In our general sketch of the Amazonian Indians it was stated that there
were some few tribes who differed in certain customs from all the rest,
and who might even be regarded as _odd among the odd_. One of these
tribes is the _Mundrucu_, which, from its numbers and warlike strength,
almost deserves to be styled a nation. It is, at all events, a powerful
confederacy, of different tribes, linked together in one common
nationality, and including in their league other Indians which the
Mundrucus themselves first conquered, and afterwards associated with
themselves on terms of equality; in other words, "annexed" them. The
same sort of annexation or alliance is common among the tribes of North
America; as in the case of the powerful Comanche nation, who extend
their protecting alliance over the Wacoes, Washites, and Cayguaas or
Kioways.
The _Mahue_ is the principal tribe that is patronised in this fashion by
the Mundrucus, and the two together number at least 20,000 souls.
Before the days of the Portuguese slave-hunting, the Mundrucus occupied
the south bank of the Amazon, from the mouth of the Tapajos to that of
the Madeira. This infamous traffic had the effect of clearing the banks
of the great river of its native inhabitants,--except such of them as
chose to submit to slavery, or become _neophytes_, by adopting the
monkish faith. Neither of these courses appeared pleasing in the eyes
of the Mundrucus, and they adopted the only alternative that was likely
to insure their independence,--by withdrawing from the dangerous
proximity of the sanguinary slave-trade.
This retreat of the Mundrucus, however, was by no means an ignominious
flight. The withdrawal was voluntary on their part, and not compulsory,
as was the case with weaker tribes. From the earliest times they had
presented a firm front to the Portuguese encroachments, and the latter
were even forced into a sort of nefarious alliance with them. The
leaving the Amazon on the part of the Mundrucus was rather the result of
a negotiation, by which they conceded their territory--between the
mouths of the Tapajos and Madeira--to the Brazilian government; and to
this hour they are not exactly unfriendly to Brazilian _whites_, though
to the mulattoes and negroes, who constitute a large proportion of the
Brazilian population, the Mundrucu knows no other feeling than that of a
deadly hostility. The origin of their hatred of the Brazilian blacks is
to be found in a revolt which occurred in the provinces of the Lower
Amazon (at Para) in 1835. It was a _caste_ revolution against whites,
but more especially against _European_ Portuguese. In this affair the
Mundrucus were employed against the darker-skinned rebels--the
_Gabanos_, as they were called--and did great service in putting down
the rebellion. Hence they retain a lingering spark of friendship for
their _ci-devant_ white allies; or perhaps it would be more correct to
say they do not actually hate them, but carry on a little commerce with
their traders. For all that, they occasionally cut the throats of a few
of the latter,--especially those who do not come to deal directly with
them, but who pass through their country in going from the Amazon to the
diamond mines of Brazil. These last are called _Moncaos_, and their
business is to carry supplies from the towns on the Amazon (Santarem and
Para) to the miners of gold and washers of diamonds in the district of
Matto Grosso, of which Cuiaba is the capital. Their route is by water
and "portage" up the Tapajos river, and through the territory of the
dreaded Mundrucus,--requiring a journey of six months, as perilous and
toilsome as it is tedious.
The present residence of the Mundrucus is between the Tapajos and
Madeira, as formerly, but far up on both rivers. On the Tapajos, above
what are known as the "Caxoeiras," or Cataracts, their villages are
found. There they dwell, free from all molestation on the part of the
whites; their borders extending widely around them, and limited only by
contact with those of other warlike tribes like themselves, who are
their deadly enemies. Among these last are the _Muras_, who dwell at
the mouths of the Madeira and Rio Negro.
The Mundrucus build the _malocca_, elsewhere described; only in their
case it is not used as a dwelling, but rather as a grand arsenal, a
council-chamber, a ballroom, and, if need be, a fortress. When fearing
an attack, all sleep in it "under arms." It is a structure of large
size and great strength, usually rendered more unassailable by being
"chinked" and plastered with clay. It is in this building that are
deposited those horrid trophies which have given to the Mundrucus their
terrible title of _decapitadores_, or "beheaders." The title and its
origin shall be presently explained.
Around the great malocca the huts are placed, forming a village, and in
these the people ordinarily dwell.
