E 51 Ue6X i ) . i $ £) is § CRLSSI —. - i gat oe, . hl x tyres at 8, ha EOP ay ey — De ia ie ‘ ‘ sft Re SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 91 ADDITIONAL STUDIES OF THE ARTS, GRAFTS, AND CUSTOMS OF THE GUIANA INDIANS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THOSE OF SOUTHERN BRITISH GUIANA BY WALTER E. ROTH < uphill =e “a S32 ‘ \ ene 1920 )) ff eZ Py yey ~~. 4 IED USE SSTona, muse” UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1929 ‘or sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. - - - - = Price $1.00 ‘deans } fe x { ‘ " emees OvpRy o capil yer vv? re a ; vis AE: LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Bureau or AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY, Washington, D. C., March 1, 1927. Str: I have the honor to transmit the accompanying manuscript, entitled ‘‘Additional Studies of the Arts, Crafts, and Customs of the Guiana Indians, with Special Reference to those of Southern British Guiana,” by Walter E. Roth, and to recommend its publication, subject to your approval, as a bulletin of this bureau. Very respectfully, J. WALTER Fewxess, Chief. Dr. C. G. Anzort, Acting Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. III v Ae Ali ’ f fi ayia) ia iy, i TOR a ” «erwin y 7 A t Kad perenne . c taps TAPIA ARY AO Fiat bh UA A RC th Vn P, ¥ Pills | ; | a ‘ q) 5 ; Ae 194 . : ROETUVUTEEL VAT ORIEL ) ve nT 3.7 : Tera bay in cppera wren wnat /s 16 LAgaserr ed | an eas Re KY , ie kis £5 ) ‘\ ores 4 i oy} i | | vy ; ri: Socianuiont Sorytermocn oid Hiaiert ot romall' eA ovat Et ie ss svtodess) biaga Altes) dhe ooh toesiiite taneit ebAM” Be 4s AHHH avodjneZe Tovesods th oyna ho femey? ittw cee eidenidig ati baeatrotonot, of, bi od. Sh sot peiod eit) Tp oitelodie ws Jk ToRgga We vilidtosqeat? noe ad. qorbutiban opprealiyad. ievoitanet, Get ‘ PREFACE To confine my whole attention in the time at my disposal to the tribes of the southern area of British Guiana would have offered by itself too little material for original copy; to write a complete ethno- graphical history of them would have meant too much repetition of other people’s labors besides my own, and, what is more, where I had expected to find at least 400 and more individuals, I met with barely 150. Of the two nations, the Taruma and Waiwai, that were believed to be occupying this portion of the colony, I could find less than a dozen representatives of the former and a little over a hundred of the latter. It accordingly seemed wisest, under these circum- stances, to make the information gleaned on this expedition, extending from January to July, 1925, into a sort of appendix, as it were, to my main work on the Guiana natives,! and seize the opportunity of includ- ing in it the necessary corrections and additions that had been brought under notice since its publication. That the additions have not proved few may be gauged from the amount of literature which I have been able to peruse since learning to read Dutch, which up to five or six years ago had proved a sealed book to me. On the other hand, there still remained not a small list of books relative to the Indians along the Guianese-Brazilian borders which would have proved of great service had they been procurable. But to keep a special library up to date in these out-of-the-way parts is practically impossible. On my return to civilization from the Brazilian border, I gave my friend, Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, a résumé of my experiences from notes as jotted down for subsequent publication in our local Christmastide. In acknowledging my letter this gentleman admitted that never before had it been brought home to him so strongly how much the bureau’s field workers in the Tropics, especially in the inaccessible portions of South America, had to endure in securing their results. It is this very remark that has encouraged me to include here the résumé in its completed form. It was on the 7th of January, 1925, that permission was granted me to leave my district with the object of making some ethnological observations, on behalf of the United States Government, concerning the Indians occupying the extreme southern area of our colony. To find a substitute to undertake magisterial duties, to buy a quantity of trade goods, to gather up suitable clothes and boots, and to have everything packed into as small a space as possible occupied the better part of the following 10 days. Owing to the paucity of information concerning the Indians I proposed visiting, the choice of suitable trade articles proved some- 1Thirty-eighth Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn. Washington, 1924. Vv VI PREFACE what of a difficulty; as a matter of fact, though I took over half a ton with me, it subsequently transpired that I could have managed with but half that amount. Previous experience on the ranges and savannahs around Mount Roraima, where even hob-nailed boots get worn out within a couple of weeks, had taught me the necessity for suitable footwear, and I accordingly provided myself with a dozen of india-rubber soled ones. Food, beyond a little tinned stuff to last until I reached the outskirts of civilization, I did not bother about—what was good enough for the Indians would be good enough for me. The entire cargo was sent on ahead, some four days before my departure from Wismar. Arrived at Potaro mouth on the 24th, Mr. Parker kindly made room for me in his motor boat. Next day we reached Waraputa and camped at the foot of the Falls, when I took the opportunity of visiting the huge bowlder, some 15 or 16 feet high, on the flattened summit of which was still clearly visible what resembles the imprint of a huge human foot, a curiosity that Schomburgk first drew attention to; the rocks on which he discovered the petroglyphs were recog- nizable in the distance. The 29th found us at Kurupukarri, the crossing of the cattle trail over the Essequibo. From here I had a 60-mile walk before me to Annai village, where I hoped to find boat hands, and bring them across to Rupu- nuni mouth in time for the arrival of my “‘trade” and other belongings. Fortu- nately I found a traveling companion in Major Walker, on his way to the Takutu, and notwithstanding a couple of wet nights with no shelter reached Wau-Weita, a Makusi settlement, where I found Sandy, an old Wapishana friend, with his Makusi wife. On learning that I was making for the Taruma and Waiwai country, which they had never visited, they attached themselves to me straight- way as captain and cook, respectively. It is curious with what little compunction Indians will leave their home and provision field—in this case for a period of at least five months. Before reaching Annai I noticed a certain plant that was apparently thriving well along the roadside, but which was quite new to me; it turned out to be the so-called Venezuela grass, an excellent fodder grass that had been introduced into the district by the late commissioner. At Annai I succeeded in enlisting the services of six of the least drunken and degenerate of the Makusi residents as boat hands, and with them returned downstream to Messrs. Garnett’s landing at Rupununi mouth, where I found that my baggage and effects had just arrived. Within another week I was at the Yupukari Anglican Mission, only too glad to be rid of my boat hands, who were now paid off. They had given me no end of trouble; one had absconded with his advance, while all the others, Sandy excepted, had lost a day in getting drunk at an evening drinking party that they had visited without my permission or knowledge. At the mission the Reverend Mr. Hansford gave me a hearty wel- come, and his charming wife a glorious jam pudding. It was here that I secured four new hands, three of them aged and trusty men who had worked with me not only 5, but 11 years before. These took me as far as Benjamin’s landing, but with considerable difficulty, because, for the last three days the Essequibo had been falling rapidly, and it was a case of continually getting out of the boat and dragging it over sand bank or rock. Here a staging was built on the river bank, the stores piled up on top, the whole covered with a tarpaulin, the hands paid off, and the boat sent back. With loads on our backs, Sandy, myself, and the two women now had to foot it as best we could to Sand Creek village to engage carriers. With only cassava to eat, we kept a sharp lookout for turtle eggs along the 3 miles of sand bank in the river bed before reaching the forest trail, but no luck attended our efforts; although the season was late the creatures had not yet seen fit to lay. It is true that we could have secured a large speci- men of mata-mata, perhaps the most hideous and ugliest of the chelonians, but as it was tabu to my companions, I had to let it go unmolested. Next day we PREFACE VII hit Wapishana, Manoel’s farm, in