until after a time he draws out with his mouth 
a number of fishbones, pieces of bone, thorns, etc. which the revengeful 
and destructive Yawahu [Hebu] had by means of his black art hidden 
inside the patient’s body. The invalid’s imagination now completes the 
cure. A few remedies, mostly juices of plants, are employed to be sure: 
the Piai however puts a value on them only in so far, as he dare hope, 
that they thereby hasten to make the Evil Spirit confess. 
457. But if the incantations manifest no power and every remedy, 
drink, or form of sorcery fails to curb the Yawahu [Hebu] and the in- 
valid finally dies, several ways of course remain open to the Piai to save 
his face and explain the unfavourable issue. The invisible world of spir- 
its is ever too powerful than to fear the weak race of men and the dis- 
turbing influence of a Piai besides. Again, if the invalid or one of his 
relatives or fellow-tribesmen lias injured another Piai and aroused liks 
vengeance, the latter opposes exorcism to exorcism, and thereby frus- 
trates the efforts of his fellow craftsman. It is not to be denied that 
the latter reason supports the reputation of the Piai in general: one of 
these godly men thus always refers to the power of another and, while 
any person humbles himself before the one, he recognises the power of all. 
When the sick man is laid to rest the Piai buries his rattle with him, for 
it has henceforth lost its effects, the curative agency of the magic remedy 
dying with the invalid. 
458. The profession of a Piai remains hereditary in his family and 
always passes on to the eldest son whom the father privately initiates into 
the mysteries of his future dignities: when at last the father finds him- 
self too weak to contend with the spirits he hands the business over to 
his son under various ceremonies and consecrates him into his calling at 
a festival. Amongst the ordeals to which such a candidate must submit 
is especially the one of swallowing large quantities of strong tobacco 
juice. He cannot venture upon making any claim to his father’s hon- 
ours unless able to imbibe at the public installation and act of consecra- 
tion a whole cal abash -full, without letting nature rebel against the hellish 
juice, or any muscle of his face betray his inward abhorrence. If the 
Piai does not possess a son, lie selects a friend as successor, who has to 
undergo a long term of instruction before being permitted to submit to 
the ordeal. 
459. Like the Brahmins of the East Indies, the dignity of the Piai is 
attended with restrictions and burdensome considerations. For instance, 
he must not eat the flesh of the larger animals, and must limit himself 
in general to what is indigenous to Guiana: all kinds of animals intro- 
duced by Europeans are debarred from his table. Remaining rules regu- 
lating his food are no less severe. Successful cures are remunerated by 
the patient in various ways. 
460. There is a generally-spread belief in the continuance of the soul 
after death, in a life of undimmed happiness and everlasting pleasure be- 