The Mundrucus are not without ample means of subsistence. Like most
other Amazonian tribes, they cultivate a little manioc, plantains, and
even maize; and they know how to prepare the _farinha_ meal, and,
unfortunately, also the detestable _chicha_, the universal beverage of
the South-American aborigines. They have their vessels of calabash--
both of the vegetable and arborescent kinds--and a full set of
implements and utensils for the field and kitchen. Their war weapons
are those common to other Amazonian tribes, and they sometimes also
carry the spear. They have canoes of hollow trees; and, of course,
fishing and hunting are the employments of the men,--the women, as
almost everywhere else among Indians, doing the drudgery,--the tilling
and reaping, the "hewing of wood and the drawing of water," the making
the household utensils and using them,--all such offices being beneath
the dignity of the "lordly," or rather _lazy_ savage.
I have said that they carry on a commercial intercourse with the white
traders. It is not of much magnitude, and their exports consist
altogether of the native and spontaneous productions of the soil,
sarsaparilla being one of the chief articles. They gather this (the
women and children do) during six months of the year. The other six
months no industry is followed,--as this period is spent in hostile
excursions against the neighbouring tribes. Their imports consist of
iron tools and pieces for weapons; but they more especially barter the
product of their labour for ornamental gewgaws,--such as savages
universally admire and desire. Their sarsaparilla is good, and much
sought for in the medical market.
Every one is acquainted with the nature and character of this valuable
medicinal root, the appearance of which must also be known to almost
everybody,--since it is so very common for our druggists to display the
bundles of it in their shop windows. Perhaps every one is not
acquainted with the fact, that the sarsaparilla root is the product of a
great many different species of plants most of them of the genus
_Simlax_, but not a few belonging to plants of other genera, as those of
_Carex_ and _Herreria_ the roots of which are also sold as sarsaparilla.
The species of simlax are widely distributed throughout the whole
torrid zone, in Asia, Africa, and America, and some kinds are found
growing many degrees outside the tropics,--as is the case in Virginia
and the valley of the Mississippi, and also on the other side of the
Pacific on the great continent-island of Australia.
The best sarsaparilla, however, is that which is produced in tropical
countries, and especially in moist situations, where the atmosphere is
at once hot and humid. It requires these conditions to concentrate the
virtue of its sap, and render it more active.
It would be idle to give a list of the different species of simlax that
furnish the sarsaparilla root of the pharmacopeia. There is an almost
endless number of them, and they are equally varied in respect to
excellence of quality; some kinds are in reality almost worthless, and
for this reason, in using it as a medicine, great care should be taken
in the selection of the species. Like all other articles, either of
food or medicine, the valuable kinds are the scarcest; the reason in
this case being that the best sarsaparilla is found in situations not
only difficult of access, but where the gathering of its root is
attended with considerable danger, from the unhealthy nature of the
climate and the hostility of the savages in whose territory it grows.
As to the quantity that may be obtained, there is no limit, on the score
of any scarcity of the plant itself, since it is found throughout all
the countries of tropical America plenteously distributed both in
species and individual plants. Such quantities of it grow along the
banks of some South-American rivers, that the Indians have a belief that
those streams known as _black waters_--such as the Rio Negro and
others--derive their peculiar colour from the roots of this plant.
This, however, is an erroneous supposition, as there are many of the
_white-water_ rivers that run through regions abundantly supplied with
the sarsaparilla root. The black water, therefore, must arise from some
other cause, as yet unknown.
As observed, the sarsaparilla of the Mundrucu country is of the very
best quality. It is the _Simlax papyracea_ of Soiret, and is known in
commerce as the "Lisbon," or "Brazilian." It is a climbing plant, or
under-shrub, the stem of which is flattened and angular, with rows of
prickles standing along the prominent edges. Its leaves are of an oval
acuminated shape, and marked with _longitudinal_ nerves. It shoots
without any support, to a height of fifteen or twenty feet, after which
it embraces the surrounding branches of trees and spreads to a great
distance in every direction. The main root sends out many long
tendrils, all of like thickness, covered with a brownish bark, or
sometimes of a dark-grey colour. These tendrils are fibrous, and about
as thick as a quill. They present a constant tendency to become
crooked, and they are also wrinkled longitudinally, with here and there
some smaller lateral fibres branching off from the sides.