the heart of the jungle, where I was glad to dip cassava into hot pepper water once more. It would seem that ‘‘peppers,”’ in my case at least, must act as a stimulant after the fatigue consequent on hard physical labor, because it is only under such circumstances that I can partake of and enjoy them; they are food adjuncts to which I am particularly averse in ordinary home life. Off early in the morning, we reached the edge of the forest about midday, when the placid savannah spread its green coverlet before me. Another few miles and I recognized at last the first of my old bearings that I had not seen for upward of 11 years—Mount Shiriri—notorious not only for the many legends connected with it, but also for the wild plantains said to be thriving at its sum- mit, and for the salt deposits that are discoverable at its base. By midday we reached the Wapishana village of Sand Creek, but so changed that I hardly recognized it. I remembered a model garden city; I returned to find a miniature east-end slum. Instead of the houses being scattered over the savannah from 50 to a couple of hundred yards apart, an arrangement that afforded their occu- pants opportunity for privacy in their ablutions, etc., and so encouraged modesty and decency, that allowed them to spend their lives in the normal Indian secluded manner, and so helped each to mind his own business and prevent wrangling— the buildings are now all huddled together around a central modernized joss house, and form an excellent nidus for the dissemination of disease, filth, and scandal. What is worse, considering their position in life, everyone wears clothes; even the toddling infant has to be covered. And yet clothes are not worn for decency’s sake, but for something akin to mimicry and swank, because underneath their European habiliments, the sexes sport the red-cloth lap and beaded apron, respectively. Talismans and charms continue to be employed and the filing of the incisor teeth is still in vogue. Arrangements were made here for carriers to fetch my cargo from Benjamin’s landing and bring it to Wichabai, the balata depot, which I reached on the 21st of February. The carrying trade is a monopoly of the women here, and is at a fixed rate; so many yards of print for such and such a distance. Wichabai is a comparatively new settlement about 4 miles north of Dadanawa, but on the opposite bank of the Rupununi. Mr. John Melville has a wonderful menagerie here. Leaving aside the dogs, pigs, and poultry, the number of tame pets certainly surprised me, and still more so, the unrestricted liberty they all enjoyed. The only exception was a specimen of the somewhat rare white-faced monkey that was still undergoing its probationary period on a waist cord. Other- wise the marmosets, parrots, powis, mocking birds, trumpeters, and macaw were as free to come and goasI was. The last-mentioned, a lovely full-grown example of the red variety, is worthy of special mention. Though trained by Mr. Turner, of Dadanawa, the bird spends his time between both places; if his master goes the rounds of his station for a few days, Master Robert will fly over to Wichaba and put in time there. The huge beak and claws made me fight somewhat shy of him at first, but in a couple of days we had become fast friends. I had only to call him and he would perch on my shoulder and accompany me for a bath in the lake; were I lying in my hammock, he would join me, turn on his back, and expect me to scratch his chest and armpits; were I taking a meal, he would want his share. When not eating, sleeping, or worrying me, his chief amuse- ment seemed to consist in picking quarrels with the roosters, nipping the marmo- sets’ and other monkeys’ tails, or flying in a circle among a crowd of carrion crows and scattering them in all directions. In his habits he was as clean as a house dog, and I learned that these had been inculcated at a very early age by gently kicking him along the floor whenever he was guilty of misconduct. VIII PREFACE While rummaging round one of the outbuildings at Wichabai station I found a woman in front of a huge frame, weaving a cotton hammock, and to my de- light recognized it as of a rare Atorai type, one side smooth and the other rough, and further peculiar in that it is woven with six wefts and two heddles. (I might mention that a heddle is an apparatus for bringing the vertical warps forward into a position suitable for passing the horizontal wefts behind them.) I noted the special technical details, made sketches, and got a small model con- structed. Sandy’s wife and her friend were paid off and sent back home. Early in March I reached Dadanawa, where a few days were very happily spent while awaiting the arrival of my carriers, and where I renewed acquaintance with Robert, who, in the meantime, had flown back to his home quarters. My trade having at last come to hand, I made tracks southward to Wawanawa village, where the social conditions were even worse than those at Sand Creek. The old saw that money is the root of all evil is well exemplified here. Owing to the comparatively large amount of pay received for balata, in which the majority of the residents are engaged, the provision fields are neglected and the wages squandered, mostly in clothes. I was told of a wedding recently celebrated in the neighborhood where the bridegroom turned up in collar, necktie, a tussore suit, and tanned boots. But clothes are far from implying cleanliness, because the use of soap, certainly at the time of my visit, seemed more or less unknown, and most of the villagers were verminous. ‘To remedy this inconvenience, patent preparations have replaced good old crab oil; so much so that there had to be included among my trade articles 10 dozen bottles of solid and liquid bril- liantine, not to mention 6 dozen assorted perfumes, all of which found ready sale here. Drink was the main curse here, and not a single female from adoles- cence to middle age was without a baby. The head man, who at the same time played the réle of catechist, appeared to be the chief villain of the play, and I have every reason to know that he is exporting our Indian labor into the Brazils and making so much per capita on the transaction. Another source of mischief was the comparative prevalence of negroes, a difficult matter to cope with along the border, and without any police supervision or patrol whatever. I have seldom seen Indians so demoralized in so short a time. Two days farther south we at last crossed the divide between the Essequibo and Rupununi, whence I enjoyed a glorious view over the Parabara savannah, and reached the landing on the upper Kuyuwin River on March 13. There were three corials here, two in fairly good condition, the third in urgent need of repairs, but all too small to carry me, much less my trade goods, of which I had to send back a large quantity to Wawanawa. I now dispatched Taruma George and William Akawai, a Wapishana, in the largest of the vessels, down- stream with instructions to strike the Essequibo, pull up it as far as the Taruma Settlement, and procure the biggest corials available; they carried with them a case of fishhooks, knives, and cutlasses, and two tins of salt, as a sign of good faith that there was plenty to follow. For the next 10 days or so I had a good look around the district, saw a fair-sized camudi or two, almost stepped onto a large coral snake lying on the farther side of a cross log, and of an evening set fish traps. I likewise learned to make a new kind of spring hook that proved very successful with haimara, and got to know a new bait for pacu. Fishing one night below the steep river bank, I was suddenly confronted with an uncanny looking white object that turned out to be a huge spoonbill on the same quest as myself. Game was as plentiful here as the fish, and powis and maam quite common. The surrounding forest was, however, swampy and full of pimpler palm, so that on the whole walking was not so pleasant a pastime. I now became daily more anxious at the nonreturn of George and William. What if they had been robbed and murdered for the sake of the knives and cut- PREFACE Ix lasses? To distract these unpleasant thoughts I set about making a wood skin, but what with the nature of the forest there was no suitable timber available. We tried a locust tree, but this split just on the point of removal of the bark. A second attempt on a similar tree proved no more successful. We accordingly felled another piece of timber, cut it to shape and gauged it to make a corial, but on opening it out over a slow fire it also burst. A last attempt proved successful and within another week I was the proud possessor of a serviceable 18-foot-long canoe. As day after day went by, and nothing was to be seen of the wanderers, I tried to forget all my moral responsibility in having sent them to what I now