M A R 
I;out?, are prepared for defence; being conftrucled in the 
form of a crefcent, with the con rex part towards the wood, 
and with one door towards fome hill and another to a 
plain. When the enemy attack at one door, a party op- 
pofes; while the others turn the wings of the houfe, and 
attack the foe on the plains. 
Father Girval, in his fecond voyage, 1791, entered the 
mouth of the Ucaial, or true Maranon; and, though un¬ 
accompanied by any foldier or white perfon, he was 
received by the favages with great cordiality; yet he 
was afraid of encountering the Cafibos, on the eaftern 
fl'.ore, who are reputed the molt ferocious tribe in thofe 
regions. But the chief navigators of this part ot the Ma¬ 
ranon are the Conibos, who are more humane ; and the 
found of their rude flutes or cornets is the %na! of peace 
and hofpitality. Canoes of the Panos afterwards ap¬ 
peared ; and the father arrived at Saraiacu with a bark and 
iixty canoes of friendly favages. The cazica, AnnaEofa, 
conduced the proceflion to a little convent which file had 
founded; and the Indians obeyed her orders with great 
pun duality. A tribe called Piro inhabit the borders of 
the Maranon, in the latitude of Torma, being about twenty 
days’ navigation from Saraiacu or the Manoa. He found 
abundance of cinnamon-trees, and began to inltruct the 
natives in its cultivation, hoping that this precious (pice 
would foon become an eflential article of commerce. 
This fettlement was thought of importance, as it prevent¬ 
ed the Portuguefe (hips from purfuing their excurfions on 
the Maranon ; and, with the fort on the Mnyro, inclofed 
the Pampas del Sacramento on both fides, fo as to render 
it a decided Spanifli province. 
The Panos and Conibos, and even the Chipeos, who 
had murdered the fir It millionaries, began, it is faid, to 
fhow fome difpofition for embracing the faith. Some 
Piros were exported from the vicinity of the Mantaro, and 
the frontiers of Guanta and Jauja, palling in their canoes 
on the Maranon ; but the Cafibos near the Mayro, and on 
the banks of the delightful Pachitea, a ferocious race, 
v/ere fcarcely expefted to become amicable ; having no 
intercourfe with any other nation, and never leaving their 
own country, as they have no utenfils for making canoes. 
They furprife and kill any ftrangers whom they find within 
their boundaries; and, having cooked them with great 
care, eat them with correfponding comfort, fo that a tra¬ 
veller rarely returns to publifh any account of thefe parts. 
Thefe favages form the only obltacles to impede the navi¬ 
gation from Manoa to Mayro; but a few regular troops 
would eafily extirpate thefe irreclaimable tigers. Of thefe 
millionaries it is jultice to add, that, occupied in teaching 
thefe favages the arts of life, and of innocent fultenance, 
whatever a protefi-ant may think of their religion, he can¬ 
not withhold the applaufe due to their fortitude and be¬ 
neficence. 
MAR'ANON (Falfe or Jefuits’), called by the natives 
Tunguragua , and alfo Lauricocha, a river of South Ame¬ 
rica, which rifes from the lake of Lauricocha, about eight 
miles to the north of Pafco, and, after palling the Pongo, 
becomes navigable till it falls into the Ucaial, or true 
Maranon. It was navigated by Condamine from near the 
town of Jaen, where it begins to be navigable ; thence 
pafiing north-ealt it arrives at the exterior ridge of the 
Andes, which it cleaves at a pafs called the Pongo, a word 
which in the Peruvian language fignifks a gate. This 
lublime feene difplays the Lauricocha confined between 
two parallel walls of an almoft perpendicular rock. From 
a breadth of zjo fathoms the river is here contrafted to 
25; but the rapidity is not extreme, and a raft pafles the 
two leagues in about an hour. Pinkerton's Geog. vol. iii. 
MARAN'S, a town of France, in the department of 
the Lower Charente, fituated in the midlt of.fait marlhes, 
on the Sevre, about fix miles from its mouth. The inha¬ 
bitants carry on a confiderable trade in fait, malt, corn, 
and meal. It is twelve miles north-north-eaft of La Ro- 
celle, and twenty-one .weft of Niort. Lat. 46.18. N. Ion, 
o. 54. E. 
Vox. XIV. No. 977, 
M A. R ■ S 29 
MARAN'T, or Am'arant, a town of Periia, in the 
province of Adirbeitzan, containing 2500 houfes, each 
w ith a garden, fituated near a river, and watered by canals. 
