Another tribe or nation must be mentioned--the Payaguas, who inhabited
the territory of Paraguay, and from whom the district has taken its
name. They used canoes, and many of their warlike expeditions were
carried on down the river by water. The women had to perform all the
hard work, and were never allowed to eat meat. The boys and girls wore
no clothes, but the young men painted their bodies in a variety of
patterns.
The Tupis, another large tribe, appear either to have extended to the
Amazon, or to have been driven there from the south, as their language
is now spoken by the tribes on its banks.
The Toromonos were the chief tribe inhabiting the territory of Bolivia
to the north of the Gran Chaco. They lived in houses, each man building
one for himself. The men wore no clothes, but ornamented their heads
with a crown formed of feathers; whilst the women wore a small cotton
garment, only partially covering the person. They painted their faces,
and wore rings in their noses and lips. Many of their customs were
cruel and barbarous in the extreme, though they appear to have
cultivated the ground, and used ploughs and wooden implements of
agriculture. They employed bows and arrows in battle, as also for
fishing and killing game. They also showed skill in building canoes.