assured myself must be their death, by making working models and sketches of all the many temporary baskets that the Indians know how to weave so skillfully from the leaves of the ite, kokerit, pimpler, manicol, turu, and other palms. In the meantime, my poor old captain, Sandy, was daily getting worse with apparent lung mischief, and the spitting up of blood that took place each morning deter- mined me in dispensing with his services; it was only with extreme reluctance that I paid him off. It was accordingly a great relief to me when on the 16th of April Taruma George with William showed up at the landing in company with three large vessels and the same number of Taruma boat hands. Leaving on the 19th, we pulled down the Kuyuwin, and struck the Essequibo on the 26th. Here I saw some remarkable shooting with the bow, two of the boys each bringing down a powis perching on a branch some 60 to 70 feet from the ground, with weapons upward of 8 feet in length—weapons that even I, and I am no strip- ling, had difficulty in drawing. Smaller bows are retained for shooting fish. Another five days upstream, when on the 30th I got my first glimpse of the Taruma village of Wannawantuk. This settlement is situated on the summit of the hill of that name and consists of two huge houses built on a Wapishana model. The hill itself, some 300 feet high, fronts the right bank of the Essequibo, is flanked on either side by a creek, and slopes down behind into a swamp, an ideal spot protected by natural defenses to withstand any surprise attack. On arrival at the landing I was met by some 40 to 50 Waiwais of both sexes and greeted by each with a handshake—a form of salutation that must have been taught them by some previous European visitor. These good folk had come a five days’ journey down the river from their own village at Duba-Kaiako to await my coming, word having been sent them that I had salt, fishhooks, and ax heads. Many were in holiday attire, or rather wore the decorations common to times of merrymaking; some of the men, for instance, having donned their feather head rings, while two of the women sported feather-bead corsets. The male fashion of doing up the hair in a queue and jamming its tip into a sugar-loaf leaf funnel decorated with paint and feathers produced quite a feminine appearance. I was next led to an extraordinary structure at the foot of the hill, which was nothing less than a stepladder built up its steep declivity. It was formed of runners with wooden rungs tied crosswise, the former running zigzag at a greater or less angle according to the conformation of the slope. Extra support was afforded by a double handrail formed of vine rope attached to gaudily painted stakes driven into the ground at distances about 10 to 12 feet apart. In my climb up it to the top plateau I counted over 260 rungs, and I have often pondered over the labor and skill entailed in their fixation and construction. The Taruma population of the village, apparently owing to influenza epidemics, has dwindled during the past decade from 60 or 70 individuals down to 8, all of them males, of whom 6 have taken Waiwai women to wife. I subsequently learned, on my return journey, that in the Wapishana village of Baidanau was still to be found aremnant of this once very powerful tribe (8 men, 6 women, and 3 children—1 boy and 2 girls). There would appear to be little room for doubt that these x PREFACE Taruma are identical with the Saloema or Saluma of Surinam, known to the Bush negroes as Saluma-matti (mates, friends) and hence probably the Zurumata mentioned by Schomburgk. The former relations of the Taruma people with the Wapishana and their present ones with the Waiwai make their true ethnological study a somewhat complicated one. Being ignorant of their language, trading was effected on very primitive lines. All I had to do was to open out my cases, spread the goods out before me on the ground, and then point to the various Indian objects of which I was in want. The sale was opened with an ax for a lovely feather-bead corset, and once started, business progressed. As soon as a lull came, I strolled into the houses and pointed to different articles that took my fancy. What I didn’t see I asked for, by bringing out my drawing block and making a sketch of it. As a matter of fact, during the whole month spent with the Indians it was a case of sign language and pencil or water-color drawing. Some studies in the uses of signs among the North Queensland aboriginals, that I published 30 years ago, proved of great value here. All the same, it sometimes seemed quite uncanny to hear my own voice, which, for what reason I know not, I was almost afraid to use. I was absolutely and indeed alone with these people, but as usual quite content and happy. It was here that I first saw men making hammocks, but of peculiar mesh, out of ite, cotton, and kuraua, and all this meant further models and notes. Hunting dogs, for which the Taruma have been noted, were here galore, all on platforms ranged round the inside of the house walls some 4 feet from the ground. The creatures are well cared for, but neglected, like their aged parents, when their days of usefulness are over. It is close to this village that a particular kind of rock is quarried from the bed of the river, when it is broken, flaked, and chipped up by the women to make teeth for their celebrated graters, which in the course of trade become very widely distributed. This quarry is of double interest in that it is the only one in the colony known to be worked. I am acquainted with another on the Brazilian side, and a third on the Orinoco, applied to similar purposes, but whether the rock is identical, there is not sufficient evidence to show. After a very delightful 10 days’ stay, I left in company with the Waiwai for their village up the Essequibo. After five days’ hard pulling, during the course of which we recognized one or two of the streams charted on the official! map— e. g., the Kassikityu and Camoa—TI finally reached their pretty little settlement at Duba-Kaiako Creek. On the way I noticed that their wood skins, by means of a very simple modification in the way of construction, were closed at both ends, rendering them as safe and as serviceable as any corial, and forming a strong contrast to those met elsewhere in the colony. The Waiwai are a delightful and charming set of people—clean, industrious, and happy. It was the first occasion that I had come across Indians whistling while they work. The distance of their native haunts from centers of civilization has so far saved them from being interfered with by the missionary, rancher, and balata bleeder; at present they are moral, and during the whole of my month’s stay among them, I saw no drinking. Smoking was unusual. With regard to looks, the girls are as pretty lassies as one could wish for, and their pale pink faces remind one of home. Asa matter of fact, the comparatively light complexion of the tribe in general has given rise to its name—Waiwai being the Indian term for Tapioca. It was at this village that I saw a variation, new to me, of the large circular house, and by means of a model some 6 feet high that I induced one of the men to make, took careful notes of its method of construction. Another item of great interest was my initiation into the art of weaving a loin cloth, out of the finest cotton imaginable, to a width of some 6 inches and a length of as many feet. But to go into details of all the many wonderful things PREFACE aI I saw, learned, sketched, or photographed, would be pirating another manuscript that I am preparing on the scientific results of the expedition and which will occupy for its completion another six or eight months, perhaps more. Suffice it now, that on the return journey to the Demerara, where I arrived on July 29, I had a very rough time with jiggers and scarcity of food, often having to partake of monkey, iguana, mudfish, with occasionally an alligator tail thrown in as a special treat. How much nourishment was derivable from such a menu may be gauged by the fact that I lost 47 pounds in weight in the course of the trip. These, however, were not my only troubles, for just four days from home, while streaking the Haiowa Falls, a wretch of a boat hand, with whom I had had some words on account of his refusal to work the day before, let go the warp, and down shot the boat, to be saved just in time by a tree trunk that had fortunately fallen athwart the stream. He subsequently got six months in the Georgetown Court for playing that trick. On the other hand, the gain in technical knowledge of certain primitive arts, the results of which will ultimately be published, has proved of incalculable value, and the lovely collections I brought back with me have combined to make me forget all the petty little worries and inconveniences that I experienced in gathering them. ‘‘ Would I go out there again?” Of course I would, at the very first opportunity, but of course with a better equip- ment. The call of the wild can never be stilled in me, and thus it came to pass that on taking farewell of poor old Sandy, whom I never expect to see again in the flesh, we arranged to meet ‘‘some day” in the future and fish and hunt together in the happy hunting grounds beyond the Taruma and the Waiwai. Water E. Rora, CHRISTIANBURG, DEMERARA RiveER, British Guiana, June 28, 1926, BIL? fotews ’ i tg ) Ne i) I © CO 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. ly. 18. 