THE ABORIGINES OF GUIANA. 
31 
supeiior in its development to that of the Negro, The breast is well formed and strong, especially in the females, and their hands, 
feet, and ancles, particularly those of the women, are remarkably small. Indeed the inferior extremities are so well proportioned, 
that they might serve as models, although it must be observed that the foot, from never having been confined by shoes, is rather 
broad. The females are almost equal in size to the males, but with a few exceptions their embonpoint prevents them from appearing 
graceful. Their colour is a brownish olive, varying more or less according to the tribe, or whether they inhabit the sea-coast, forests, or 
savannahs. Some of the casts are almost as fair as the Spaniards and Portuguese, while others are of a very dark brown. However dark, 
their straight, luxuriant black hair, small features, and well proportioned limbs, will always strongly mark the difference between the 
Indian and the African. 
The Indian tribes of Guiana paint their faces and bodies with lines, sometimes straight, sometimes in imitation of the Etruscan or 
Grecian patterns. A few, and among them the Warrau, Arawaak, and Macusis, tattoo their faces slightly. The tattooing generally 
consists only of a few curved lines at the corners of the mouth, and over the eyebrows, giving to the faces of the females, among whom 
it is more customary than the men, a characteristic and not uninteresting expression. 
Their arms, necks, and ancles are embellished with glass beads, either in imitation of coral, or of a blue or white colour, which 
they procure through their intercourse with the inhabitants of the coast regions. Necklaces of the teeth of monkeys, peccaris, and 
divers seeds or shells, are used as substitutes when the former are not to be procured. Their dress is otherwise restricted to a piece of 
cloth which covers their loins, or the females use a small apron formed of glass beads. When they are able to procure a kind of 
blue cotton cloth, which in the Colony is called Salempores, they give it the preference to their own manufacture, although the latter 
is much more durable. The way in which that cloth is worn in a great measure designates their tribe, and the Caribs and Macusis 
distinguish themselves by the size, and rather picturesque manner in which they throw it over them. The Kirishana, Oewaku, and 
some of the Maiongkongs, go perfectly naked, but paint their bodies with black and red pigments. 
The more populous tribes are subdivided into hordes, connected by consanguinity or marriage. The form of the huts which they 
inhabit, generally marks the tribe by whom they were erected ; and while the hut of the Warrau, Arawaak, and Carib, is a mere shed, 
the houses of the Macusis and Wapisianas are frequently built of mud, surmounted by a roof of a pointed form, of almost eastern 
character. These roofs are neatly thatched with palm leaves, and whatever may be the form of the house, this substance is generally 
used. The inner structure is simple, and answers all the purposes for which it is intended. The absence of nails and bolts is replaced 
by lianas, or withes. The hut of the Wapisiana is dome-shaped, and his architectural skill in supporting the arches which form the 
dome is to be admired. These houses, for the most part, have only a ground floor ; I noted however, among the Caribs, one storied 
huts, the communication being effected by a ladder, or wooden steps on the outside. 
CAKIB HUTS AT TOMATAI ON THE RIVER CORENTYN. 
Several families generally inhabit one of these huts, there is however no dividing partition ; the beams from which the hammock 
is slung, the few stones which constitute the hearth, are tacitly acknowledged to form a claim to that particular spot, which is never 
usurped by a third, although readily relinquished to a guest or stranger. Every village of consequence possesses a house which is 
exclusively dedicated to the reception and residence of strangers. It generally occupies the middle of the Indian village, and to 
it the stranger, who passes the place, resorts and awaits the welcome of the chieftain, and the refreshments which are soon after brought 
to the weary traveller by the females who belong to the chieftain’s household. This house is called Tapoi by the Macusis and 
Wapisianas. 
The Oewakus and Kirishanas on the rivers Parima and Orinoco, and the Muras on the Amazon, have no fixed habitations ; like 
