32 
THE ABORIGINES OF GUIANA. 
the gypsies tliey wander from place to place, and build a temporary shed wherever they promise themselves success in fishing and hunting. 
No girdle surrounds their loins, no Perizoma hides their nakedness, and averse to intercourse with any other being, they consider every 
individual who does not belong to their tribe, as their natural enemy. 
Each tribe has its own hunting ground, and each family its own plantations, which, after the trees have been felled by the husband 
and grown-up sons, are cultivated by the women. Although the same hut may be occupied by more families than one, there is no 
community of utensils. These, as may be presumed, are very simple, consisting of many sorts of earthenware vessels of different shapes 
and size, resembling the Etruscan vases in their form. The women principally fabricate their pottery, and mould the largest vases, 
containing from twenty-five to thirty gallons, with their hands. They are frequently ornamented with greek, arabesque, and meandering 
designs. A few low stools carved out of a solid piece of wood, and resembling the wooden pillows or headstools of the Egyptians, 
the necessary utensils for the preparation of the cassada bread, the weapons for the chase and war, form the furniture of the hut. The 
Indians usually sit on their haunches, or rest in their hammocks. 
Members of the same tribe frequently form small villages, of from six to ten houses ; over such communities a chieftain presides, 
called Yuputorikung in the Carib language, or Toyeputori in the Macusi, whose authority is only acknowledged to its full extent 
during feuds and wars. His power and influence depend upon his personal superiority in strength and enterprise. The hereditary 
dignity is derived from the mother; but it is rendered easy for any one who has talents and courage to assume the command on the 
death of his predecessor, without the advantage of relationship, and his authority is more frequently retained by his undisputed superiority 
than by any formal election. 
It is customary among some nations, before the child is born, for not only the wife, but likewise the husband to subject themselves 
to a rigid fasting, and to abstain from many viands. The day after its birth, the child is carried into the air without covering on its 
head, or, as among the Macusis, the head is daubed over with Arnotto or Rucu. Their heads are generally more covered with hair than 
those of European children, and they leaim to speak and to walk at an earlier period than Europeans. They, however, are suckled to a 
more protracted period, and I have seen children, in appearance five to six years of age, who were not yet weaned. At the birth of the 
child the husband receives the congratulations of his friends, and the women of the village are attentive to the wants of the mother, who 
is restored in a few days to her wonted strength and occupations. Twins very seldom occur amongst them ; but I have nowhere found any 
reason to suppose that one is always destroyed. As a direct contradiction to this assertion I have seen Carib and Macusi mothers with 
twins in their arms. The child is named by the Piaiman, Piatsang Pache, or conjurer, who receives an offering of considerable value, 
and the strength of the incantations, which he pronounces on that occasion in a dark hut, corresponds with that of the fee. An unnamed 
Indian is supposed to be more subjected to disease and misfortunes than one who has been named. The appellations are generally 
patronymic. The borings of the lips, ears, and septum of the nose, take place at an early age, and are kept open by pieces of wood. 
The parents are exceedingly affectionate to their children, and with one or two exceptions, I have never seen them administer personal 
correction : they will rather bear any inconvenience, or even insult, although I have seen few instances of the latter, than inflict 
punishments. 
The first delight of the boy is a bow and arrows ; his little hand grasps the light bow, and with the greatest self-satisfaction and 
infantine prowess depicted upon his face, he tries his skill, and takes small lizards, locusts, &c. as his mark. The girls assist their 
mother in the hut to prepare bread, or the favourite drink ; or, by means of a primitive spindle, they convert the indigenous cotton 
into thread for the manufacture of hammocks. They accompany their mothers to the provision fields, and help to cultivate the 
ground, and are accustomed at an early age to carry the heavy cassada roots to their homes. These wild children of the forest and 
savannahs are modest, and without being tutoi’ed by their mothers, we see the girls reserved towards strangers. 
I have not observed many games among the children, but wrestling is frequently practised, and a kind of tennis, for 
which purpose they use balls made of indigenous Caoutchouc, or the ears of Maize or Indian corn. When the boys verge from 
child into man, they have to subject themselves to severe trials of laceration ; others make wmunds on the breasts of the youths with 
the teeth of the wild hog, or the beak of the Toucan : there are several other ceremonies which appear symbolical of courage, 
fearlessness, and endurance of pain, such as being put into a bag where there are stinging ants, and if they endure these without 
shrinking, they are accepted companions among men. When the girl progresses from childhood into womanhood, among the 
Warraus, she is deprived of her long hair. Among some tribes, such as the Mauhes, Mundrucus, and Muras, at the Rio Negro, 
and Amazon, the poor girl has to undergo a severe trial ; her hammock is slung under the roof of the hut, where she is exposed 
to incessant smoke, besides being subjected to strict fastings. There are many instances where she has paid for the ordeal with 
her life. The Arawaaks and Warraus celebrate this period with a feast and dance, at which the young girl appears, ornamented 
with beads and the white down of birds, the latter of which, by means of a gummy substance, is fixed to her head, shoulders, 
and legs. 