19. 20. ILLUSTRATIONS PLATES . A, Stone arrowheads (a, c) and perhaps a spearhead (b). B, Oyana Gancerclitoss 24 pi! 14) 2. hepatica Iara UF wim ah . a, The Monta or Toekoesipan house of the Oyana. The structure on the right is probably a Maite house. (After Herderschee.) 6, The Timakitti house of the Trio. (GOT, Pl. XXX)__________-_______ . A, Position of the woman when making the stone-chip grater. B, Implements used in the manufacture of the stone-chip cassava grater. C, Stone-chip grater, showing the diagonal guiding pattern with the inserted chips, prior to being covered with the sap and red paint. (Ailer saree) i )% oF! up (2 Eh TE ey OLY. iy oth ty cr taly . Patterns on the front and back of the Waiwai graters-__._._._.___---- . Patterns on the front and back of the Waiwai graters_____.-_-----_- . Various domestic articles, mostly from the Oyana. (After GOE, Pl. . Waiwai sifter. a, From above. 6b, From below__--------------_--- . a, Portable wooden mortar said to come from the Waiwai. (After Farabee.) 6, Box made from strips of kokerit leaf-_.---.-.------- a, Wapishana pimpler-palm mat, having the rails on opposite sides, tied with fiber. 6, Pepper carriers of the Waiwai and Taruma. c, Mat satchels of the Taruma and Waiwai-___-----.---_-----L----- Trumpet-shaped carrying basket from the Orinoco mouth, Warrau. a Front views.00} Back wiewscsss-ceeeenegit sodden ber, bud bin a, The Pakaruma basket of the Makusi. 6, Twilled non-hourglass patternspepally ft eda23 £2) 2 — feed sel ha) athe ete lee beh a, Diagram of twilled non-hourglass pattern pegall. One quarter of top surface showing how the sides are built up with extra wefts. b, Pattern from side of Waiwai pegall. A central beetle and two deer facing each, othersheu3-beed~stt de qeetousinaeg 4ds-aebede Pattern from side of Waiwai pegall. Two beetles and monkeys facing Gach. ober sth hal jeter 48) pee TA ok eek te eeetsie, tele ae a, Pimpler-palm (Astrocaryum) knapsack cover of Wapishana. |, Diagram explaining manufacture of the pimpler-palm knapsack a, Vertically plaited single-leaf ite basket or satchel. 6b, The two split halves of an ite leaf prepared for subsequent manipulation into various reeepiaelés:t., Woe is) seen se T_podecemes eolschels Ite leaf close-work knapsack. a, Front view. 6, Back view__------ Stages in the manufacture of the ite-leaf close-work knapsack-_---- a, A “freak”? hanging basket of the Wapishana. b, An Arekuna carrier. c, The ite-leaf corn basket. d, The ite-leaf knapsack cover OftheaWaiwaland: Taruma, etcees i222 oe. foe eo ee a, Waiwai making a hammock. 06, Temporary bush basket, No. 2 Surrurotrana NG. Son ileth: eh is ek saa see Page 10 10 28 28 28 28 32 32 36 36 42 42 46 46 48 48 50 50 54 54 XIV ILLUSTRATIONS Page 21. Shoulder baskets. A, Temporary basket of the Waiwai. B, Permanent basket of the Apalai (after Farabee). C, Waiwai women carrying permanent and temporary shoulder baskets, respectively__.----- 60 22. a, Waiwai cheek ornament. 6b, Waiwai nose ornament-_------------- 70 23. a, Waiwai males using the nose and cheek and lower lip ornaments, respectively. 6, Waiwai females. One showing the necklet and apron, the other the corselet and cotton cross cords. c, Waiwai method (male) of wearing the hair in a tube. d, Waiwai beaded bamboo hair. Gubesad sac 2. ee Pee 208 Oe Ree Ses 70 24. A, Various Waiwai ornaments and implements. (a) bush-hog scraper; (b) male cheek ornament; (c) nose ornament; (d) stage in making of a comb; (e) the compound brush cured for curare painting. B, Various Waiwai ornaments, etc. (a) three simple forms of hair tubes; (b) a feather fillet; (c) a necklet; (d) two ear ornaments; (e, f) hair comb in progress of construction__-.-.----------------- 70 25. Waiwai hair tubes. a, Spiral sugar-loaf form; b, beaded bamboo form_ 72 26. Compound vertical hats and back ornament from the Oyana and Trio. a, The Olok of the Oyana (GOH, Pl. III, fig. 1); 6, The Walum of the Trio (GOE, PI. II, fig. 11); c, The Harikete back orna- ment of the Oyana/ (GOB, (Pl. (dig Os oe ee des ee ee 74 27. A, Macusi vertical feather crown. The bases of the macaw tail feathers are covered with powis plumage. 8B, Vertical and horizontal feather crown. a is feathered in an unusual fashion--____._._..____ 76 28; Waiwai .corselets 2024. =. 92nd Mes. Suet ior Se eee 76 29. a—e, Waiwai corselet, showing details. jf, Waiwai bush-hog tooth SCQAPeF 22 sou en nL LS se ue Uk BU is te 28. eS 78 30. Trio and Waiwai armlets. a, Band made by Trio from a pimpler palm leaf. 6, Made by Waiwai from bark and similar leaf. c, Made by Waiwai from. beads... i226 46 Je Ba eee 78 31. A, Waiwai bead and feather ornaments. (a, b) Two cotton cord belts with bead and feather hip covers, respectively; (c) Bead armlet; (d) Lower lip feather tuft; (e) Woman’s bead and feather wristlet. B, Waiwai men’s belts (after Farabee). (a) Probably of jaguar skin, showing feather hip covers; (b) shows bead hip covers__---------- 78 32. Hip cover belts of the Waiwai. a, Hip cover made of looped feathered strings; b, Made of a bead network foundation; c, Waiwai wristlet, showing the construction of the bead foundation______---_-_--~- 78 33. A, Waiwailoin cloth. B, Various body ornaments. a, Waiwai bark and leaf armlet surrounded by 6, Makusi (?) tubular beaded belt, and c,twovtarmiets ‘with shellidisks#®2uu. {one pases Se ee eee 82 34. Glass'bead aprons of) the Waiwais: Luo o2iedeul pole elece_ Geek 82 TEXT FIGURES 1. Fire twirling apparatus, Taulipang (after Koch-Griinberg) ---_------ 1 2. Clay-guard spindles for cotton spinning (Waiwai)_______---_------- 4 3. The Makusi farine sifter started with squares, the diagonals being subsequently addedfsuu vided! -2o0_ bt eee, RA. CT oe 6 4. An imbricate form of plaiting in the manufacture of a vertical feather CTOWD wis cece cu ccedceusc ened nee cee) Ae Die eee ee 6 ,- An imbricate form of plaiting adopted in the manufacture of the Waiwail aiftersinssdeueceweeeee ihe ewes UGLb. CU DH SE 7 ILLUSTRATIONS XV : Page 6. Fixation of string onto bow, ete. Attached to upper end with a double loop (a-e), or with a single loop, a bowline (f); attached to lower end with a simpler form of bowline (g, h). Restoring a bent bow Touts: nNormalsshaper (ie) Mees ee Ng ee Att ey An Son bh 8 7. Fall-trap for armadillo, labba, etc., on upper Barima River__________ 11 8. Fall trap for labba, etc., on the Demerara River____________._-___- 12 9. A “‘warning-bell” arrangement attached to a fishing line___.._______ 14 er spring teap-for. haimara; ete... 2028820 2 beweo a jo svoehon 15 11. Spring-basket fish trap with movable door, from the upper Demerara RIOR a ee eth carte UE DANG NU oy agra ORT AO otto BME 16 Pe oOs hn ..or catching Orebie. 2-222... 22-00%) saan Sell y yoiieye 17 13. Triangular banab (temporary shelter hut) of the Taruma, Atorai, and Nao PG a ANT eerR NOPE URE YO CTR LO OS 3G on ts 20 14. The simplest form of the lean-to banab____.__.__________________- 21 15. Rain shelters for protecting boat cargoes__.___..__._._._.._---___- 22 16. The permanent lean-to (penthouse) of the Taruma, rectangular type_ 22 17. The permanent lean-to (penthouse) of the Taruma and Waiwai, half- hexagon. type:,.-Viewtirom back 2220. 4 vi vowel 2 te crowd 23 fon W alwal circular: houpetfisios 2 00Niate n/a lc steweO we te frre edits 24 19. Waiwai circular house, showing progress of construction____________ 25 20. Diagram of Oyana and Trio houses after GOH, Plate IX___________ 26 21. Rectangular house of the Waiwai_._____.........-. 22 22-2 lll Le 26 22. Illustration of mauritia thatch to replace Figure 78, c (WER, vi), Grawal AMCOrrectiys.. SSUUERROD SCs tT Save etd 2 tes if po BM 27 23. Some methods of using manicol leaf for thatech____________________ 27 mee 1 Veal Wictiweid. Delmer Ee ete Dk rh tt eh) Sie wey ale. jy Rie 28 25. Diagram to show variations in the commencing stages of the manu- fACHUTE.OF 8 CASSANG, SGUCEZOR ooo I Se 29 26. Commencing stage of Wapishana cassava squeezer________________- 30 27. Commencing stage of Taruma cassava squeezer___________________- 31 28. Commencing stage of Waiwai cassava squeezer___________________- 32 29. Wapishana farine sifter with a central crossed quadrilateral pattern__ 32 30. Diagram of manufacture of the Waiwai sifter__...._.._...._.