It is in the bark or epidermis of the rhizomes that the medicinal virtue
lies; but the tendrils--both rhizome and bark--are collected together,
and no attempt is made to separate them, until they have reached their
commercial destination. Indeed, even these are sold together, the mode
of preparing the root being left to the choice of the consumer, or the
apothecary who procures it.
The Mundrucus collect it during the six months of the rainy season,
partly because during the remaining six they are otherwise employed, and
partly for the reason that, in the time of rain, the roots are more
easily extracted from the damp soil. The process simply consists in
digging them up or dragging them out of the earth--the latter mode
especially where the tendrils lie near the surface, and they will pull
up without breaking. If the main root be not dug out, it will send
forth new tendrils, which in a short time would yield a new crop; but
the improvident savages make no prudential calculations of this kind--
present convenience forming their sole consideration; and on this
account both the root and plant are generally destroyed by them during
the operation of collecting.
As already stated, this labour devolves upon the women, who are also
assisted in it by their children. They proceed into the depths of the
forest--where the simlax grows in greatest abundance--and after
collecting as much root as they can carry home with them, they return
with their bundles to the malocca When fresh gathered the sarsaparilla
is heavy enough--partly on account of the sap which it then contains,
and partly from the quantity of the mud or earth that adheres to the
corrugated surface of the roots.
It is extremely probable that in this fresh state the virtue of the
sarsaparilla, as a blood-purifier, is much greater than after it has
passed through the channels of commerce; and the writer of this sketch
has some reason, derived from personal experience, to believe that such
is the case. Certain it is, that the reputation of this invaluable drug
is far less in countries where the plant does not grow, than in those
where it is common and can be obtained in its fresh state. In all parts
of Spanish America its virtues are unquestioned, and experience has led
to a more extensive use of it there than elsewhere. It is probable,
therefore, that the virtue exists in the juice rather than the cortical
integument of the rhizome; and this of course would be materially
altered and deteriorated, if not altogether destroyed, in the process of
exsiccation, which must necessarily take place in the time required for
transporting it to distant parts of the world. In the European
pharmacopeia it is the epidermis of the root which is supposed to
contain the sanitary principle; and this, which is of a mucilaginous
nature and slightly bitter taste, is employed, both in decoctions and
infusions, as a tonic and alterative. In America, however, it is
generally taken for what is termed _purifying the blood_--for the same
purpose as the rhizomes of the _Lauras sassafras_ and other plants are
used; but the sarsaparilla is generally considered the best, and it
certainly _is_ the best of all known medicines for this purpose. Why it
has fallen in the estimation of the Old World practitioners, or why it
never obtained so great a reputation as it has in America, may arise
from two circumstances. First, that the root offered for sale is
generally the product of the less valuable species; and second, that the
sap, and not the rhizome, may be the part that contains the virtuous
principle.
When the collected roots have been kept for awhile they become dry and
light, and for the convenience of stowage and carriage--an important
consideration to the trader in his eight-ton _garratea_--it is necessary
to have the roots done up in packages of a uniform length and thickness.
These packages are formed by laying the roots side by side, and
doubling in the ends of the longer ones. A bundle of the proper size
for stowage contains an _arroba_ of twenty-five pounds, though the
weight varies according to the condition of the root. Uniformity in
size is the chief object aimed at, and the bundles are made of a round
or cylindrical shape, about five inches in diameter, and something more
than a yard in length. They are trimmed off small at the ends--so as to
admit of stowage without leaving any empty space between two tiers of
them--and each bundle is tightly corded round from one end to the other
with a "sipo," or creeping plant.