Cochineal is found in the neighbourhood. The inhabi¬ 
tants fay, that here Noah was buried. It is fifty miles 
north of Tabris, and 125 fouth-eaft of Erivan. 
MARAN'TA, f. [fo named by Plunder, in commemo¬ 
ration of Bartholomew Maranta, a native of Venufia, who 
died in 1554. He was one of the chief Italian botauilio 
of Bis time ; and examined the native plants of his coun¬ 
try, while lie cultivated exotics in his garden, and com¬ 
mented on Diofcorides with great diligence and fagacitv, 
He wrote alfo on the.Theriaca and Mithrjdate, in Italian.j 
Indian Arrow-root; in botany, a genus of the cltt.fe 
monandria, order monogynia, natural order of Icitainineae, 
(canine, JuJJ.) The generic characters are—Calyx: pe- 
riantium three-leaved, lanceolate, lrnall, fuperior. Co¬ 
rolla: one-petalled, ringeot; tube oblong, comprefled, 
oblique, bent in ; border fix-cleft; alternate, outer feg- 
rnents ovate, equal, (mailer; one of thefe the lowed, two 
the uppermoit ; two alternate lateral, very large, roundilh, 
representing the lower lip ; uppermoit (nail, two-parted. 
Stamina : filament membranaceous, refembling a leginenc 
of the corolla ; antheres linear, fattened to one edge of the 
filament. PHtillum : germ roundilh, inferior; ltyle Am¬ 
ple, the length of the corolla : ftigma onlolctely three- 
cornered, bent in. Pericarpium : caplule roundilh, ob- 
loletely three-cornered, three-celled, three-valyed. Seed: 
fingle, ovate, wrinkled, hard.— EJfential Ckarader. Calyx 
three-leaved; corolla trifid ; ne&ary three-parted, the 
third part bearing the anther on its upper line. 
Species. 1. Maranta arundinacea, or Indian arrow-root; 
culm branched, herbaceous; leaves ovate-lanceolate, fome- 
what hairy underneath. This lias a thick, ttelliy, creep¬ 
ing, root, which is very full ot knots; from which arile 
many finooth leaves, fix or feven inches long, and three 
broad towards their bale, leflening towards eacn end, ter¬ 
minating in points. They are ot the confidence and co¬ 
lour of thofe of the reed, and hand upon reed-like foot- 
ftalks, which arife immediately from the root; between 
thefe come out the (talks, which rife near two teet High ; 
thefe divide upward into two or three fmaller, and have 
at each joint one leaf of the fame thape with the lower, 
but fmaller. The ends of the (talks are terminated by a 
loofe bunch of fmall white flowers, (landing upon pedun¬ 
cles near two inches long. The flowers are cut into fix 
narrow fegments, which are indented on their edges; 
thefe fit upon the embryo, which afterwards turns to a 
roundilh three-cornered capfule, inclofing one hard rough 
feed. It flowers here in June and July. Browne lays 
that it grows from a thick fle(hy root, and (hoots by a Am¬ 
ple foliated (talk to the height of two or three feet, termi¬ 
nating in a loofe and fomewhat branched flower-lpike. It 
is called Indian arrow-root, becaufe it was thought to ex¬ 
tract the poifbn from wounds initiated by the poiloned ar¬ 
rows of the Indians. It is confidered in the Welt Indies 
as a warm alexipharmic, and is thought to refill the force 
of poifons very powerfully; but its chief effedts feem to 
depend on its ablorbent and lenient nature, having few 
warm particles in its compofition. The root walhed, 
pounded fine, and bleached, makes a fine powder and ftarch. 
It has been fometimes uied as food when other provi- 
fions were fcarce, and is frequently adminiltercd in mfu- 
fions to the fick. The flour in milk is recommended as 
a proper food for infants, and is gelatinous likefalep. It 
has lately been introduced into England. It is a native 
of South America 5 and is cultivated in the Weft Indies. 
It was firft diieovered by Plumier. Dr. Houlioun found 
it'in great plenty near Vera Crhz, and fent the feeds to 
England before 1732. This fpecies is reprefented on the 
annexed Plate. 
a. Maranta galanga, or galangale arrow-root: culm 
Ample; raceme terminating, loofe, with alternate flowers 5 
lip of the nebtary emarginate; leaves lanceolate. This 
plant, not agreeing in charafter with Maranta as deferibed 
4P by 