______- 33 31. Diagram of manufacture of the Waiwai sifter__......_._.__..________- 34 32. Roller press for squeezing sugar cane, upper Barama River__________ 35 33. Manufacture of the kokerit leaf strip box.__._.__.._._._._____________- 35 34. Manufacture of the kokerit leaf plaited box, with ‘‘two stars’”’?________ 36 35. Manufacture of the mat illustrated in Plate 10, a-________________-_ 38 36. Manufacture of the mat illustrated in Plate 10, a, continued________ 39 37. Manufacture of the Taruma and Waiwai satchel___.__._.___________ 40 38. Square hanging tray of the Waiwai, etc_..._.__.........._._______- 41 39. Wapishana circular tray, with two rails; another method of fixation__ 41 40. Trumpet-shaped basket (Pl. 11) showing the original bundle of warp strands (wa) tied by the spiral weft (we)...._._._...____-------_-- 42 41. A more advanced stage in the construction of the trumpet-shaped CAEP VINE. DASKE ee oe oo wee ee ee Cas Se a ee 43 42. View of portions of the completed basket from the middle (A) and at the mouth, (8), respectively Geel worl ULe tones eelaniin Dawley 44 43. Diagram of basket shown in Plate 12, a__....._....______-.-------- 44 44. Manufacture of the checker rectangular flat-base basket of the Oyana, WiabWal, «GGG rice So ce ER Se ey Oe be vkcpes Bvavie ete co ted 45 45. Manufacture of the single-leaf ite basket or satchel__________-_--_-- 48 46. Diagram of split ite-leaf tray shown in Plate 121 A, C (WER, vi). SUSIE PANG T ES gS SHA DM as UNE SL ee Peony RDN 49 . Manufacture of the ite-leaf close-work knapsack . Manufacture of the ite-leaf close-work knapsack, continued . Manufacture of the ite-leaf close-work knapsack, continued . Manufacture of the ite-leaf throat-box basket . Manufacture of the ite-leaf throat-box basket, continued . Manufacture of the carrier illustrated in Plate 19, b . Manufacture of the ite-leaf corn basket . Manufacture of the pepper-pot basket . Manufacture of the pepper-pot basket, continued . Temporary bush basket, No. 1 . Manufacture of temporary bush baskets . Manufacture of the Waiwai temporary pimpler-palm shoulder basket_ . Manufacture of the Waiwai temporary pimpler-palm shoulder basket, . Manufacture of a 6-weft Atorai hammock, continued . Manufacture of a 6-weft Atorai hammock, continued . Manufacture of a 6-weft Atorai hammock, continued . Back of the 6-weft Atorai hammock, showing the smooth surface as . Manufacture of the Waiwai hammock, continued . Manufacture of the Waiwai hammock, continued . Manufacture of hair comb . Details of the macaw tail feather tips in Plate 27, A . Showing the two bars at the back of a vertical crown that support the . Construction of the feather head fillet of the Waiwai, etc . Diagram showing construction of the bead foundation of the Waiwai . Manufacture of the Waiwai loin cloth, continued 2. Manufacture of the Waiwai loin cloth, continued . Bamboo flutes of the Oyana (after De Goeje). a, The taloeloepan. . Method of playing the flageolet . Parishara dance headdress; method of fixing the horizontal into the ILLUSTRATIONS Diagram of the same. Back view continued: 2. 222 a soe a ke 2 Se ee a he are eee ag ip contrasted: with thedront2es #23) been et ee eee a es macaw ‘tail featherss.. . S22 US 28 ys ee ee a eee wristlet . Diagram to show construction of tubular beaded belt (after Koch- Grinberg) . Diagram to show construction of the two-loop hollow cylindrical belt_ . Diagram to show construction of cotton-fringe apron belt (after Koch-Griinberg) i222 2 22. sd See Deg ee > Waiwaismaking.aleiniclothe. eset bet sh= aesb ees Wek acle Mace eae . Manufacture of the Waiwai loin cloth . Manufacture of the Waiwai loin cloth, continued____________-_-__- . Manufacture of the Waiwai loin cloth, continued. Making the main heddle 2wetei. Ushi when beads 5 Sel a ey i ee ee b} Nose: flutes wet wilt fos aud walle ee ath oe mat Palen ae vertical pinnules (after Koch-Griinberg)___..__.-_-_------------ . Wapishana method of shooting play arrows______.----------+----- . Wapishana variations of the bowstring puzzle____._____------------ . Puzzle to lock and open two locked leaf strips_____..-------------+- . Canoe making on the upper Essequibo__------------------------- . Manufacture of the Waiwai woodskin._-.-_--.----.---------------- WORKS OF REFERENCE [Norre.—This list should be read with that given in the main work (Thirty-eighth Ann, Rept. Bur, Amer, Ethn.) to which it is additional.] AHL Axstsrincx, W. Over de vilectmethoden gebruikelijk bij de Kalina (Suriname). Anthropos, 1925. BAK Bakxutuis, L. A. Verslag den Coppename expeditie Tijd. Kon. Ned. Aard. Gen. 1902. BES Bensgamins, Dr. H. D. and Jon. F. Snetteman. Encyclopaedie van Nederlansch West Indié. ’s-Gravenhage, Leiden, 1914-1917. CAP van CapetteE, H. De Binnenlanden van het Dist. Nickerie (Suri- name). Baarn, 1903. Co Coupreau, O. Voyage au Cumina. Paris, 1901. Coupreau, O. Voyage 4 la Mapuera. Paris, 1903. FAA pee LETTERS OF FaraBexz, Central Arawaks, and Central FAC Caribs, respectively, the latter published in Philadelphia, 1924. GOT Gorsn, C. H. pr. Verslag der Toemoek-hoemak expeditie. Tijd. Kon. Ned. Aard. Gen. 1908. HAA Haan, Ererts pe. Verslag van de Expeditie naar de Suriname Rivier (June-November, 1908). Tijd. Kon. Ned. Aard. Gen. HER MHerperscHer, A. FRANSSEN. Verslag van de Goninie Expeditie. Tijd. Kon. Ned. Aard. Gen. 1905. Verslag van de Tapanahoni Expeditie. Tijd. Kon. Ned. Aard. Gen. 1905. KAY Kéa&yser, C. C. Verslag der Corantijn Expeditie. Tijd. Kon. Ned. Aard. Gen. 1912. KGR Kocs-Grinserc, THropor. Vom Roroima zum Orinoco. 5 vols. Berlin, 1916. LIN Linpsiom, K. G. Uber eine alte ethnographische Sammlung aus dem Nordlichsten Siidamerika in Ethnog-Reichs Museum in Stockholm. Ymer, August, 1924. NC Nimuenpasu, Curt. Die Palikur Indianer und ihre Nachbarn. Géoteborg, 1926. NOS NoRDENSKIOLD. ERLAND. Comparative Ethnological Studies. Gdte- burg, 1923. NOT Norpensxréup, F. and E. Uber Zwirnen und Spinnen bei den Indianern Siidamerikas. Gd6teburg, 1918. SAC REFERENCE LETTER OF ALBERT VON Sack’s NARRATIVE, ete. SRR ScHomBurGE, RicHarp. Reisen in Britisch Guiana. 8 vols. Transla- tion by W. E. Roth. Georgetown, B. G., 1922. STO van Srocxum, A. J. Verslag van de Saramacca Expeditie. Tijd. Kon. Ned. Aard. Gen. 1904. vVCco Van Cott. Gegevens over Land en Volk van Suriname. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indié. ’s-Gravenhage, 1903. WER, va Rors, Watter E. An introductory study of the arts, crafts, and customs of the Guiana Indians. Washington, 1924. 6283°—29——2 XVII HER, 1 AF antler toes . < = Pa | on y RN Ay BY 78). s vf * y os eS ae CS =~ A, Temporary basket of the Waiwai. B, Permanent basket' of the Apalai (Sec. 456 B) (after Farabee) SHOULDER BASKETS 61 ADDITIONAL STUDIES OF GUIANA INDIANS ROTH] NS ay Drepmaen a \ gn Be aid 3 r] \ OSS ; hs 4 5 7 ~S {LY y KRY es s SRK Cp ASKS co b ON stirs CEC g OKA ’ Ce Sam ON EIN ROE; RR | BOON RS aos Oe 4 AY ' CXL | FIGURE 59,—Manufacture of the Waiwai temporary pimpler-palm shoulder basket. (Sec. 456 B) 62 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 91 “‘break”? may be similar but the free end further plaited (G). Thus along and around the whole edge of the mouth there is again an outer and inner series of free pinnules. Commencing from the top left-hand corner of the mouth, each of the outer pinnules is twisted some three or four times at its base and tucked under and up behind the next succeeding one. This process is continued all the way round. Again making a start from the top left-hand cor- ner, the first of the series of free outer pinnules is taken up with its corresponding inside one, and together with the extremity of the wing rolled into a twist (H). This same twist is next rolled twice around the base of the second outer pinnule, together with its corre- sponding inside one; the distal ends of which (i. e., second outer and corresponding inner pinnule) are similarly rolled over its free extremity. And so the process is repeated (KX) all the way round and the edge of the mouth so completed. (PI. 21, A.) Figure 60.—Manufacture of the Waiwai temporary pimpler-palm shoulder basket, continued. (Sec. 456 B) Such a shoulder basket will last a considerable period, provided it does not get wet. At the same time, besides the usual twilled itiriti-strand article, which is made comparatively long, the Waiwai can construct a very temporary knapsack out of turu (?) leaf, somewhat on the lines figured in Plate 124, B. (WER, viz.) 458. Page 381, third line from bottom, after 157) add: The hammocks of the Schiriana are quite peculiar and very prim- itive. A bundle of hard yellow fairly broad bast strips [probably of a species of Philodendron] is tied up at both ends and from four to five wefts plaited in a double thread of red-colored cotton drawn through them. In the hammocks from Motomoto even every weft was missing ... Among the extremely primitive hammocks, but yet answering the purpose, which are used by the Ipurina (on the Rio Purus) in cases of necessity, on journeys, hunting expeditions, etc., four or five bast strips (Embira: Malvaceae species) 2 meters in length and 3 to 4 cm, in breadth are loosened from the tree and tied ROTH] ADDITIONAL STUDIES OF GUIANA INDIANS 63 together at both ends, sometimes also furthermore connected with one another by one or two shorter cross-strips. (KGR, 11, 314.) 