It has been stated that this "sipo" is a root of the sarsaparilla
itself, with the bark scraped off; and, indeed, its own root would serve
well enough--were it not that putting it to such a use would destroy its
medicinal value, and thus cause a considerable waste of the costly
material. The sarsaparilla is not to be had for nothing even upon the
banks of the Tapajos. A bundle of the best quality does not leave the
hands of the Mundrucu until about four dollars' worth of exchange
commodities have been put into them, which would bring the price of it
to something over sixpence a pound. He is, therefore, a little
particular about wasting a material that has cost him--or rather his
wife and children--so much trouble in collecting. His cordage is
obtained more cheaply, and consists of the long, flexible roots of a
species of _pothos_, which roots--being what are termed _aerial_ and not
buried in the ground--require no labour or digging to get at them. It
is only necessary to stretch up the hand, and pull them down from the
tops of lofty trees, from which they hang like streamers, often to the
length of a hundred feet. These are toughened by the bark being scraped
off; and when that is done they are ready for use, and serve not only to
tie up the bundles of sarsaparilla, but for many other purposes in the
domestic economy of the Mundrucus.
In addition to the sarsaparilla, the Mundrucu furnishes the trader with
several other items of commercial value--for his climate, although one
of the most unhealthy in all the Amazon region, on account of its great
heat and humidity, is for that very reason one of the most fertile.
Nearly all those tropical vegetable products which are characteristics
of Brazilian export commerce can here be produced of the most luxuriant
kind; but it is only those that grow spontaneously at his very doors
that tempt the Mundrucu to take the trouble of collecting them.
There is one article however, which he not only takes some trouble to
collect, but also to manufacture into an item of commercial exchange--a
very rare item indeed. This is the _guarana_, which is manufactured
from the fruit of a tree almost peculiar to the Mundrucu territory--
since nowhere is it found so abundantly as on the Tapajos. It is so
prized in the Brazilian settlements as to command almost its weight in
silver when transported thither. It is the constituent element of a
drink, which has a stimulating effect on the system, somewhat more
powerful than tea or coffee. It will prevent sleep; but its most
valuable property is, that it is a good febrifuge, equal to the best
quinine. _Guarana_ is prepared from the seeds of an inga--one of the
_Mimosacae_. It is a low, wide-spreading tree like most of the mimosa
family. The legumes are gathered, and the seeds roasted in them. The
latter are then taken out, and after being ground to powder, are mixed
with water so as to make a tough paste, which is moulded into little
bricks, and when dried is ready for use. The beverage is then prepared
by scraping a table-spoonful of dust from the brick, and mixing it with
about a pint of water; and the dry paste, keeping for any length of
time, is ready whenever wanted.
The _guarana_ bush grows elsewhere in the Amazon valley, and on some
headwaters of the Orinoco, where certain tribes also know how to prepare
the drink. But it is sparingly distributed, and is nowhere so common as
on the upper Tapajos hence its high price in the markets of Brazil. The
Mundrucu manufactures it, not only for "home use," but for
"exportation."
He prepares another singular article of luxury, and this he makes
exclusively for his own use,--not for the gratification of his lips or
palate, but for his nose,--in other words, a snuff. Do not fancy,
however, that it is snuff of the ordinary kind--the pulverised produce
of innocent tobacco. No such thing; but a composition of such a
powerful and stimulating character, that he who inhales it feels as if
struck by an electric shock; his body trembles; his eyes start forward
as if they would forsake their sockets; his limbs fail to support him;
and he drops to the earth like one in a state of intoxication! For a
short time he is literally mad; but the fit is soon over,--lasting
usually only a few minutes,--and then a feeling of renewed strength,
courage, and joyousness succeeds. Such are the consequences of taking
snuff with a Mundrucu.
And now to describe the nature of the substance which produces these
powerful effects.
Like the _guarana_ this snuff is a preparation, having for its basis the
seeds of a leguminous tree. This time, however, it is an _acacia_, not
an _inga_. It is the _acacia niopo_; so called because "niopo" is the
name given to the snuff itself by certain tribes (the Ottomacs and
others), who, like the Mundrucus, are snuff-takers. It is also called
_curupa_, and the apparatus for preparing and taking it--for there is an
apparatus of an extensive kind--is termed _parica_, in the general
language (_lingoa geral_) of the Amazonian regions.
We shall describe the preparation, the apparatus, and the ceremonial.
