ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
the official engagement was made, the man proceeded to 
the hut of his sweetheart and brought a gift of food for 
her and her mother. If the gifts were accepted, there was 
no other formality to be gone through, and the matri¬ 
monial ceremony was indeed of the simplest kind. The 
man took away the girl to his hut and they were man 
and wife. 
The cuisine of the Bororos was not attractive to 
European palate, ears, or eyes. One of the favourite 
dishes of the Bororos, served on grand occasions, was the 
mingao, or Indian corn chewed up into a paste inside 
their mouths by women and then displayed before the 
guests in earthen pots filled with fresh water, in which 
it was then cooked. 
The Bororos maintained that the sun, Cerva&o, and 
the moon, Itiary, were two brothers, both being males. 
They believed in a superior Being, the essence of 
goodness and kindness: a Being who will never give pain 
or hurt anybody; therefore the Bororo, who was really 
at heart a great philosopher, never offered prayers to 
that superior Being. Why pray and worry one who will 
never injure us? they argued. 
Then they believed in a wicked and revengeful devil, 
the Boppe , to whom constant attention was paid because 
by him was caused all the trouble that humans can have. 
Malady, accidents, disaster in love, in hunting or fish¬ 
ing expeditions — for all these the devil Boppe was 
responsible. 
Then they had also another evil spirit—the Aroe 
Taurari — who, they said, often assumed the appearance 
of their ancestors in order to come and watch the games 
of the Bororos, such as wrestling and archery. Wrestling, 
in the catch-as-catch-can style, was one of their favourite 
games. They were very agile at it. Their favourite trick 
was to seize each other across the shoulders, each en¬ 
deavouring to trip his opponent by a twisted leg round 
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