459. After first paragraph add: Mauritia fiber is used for hammocks by the Frog Indians (SR, 11, 472), Taruma and Waiwai. After third paragraph add: Bromelia (korowa) hammocks are also made by the Trio (HER, 1, 943), Taruma and Waiwai. 460. At end of section add: The Oyana cotton hammock is of this type, each bar being formed of two wefts, but only a single warp is taken up at a time. (GOH, 21 spl. 1x, fie; 10:) 463. At end of section add: The Saloema have in addition a cotton ham- mock constructed on this type, each bar being formed of four wefts, but with a single warp taken up at a 12345678910 ps TIT 2 ts i | ii title i ha ae 3 I HLL iil HU a ill HHL — mca bcare cn, FicurRE 61.—Manufacture of a 6-weft Atorai hammock. (Sec. 473 A.) A, The first two wooden slips (ps, ts) picking up strings 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, ete., and 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, etc., respectively. B, The second two wooden slips (¢s J, ts IZ) picking up strings 1, 5, 9, 18, 17, etc., and 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, etc., respectively time. (GOE, 21; pl. 1x, fig. 11.) 464 A. It will have been noticed that in all the hammocks just described the warp is wound as a whole around the posts before any action is taken with the wefts. On the Caiary-Uaupes, however, each warp is taken off from the cotton-ball separately, one at a time, and each fixed in place with the wefts, before the next warp is put in position. (KG, 1, 210, 211.) 473 A. I have since had an opportunity of watching such an Atorai six-weft hammock through the whole course of manufacture. What I saw may be described as follows: | After the cotton has been rolled onto the hammock frame and over the head-stick to allow of its ultimate removal (fig. 61,.A), two wooden slips (ps, ts) are inserted from left to right in the front layer of warps in such a way as to pick up alternate strings as they are passed along. (In this case the alternate warps picked up are Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc., above and Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, etc., below.) A second set of sticks (B) is similarly introduced (ts 1, ts 11) below the previous ones but in a different way as regards the number and 6283°—29-——_6 64 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (BULL. 91 position of the warps of the latter; the upper slip (és 1) is placed behind warps 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, etc., the lower one (¢s 11) behind warps 8. 7,11; 15, 19 cates A heddle or raiser, ete. (r 1) is introduced around the first and each alternate warp passing over the second wooden slip. (Fig. 62.) A second heddle (r 1) is introduced below the fourth stick around every warp passing over it. It will be noticed that, between the two of them, both heddles can raise all the uneven numbered warps, commencing with the first on the left; i. e., the upper heddle controls warp strings Nos. 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, etc., while the lower controls Nos. 3, 7, 11, 15, ete. \\ Hl \ i \) nM Hl =\S Ul aD Ds SS r I Eee YI SSS NS N \ SRO IIS) SRY || mie | IMT (sec. 4738 A), showing insertion of the level (/) and the commencing lu G8 tO: eid, 17 Py Res fe Or E oa ae a TT OOTIr i i Moon \ rh | N AN DS ana aia SEND), f TI il if a SE COOLIO IRLNASIBBNY i at Z 3 7 i 15 19 "23 chain twist (ct). In actual practice the lower three slips (ts, és 7, “ohm TAT | i BUGIS SRasosre SS TEIELE SE eres FIGURE 62—Manufacture of a 6-weft Atorai hammock, continued is ii) are, however, previously removed Remove the lower three slips (és, tst, fst), retaining the top one as the permanent sep- arator (ps) that di- vides the front set of warps into an anterior and posterior layer, the former consisting of even-numbered warps—i. e., Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, etc.—the lat- ter of uneven-num- bered ones. Note that the ante- rior layer of the front set of warps is not controlled by heddles, but can be raised by passing behind it the flat of the hand (fac- ing you), the back of the hand sliding along the front of the top slip or permanent separator (ps). To make a commencement, insert your level (/) and fix the usual initial row of chain twist (ct) as in Figure 204 (WER, viz). Reise the anterior layer of warps (fig. 63, D) as just indicated (i.e., Nos. 2, 4, 6, etc.), insert your presser or beater (ts), turn it at right angles to make space and pass in your first weft (we 1), which is wound on a fairly long and proportionately thin shuttle. When through, beat it down nice and straight with the edge of the presser (HF). Remove the presser. (See diagram, fig. 64.) Now pull on the upper heddle so as to draw forward warps Nos. 1, 5, 9, 18, 17, etc., insert your presser and make space for the ~ ROTH] ADDITIONAL STUDIES OF GUIANA INDIANS 65 second weft (we 1m), which is now inserted, and pressed down; remove the beater. . Pull on the lower heddle, so as to raise warps Nos. 3, 7, 11, 15, 2a Gl B49 WAL HILL D Bana = TIM, St ER PEED EERE LEER ERS A Sieis Ses eiass SPITIPI TOMO O NOOO io ee ee i Sa STATaIaiaiaIAibia AMI TATATATH MrT Ml rT] FIGURE 63.—Manufacture of a 6-weft Atorai hammock, continued (sec. 473 A), showing how the first weft (we i) is placed and fixed in position 19, etc., and observing the same details as just mentioned, insert the third weft (we 1). Similarly, raise the upper heddle for the fourth weft (we tv), the lower one for the fifth (we v), and the upper one again for the sixth (we v1). 66 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 91 Having thus reached the left extremity of the warp series, the wefts are reinserted from left to right in the following manner: 123456789 ONR BH EK BY MWY Xs meee ere = ---°" Soe N CLL sileaefeet leila alza ah Pore or siajatalara PD Ire ooo} sk Torr A stern Soo Sr od oe ee toe aja AT So So eo oo sxatate i “77 TA PP Od Po aoe CoO misinie Sarai Tee OO Eo “ COO Ir LG cor a To Ae er area WANS ae Aro Ar ni nis [ aisles = TL 1 \ MESS se STII EI EI Soo er od So5 aL CLA Te eee EE olen aia Sooo ee oneeaees mis ee SEES ae W282 Lae ATC Bie ear “Se TL aaa piel St ela esleleal ala RP ROKER Muceqes SginiaiaiaiainiaiaiataiaiaiaiaialainiaTNraiail TTT TTT ATT TTT Figure 64.—Manufacture of a 6-weft Atorai hammock, continued (sec. 473 A), showing how wefts i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi in the first series become, respectively, wefts xii, xi, x, ix, vili, vii in the second series ena ee Sacmcesal . “i Bess . S ee -- . . "Soe mes Or ate ~<<-- +s. -_ - sa - HHEaSA Raise the anterior layer of the front row of warps (by inserting the hand along the front of the permanent separator), and after inserting the presser behind the warps so crores |i a) fh) et | aah a ah || ee = BRAS ae See tele [ecetele raised (Nos. 2, 4, 6, aie a a ayalnta 5 etc.) pass your sixth aba AE aie iC] HH mle weft back again from HE cr HE aiSiseieis left to right. This ae =|= Bee ae =|= ae weit now becomes the SACHA 2S laalalz seventh. Now pullon B slave ae slay Sian x the upper heddle so alli {= aig =F ae ale LL as to draw forward ae PL ale ale =l= ae Ala warps Nos. 1, 5, 9, aa Hh a ale ass = = a 13, etc., and insert, ARAB melee amie a on similar lines as (ees || rae n= = || eS | pee 7 already followed, the continuation of the FiGuRE 65.—Back of the 6-weft Atorai hammock, showing the fifth weft, which now smooth surface as contrasted with the front. (Sec. 473 A) b ecomes th e el ehth. So in the same way take up in turn the fourth, third, second, and first wefts, which become now, respectively, the ninth, tenth, ROTH] ADDITIONAL STUDIES OF GUIANA INDIANS 67 eleventh, and twelfth. In the same manner repeat the whole process back again from right to left, left to mght, until the ham- mock is completed. It is as well to note that the appearance of the back of the finished article (fig. 65) is quite different from that of the front; the even- numbered warps practically cover the intermediate ones, and so render the undersurface comparatively smooth in contrast with the rough upper surface—the main object underlying this method of manufacture. Furthermore, whereas in the diagram the wefts when about to return on their crosswise journey are represented more or less concentrically, the arrangement is really such that each weft loop St: Sn aeeeees | Ss S— oe. fore ee (eS Ir | (SS (SS (SSH a a= eS =| (thy r SSS eS SOSA ay 4B (aiey FIGURE 66.