The pods of the _Acacia niopo_--a small tree, with very delicate pinnate
leaves--are plucked when ripe. They are then cut into small pieces and
flung into a vessel of water. In this they remain until macerated, and
until the seeds have turned black. These are then picked out, pounded
in a mortar, which is usually the pericarp of the _sapucaia_, or
"monkey-pot" tree (_Lecythys ollaria_). The pounding reduces them to a
paste, which is taken up, clapped between the hands and formed into
little cakes--but not until it has been mixed with some manioc flour,
some lime from a burnt shell (a _helix_), and a little juice from the
fresh leaves of the "abuta"--a menispermous plant of the genus
_Cocculus_. The cakes are then dried or "barbecued" upon a primitive
gridiron--the bars of which are saplings of hard wood--and when
well-hardened the snuff is ready for the "box." In a box it is actually
carried--usually one made out of some rare and beautiful shell.
The ceremonial of taking the snuff is the most singular part of the
performance. When a Mundrucu feels inclined for a "pinch"--though it is
something more than a _pinch_ that he inhales when he _does_ feel
inclined--he takes the cake out of the box, scrapes off about a spoonful
of it into a shallow, saucer-shaped vessel of the calabash kind, and
then spreads the powder all over the bottom of the vessel in a regular
"stratification." The spreading is not performed by the fingers, but
with a tiny, pencil-like brush made out of the bristles of the great
ant-eater (_Myrmecophaga jubata_).
He is in no hurry, but takes his time,--for as you may guess from its
effects, the performance is not one so often repeated as that of
ordinary snuff-taking. When the _niopo_ dust is laid to his liking,
another implement is brought into play, the construction of which it is
also necessary to describe. It is a "machine" of six to eight inches in
length, and is made of two quills from the wing of the _gaviao real_, or
"harpy eagle" (_Harpyia destructor_). These quills are placed side by
side for the greater part of their length, forming two parallel tubes,
and they are thus neatly whipped together by a thread. At one end they
are pressed apart so as to diverge to a width corresponding to the
breadth between the Mundrucu's nostrils,--where it is intended they
shall be placed during the ceremony of snuff-taking.
And thus are they placed,--one end of each quill being slightly intruded
within the line of the septum, while the other end rests upon the snuff,
or wanders over the surface of the saucer, till all the powder placed
there is drawn up and inhaled, producing the convulsive effects already
detailed.
The shank-bone of a species of bird--thought to be a plover--is
sometimes used instead of the quills. It is hollow, and has a
forking-tube at the end. This kind is not common or easily obtained,
for the niopo-taker who has one, esteems it as the most valuable item of
his apparatus.
Snuffing the niopo is not exclusively confined to the Mundrucu. We have
seen elsewhere that it is also a habit of the dirt-eating Ottomacs; and
other tribes on the upper Amazon practise it. But the Mahues, already
mentioned as the allies of the Mundrucus, are the most confirmed
snuff-takers of all.
Another odd custom of the Mundrucus is their habit of "tatooing." I
speak of real tatooing,--that is, marking the skin with dots and lines
that cannot be effaced, in contradistinction to mere _painting_, or
staining, which can easily be washed off. The Mundrucus paint also,
with the _anotto_, _kuitoc_, _caruta_, and other pigments, but in this
they only follow the practice of hundreds of other tribes. The true
_tatoo_ is a far different affair, and scarcely known among the
aborigines of America, though common enough in the islands of the South
Sea. A few other Indian tribes practise it to a limited extent,--as is
elsewhere stated,--but among the Mundrucus it is an "institution;" and
painful though the process be, it has to be endured by every one in the
nation, "every mother's son," and daughter as well, that are cursed with
a Mundrucu for their father.
It is upon the young people the infliction is performed,--when they are
about eight or ten years of age.
The _tatoo_ has been so often described, that I should not repeat it
here; but there are a few "points" peculiar to Mundrucu tatooing, and a
few others, not elsewhere understood.
The performance is usually the work of certain old crones, who, from
long practice, have acquired great skill in the art.
The chief instrument used is a comb of thorns,--not a single thorn, as
is generally stated,--but a tier or row of them set comb-fashion. These
thorns are the spines of the "murumuru," or "pupunha" palm (_Gullielmia
speciosa_). Humboldt states that this palm is smooth and spineless, but
in this the great, good man was in error. Its trunk is so covered with
thorns or spines, that when the Indians require to climb it--for the
purpose of procuring the valuable fruits, which they eat variously
prepared--they have to erect a staging, or rude sort of ladder, to be
able to get at them.
