20 
Botanical Reminiscences. 
This slow and measured procession kept time with, a 
monotonous song. About the sense of the words uttered at 
the time we could get no information, because the present 
generation of the Akawais do not understand them themselves. 
The words of the song had been inherited from father to son, 
but the language seems to have altered so much in the course 
of time that at present the form, the expression of the thoughts, 
the words, but not the understanding of the same sense, has 
been preserved. 
The master of ceremony always led the song with a few 
words, which were repeated by the choir ; and that with such 
a precision and exactness that it appeared to be one voice. 
Of the women none had joined but the wife of the chief and 
an old matron, whom I considered the oldest member of the 
whole female community. 
The procession having moved round the trough several 
times the master of ceremonies suddenly stood still, the 
dancers drew new breath, then broke out in a fearful yell. 
The women and girls now hastened to the trough with cala- 
bashes, filled them, and presented to the men, and supplied 
every one who showed a desire to refresh himself. After a 
short pause the line of dancers moved on again to the ac- 
companiment of a new song. 
During the pauses those who were exhausted were replaced 
by other dancers, and the more they imbibed the oftener the 
pauses were repeated, the movements began to be mere 
irregular, the songs became louder, and at last degenerated 
into a wild roaring. 
But what are our notorious drinking bouts compared with 
such a festival of the Indians. I saw men empty the 
calabash containing at least half a gallon in one draught ; 
they then hurried towards a tree, pressed against their 
stomach to discharge the beverage, and to take from the 
hands of the waiting ganymede another filled calabash, to 
discharge it the same way. In the enjoyment of the paiwari 
the Indian is never satisfied; and also here the dance and 
singing, if the confused roaring could be called singing, until 
the last drop of the intoxicating beverage had been finished. 
The old proverb, in vino veritas, is also applicable to the 
forests of Guiana, only with the alteration, in pahvari veritas. 
With every calabash emptied the true state of mind showed 
itself more openly. Animosity, hatred, and ofiences, which 
the offended seemed to have forgotten for years, came to 