—Manufacture of the Waiwai hammock. (Sec. 477 A) projects quite 6 inches or so from each side, all six loops being rolled into one another to form a sort of tassel. Such a hammock may be of great size and occupy the attention of two women at a time. This, combined with the skill displayed and the labor entailed, causes it to be rarely made, and, when made, to command a high price. 477 A. The cotton, ete., or korowa, (either of these materials may be used) hammock of the Taruma (Saloema), Trio and Waiwai is woven on a frame of two lengths of turu midrib joined by two smaller crossbars fixed in holes. This frame is set in a horizontal position. (Pl. 20, a.) Starting from left to right, a thread is passed across the top length between the bars forward and back- ward at least three times; this forms the top string. (Fig. 66, A.) On the fourth occasion the thread divides this top string into a 68 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (Bute. 91 series of segments (I, II, 111, Iv, etc.) by means of clove hitches and terminates behind, around, and in front of the right-hand vertical bar. The thread now continues from right to left behind and over three strands of the seventh, fifth, third, and first segment, to end behind, around, and in front of the left-hand vertical bar (B). It next passes back again under and over three strands of the second, fourth, and sixth segments to end behind, around, and in front of the right-hand vertical bar (C). It again returns from right to left under and over three strands of the seventh, fifth, etc., seyments, and so on. All one has to remember is that in each successive passage of the thread from bar to bar it deals with segments alternating with the preceding, and has always to pass under and over three strands in connection with the segment dealt with (D). While in reality the thread is kept quite taut and in close apposition on either bar, it is represented | Figure 67.—Manufacture of the Waiwai hammock, continued. (Sec. 477 A.) The frame is turned on its long axis prior to making the scale lines in the diagram as quite loose to show the technique. After the weaving has been completed, the frame is turned on its long axis, the (now) lower bar being shifted into another pair of holes 8 or 10 inches farther down, its place in between the lowermost loops being substituted by a string that is tied across the bars. (Fig. 67.) The scale lines are now made. This is worked with a make- shift shuttle upon which the thread is wound; the end of the latter is secured to the extremity of the original compound crosstie with which operations were commenced, and passed over and under the lower bar. In the meantime, the operator, working from left to right, picks up the first three of the lowermost set of loops, into which he passes the second three, the two sets being hitched to- gether by the scale line in the manner indicated in the illustration. (Fig. 68.) Next, the fourth set of triplets is inserted into the third, and hitched up again with the scale line, and so on until the whole lower edge of loops is done with. Taking the hammock ROTH] ADDITIONAL STUDIES OF GUIANA INDIANS 69 off the frame, and replacing it in the position required, the scale line on the opposite edging is completed. 478. At end of section add: Among the Taulipang the cotton threads are occasionally colored black, yellow, or reddish brown with vegetable substances. To | FIGURE 68.—Manufacture of the Waiwai hammock, continued. (Sec.477 A.) The making of the scale lines produce the red color the thread is put for a night in a lye formed of the bark soaked in water of a low savanna foliage tree which the Makusi call molipode, and the Brazilians miriti. This must not be mistaken for the similarly named palm Mauritia flexuosa. A yellow 70 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 91 and a blue-black color are obtained from the bark of other savanna trees. (KGR, 111, 86.) 483. Line 8, after extremities, add: For carrying their children the Oyana have an endless cotton band. This may be of the same construction as the Saloema bar hammock, each bar with four wefts and a single warp being taken up at a time. (GOE, Pl. vu, fig. 19.) For the same purpose Waiwai women use a piece of pliable bark with its ends joined. 503. At end of section add: Both sexes of the Trio have the under lip pierced; on ordinary occasions, provided with a thorn or fine wooden splinter, on festive ones, with feathers attached to a little stick. (HER, 1, 941, 942.) The same is true of the Waiwai, who call the feather ornament itach-horoku. (Pls. 23, a; 31, A, d.) 504. At end of section add: Some of the Waiwai males also have a hole behind the outer corners of the mouth for the insertion of sticks to which specially prepared feathers are attached. (Pls. 22, a; 23, a; 24,A,6.) Sucha cheek ornament they call w4natu. 505. Line 9 from bottom, after say, add: This piercing of the nasal septum and the wearing of a pin to which a piece of metal is attached was mentioned by Coudreau. (Cou, 11, 313.) At end of section add: The Waiwai and Taruma males may have the nasal septum bored, through which, on occasions of merrymaking, feathers are stuck from either side to form an ornament known to the Waiwai as i-yunarakka. (Pls. 22, 6; 23, a; 24, A,c.) These feathers are specially prepared and ‘‘doctored.” Oneof themcarriesin its quill a fine wooden pencil which fits into the empty quill of the other. (Pl. 22, 6,1.) It is a method of fixation likewise adopted by the Trio. 506. Page 416, line 5 from top, after 2), add: Among the Oyana and Trio the ear lobes which are bored in youth with a glowing hot needle serve for the attachment of various decora- tions; with the Oyana, tassels of beads, etc., or at festivals, feathers; among the Trio, pieces of arrow reed with incisor teeth of the water haas, or little shells linked by a small band of beads which hangs under the chin. As a rule, the Trio replace this inconvenient decora- tion with short pieces of arrow reed that serve to keep the apertures open. (GOE, 8,9.) The Waiwai, in both sexes, wear bunches of ear feathers (panatari) or water-haas teeth or pieces of iridescent shell (pl. 24, B, d), fixed with cement to small wooden pencils, maintained in position, as with the Trio, by means of a beaded thread or band passing under the chin like a strap. (GOK, pl. 1, 4, and FAC, pl. xxxu.) The Pianocoto have their ears pierced. Some do not BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 91 PLATE 22 a, Waiwai cheek ornament. (Sec. 504) b, Waiwai nose ornament. (Sec. 505) it ie wie BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 91 PLATE 23 b d a, Waiwai males using the nose and cheek, and lower lip ornaments, respectively. (Secs. 503, 504.) 6, Waiwai females, one showing the necklet (sec. 531) and apron, the other the corselet (sec. 537) and cotton cross cords. c, Waiwai method (male) of wearing the hair in a tube. (Sec. 515.) d, Waiwai beaded bamboo hair tube. (Sec. 515) BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 91 PLATE 24 A, Various Waiwai ornaments and implements. a, Bush-hog scraper. (Sec. 18.) 6, Male cheek ornament. (Sec. 504.) c, Nose ornament. (Sec. 505.) d, Stage in the making of a comb. (Sec. 517 A.) e, The compound brush cured for curare painting. (Sec. 122) B, Various Waiwai ornaments, etc. a, Three simple forms of hair tubes. (Sec. 515.) 6, A feather fillet. (Sec. 530.) c, A necklet. (Sec'. 531.) d, Twoear ornaments. (Sec. 506.) e, f, Hair comb in progress of construction, (Sec. 517 A) ROTH] ADDITIONAL STUDIES OF GUIANA INDIANS 71 wear anything at all; some carry an agouti tooth with a blue bead; others deck them with two round disks that hide the whole of the ear lobe. (CO, 162.) : 508. Line 19, after 365), add: Moustache and beard are objected to by the Trio. (GOT, 1031.) 510. After line 11, deleting This in line 12, add: At the beginning of the present century no trace of tattoo was present among the Trio, Herderschee suggesting that Schomburgk may have meant painting of the skin. (HER, 1, 941.) But if a real tattoo was intended by the illustrious traveler this 510 A. Among the Pianocoto there is apparently a reference to scari- fication as a decorative agent—some scars on the arms. These are made with a tiger claw and are only favored by dandies who wish to appear attractive. (CO, 162.) 512. Page 428, line 10, after 124), add: Like many other tribes, the Atorai have stamps for painting designs on the body. (FAA, pl. xxv.) 513. Page 424, last line, add: The Pianocoto simply have a longitudinal line of genipa running from the forehead to the point of the nose, and another transverse one above the eyebrows. (CO, 162.) 514. At end of section add: Feather down may decorate the hair as among the Trio (where the feather head crowns are reserved for dance parties). They had only painted their faces afresh, oiled their hair, combed it neatly and plastered it with maliti, specks of white eagle down. (GOT, 1033.) 515. Page 426, line 26, after 74), add: A similar tonsure is described by Koch-Griinberg among the present- day Schiriana on the Rio Uraricuera. (KGR, m1, pl. 44.) I am informed by an old Akawai female that in old times it was customary with her tribe on the Demerara River to “ring” their children’s hair in this manner to make them grow in height and strength. Page 426, line 8 from bottom, after 307), add: Among the Oyana the hair is worn parted in the middle, and long, in both sexes. (HER, 112.) Page 427, line 10 from top, after 278), add: While the hair was cut away close to the ears (distinctive of the Trio), on special festival occasions, the hair was blobbed with eagle down in regular rows, and held behind in a tube of palm leaf or jaguar skin, with dependent red and green feathers. (HER, 1, 941.) Line 6 from end of section, after tube, add: For everyday wear this tube consists of a couple of pimpler-palm pinnules spirally rolled to form a sort of elongate sugar loaf which is subsequently daintily painted and feathered. (Pls. 23, c; 24, B, a, a, 72 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 91 a; 25,a.) A great deal of artistic taste is displayed in the decoration of these articles. For high days and holidays this spiral tube is replaced by a piece of bamboo, covered with pretty designs in beads (pls. 23, d; 25, 6; FAA, pl. xxv) to which are attached various gaily colored bird skins, beetle wings, cotton streamers, toucan beaks, etc., which dingle-dangle down the back. The simpler form of tube is known as yammi, the bamboo variety as kirijiti. I have ventured the manufacture of such beadwork on the tube in section 544. At end of section add: It frequently happens that an Indian keeps the hair short in order to be the better able to keep the head clean. De Goeje reports seeing on an expedition through the forest how a pair of Trio washed their hair with a sort of soap which they obtained by bruising and squeezing the bark of abush rope. (GOE,8.) The Oyana (the man, namely) frequently carries his toilet necessaries round his neck. This consists of a home-framed square piece of looking-glass, a wooden comb, a calabash with red pigment (ruku) and one or two bamboo tubes filled with a black color, rendered sweet scented by mixing with the resin of the ‘‘tingi-moni” tree (Protium heptaphyllum March) wherein are stuck two wooden needles. (GOH, pl.1, fig. 18.) The Trio fixes his toilet necessaries in a different way. The paint is kept in a little calabash, just like the crab oil with which he anoints his hair, some- times also his face. (GOH, pl. u, fig.1.) Inasmall basket (pl. vit, fig. 7) he puts his looking-glass, comb, and small sticks for painting with. 517 A. The manufacture of the last-mentioned comb is carried out as follows (fig. 69): Splitting a convenient length from the midrib of a turu palm leaf, the Waiwai slices off a small piece from the outer cortex, cuts off a length according to scale, whittles it into a more or less flattened shape with a somewhat attenuated business end; it is the first tooth of the comb about to be made. The scale that he measures the length with is the flat shaved-off portion of a piece of arrow reed. This has a soft pith, and the completed tooth is stuck into one of its extremities, the soft material acting as apincushion forit. (Pl. 24,.A,d.) Instead of the original turu strip being cut into a number of the requisite length and then completed, each tooth is finished before the next is commenced, each in its turn being stuck into the pincushion at either end of the pencil. Thenecessary number being obtained, they are attached to each other centrally one by one, with their proper ends together, by means of a korowa thread which is looped regularly over two and under two, over three (as a new tooth is added), and under two, and so repeated until all the teeth are connected. (ig. 69, B.) The ends on both sides are now trimmed and cut if necessary, so as to get straight edges, BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 91 PLATE 25 WAIWAI HAIR TUBES (Sec. 515) a, Spiral sugar-loaf form. 6, Beaded bamboo form. aS ADDITIONAL STUDIES OF GUIANA INDIANS 73 LJ Two fine strips of turu are now laid over the korowa chain, which they hide, and are tied at one extremity with korowa thread. This thread is continued in a spiral over both strips and in between the teeth, to be tied again at the other extremity (C). The two turu strips are next covered with a crosshatching of cotton work that has a very pretty effect and which would appear to vary with the taste of the maker. From one end of the comb to the other the cotton thread passes in regular sequence from the top on the one half of the comb to the next seventh or eighth interspaces | FIGURE 69.—Manufacture of haircomb. (Sec. 517A.) A, Arrow reed on which each tooth, after being cut to measure, is stuck. B, The teeth are looped together at their centers by means of a korowa string. C, This central looping is now covered over with two flat palm strips, and then overcast in a decorative manner with a cotton thread passing in between the teeth to form a crosshatch. D, The front edge of the future comb is aligned, by means of a thin strip, and cut. EH, The plaitwork is next taken in hand on the other, back again to the top on the other half, and so on again, starting from the first interspace on the original half he started from back to the eighth or ninth interspace on the other half, etc. Every interspace has its own quota of cotton thread (D). On completion of this cotton-tying and decorative work, a fine slip of turu is laid along and close to the edge of what will ultimately form the front of the comb. This is to give the proper regularity and alignment; it is affixed with a fine korowa thread wound spirally over every tooth in turn. 74 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 91 The plaitwork is next taken in hand, the teeth constituting the warps over which the wefts of ite and korowa fiber (rubbed with karamanin) are plaited. First comes the ite thread passing over and under three, and then the korowa one which passes under and over the same three (#). The first two rows completed, the threads are twisted and the return journey commenced again with the ite, the korowa following on the same warps again and so backward and forward from end to end until at about one-fourth inch from the tips of the teeth the plaitwork is complete. This plaitwork (pl. 136, c, WER, vir) may take on various patterns (FAC, pl. xxrx), but if the individual is lazy or in a hurry he will make a covering with bark-strip in place of plaitwork. (Pl. 24, Bf) The article is now jammed into a slot made to receive it in what I was told was one of the forearm bones of a howler monkey and fixed in position by means of a strong korowa thread tied round both extremities of the central cotton-covered turu slips. No oppor- tunity of seeing how the slot was made offered itself, the Indian under observation taking out of his pegall an old one that he now utilized afresh. After tying on a few scarlet feathers (macaw) at each end of the bone, and removing the spirally wound turu slip from the front of the article, the comb was completed. It took the better part of a day to make, the manufacture of the teeth absorbing the greater part of the time. 518. At end of section add: These are the waluma (pl. 26, 6), a high basket-work crown trimmed with feathers, of the Trio, and the olok (a), a huge 3-story frame of plaitwork covered with variegated feathers, decorated above with a radiating garland of long fiery-red macaw feathers, in vogue with the Oyana. (HER, 1, 967; GOE, 10; GOT, 1088-1089.) Around the body of the olok crown are tied feathers that are attached by cotton bands. A fixed order is followed here. Below is a little band of mat work whereon tiny bits of horny material are sewn. The outermost of the large red and blue macaw feathers carry other feathers or wing-cases of the Buprestis beetle. ‘The various com- ponent parts are put away in a pegall, the apparatus being only set up when it is about to be used. (GOE, 10.) And when it is put to use these long feathers are evidently kept in position by some sort of a hoop arrangement. (GOT, pl. xxxv, fig. 34.) I can find no confirmatory evidence for the statement (FAC, 221) of this head- dress being specially used by the medicine man, or ever worn in conjunction with any bark-strip cloak, or by the war chief in any dance preparatory to setting out on a raid, or in the celebration of a victory. As a matter of fact, the bark-strip cloak represented in BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 91 PLATE 26 ay wih — M ah A