The comb, then, is pressed down upon the skin of the "tatooee," till all
the points have penetrated the flesh, and a row of holes is laid open,
from which the blood flows profusely. As soon as this can be wiped off,
ashes of a burnt gum or pitch are rubbed into the wounds, which, when
healed, appear like so many dots of a deep bluish or black colour. In
this way the young Mundrucus, both boys and girls, get those regular
rows of dotted lines, which traverse their forehead and cheeks, their
arms and limbs, breasts, and bodies in such eccentric fashion. It has
often been asked how these lines of dots were carried over the skin in
such straight and symmetrical rows, forming regular parallel lines, or
other geometrical patterns. The "comb" will explain the mystery.
The tatoo, with a few strings of shell-beads or necklaces, and bracelets
of monkey and jaguar teeth, is all the dress which is permitted to the
Mundrucu belle. In Mundrucu-land it is the reverse of what is practised
among civilised people: the men are the exponents of the fashions, and
keep exclusively to themselves the cosmetics and bijouterie. Not
contented with being tatooed, these also _paint_ their bodies, by way of
"overcoat," and also adorn themselves with the bright feathers of birds.
They wear on their heads the beautiful circlet of macaw-plumes, and on
grand occasions appear in the magnificent "feather dress," so long
celebrated as the peculiar costume of the tropical-forest Indian. These
dresses their women weave and border, at a sacrifice of much tedious
labour. They also ornament their arms and legs with rows of feathers
around them, the tips turned upward and backward.
The tatooing is confined to the Mundrucus proper,--their allies, the
Mahues not following the practice, but contenting themselves with a
simple "coat" of paint.
It is difficult to say what motive first inducted human beings into this
singular and barbarous custom. It is easier to tell why it is still
followed, and the "why" is answered by saying that the Mundrucus
"scarify" themselves, because their fathers did so before them. Many a
custom among civilised nations, but little less ridiculous, if we could
only think so, rests upon a similar basis. Perhaps our modern
abominable hat--though it has a different origin--is not less ludicrous
than the tatooed patterns of the savage. Certainly it is quite equal to
it in ugliness, and is likely to rival it in permanence,--to our sorrow
be it said. But even _we_ deal slightly in the tatoo. Our jolly Jack
would be nobody in the forecastle without "Polly," in blue, upon his
weather-beaten breast, and the _foul anchor_ upon his arm.
But the Mundrucu baptises his unfortunate offspring in a still more
savage fashion. The tattoo may be termed the _baptism in blood_,
performed at the tender age of ten. When the youth--fortunately it does
not extend to the weaker sex--has attained to the age of eighteen, he
has then to undergo the _tocandeira_, which deserves to be called _the
baptism of fire_!
This too merits description. When the Mundrucu youth would become a
candidate for manhood, a pair of "_gloves_" is prepared for him. These
consist of two pieces of a palm-tree bark, with the pith hollowed out,
but left in at one end. The hollow part is of sufficient diameter to
draw over the hands loosely, and so long as to reach up to mid-arm,
after the fashion of gauntlets.
The "gloves" being got ready, are nearly filled with ants, not only the
venomous red ants, but all other species, large or small, that can
either bite or sting, of which tropical South America possesses an
endless variety. With this "lining" the "mittens" are ready for use,
and the "novice" is compelled to draw them on. Should he refuse, or
even exhibit a disposition to shrink from the fiery trial, he is a lost
man. From that hour he need never hold up his head, much less offer his
hand and heart, for there is not a maiden in all Mundrucu-land that
would listen to his softest speech. He is forever debarred from the
pleasure of becoming a benedict. Of course he does not refuse, but
plunging his hands into the "mittens," into the very midst of the
crawling host, he sets about the ceremony.
He must keep on the gloves till he has danced before every door in the
village. He must sing as if from very joy; and there is plenty of music
to accompany him, drums and fifes, and human voices,--for his parents
and relatives are by his side encouraging him with their songs and
gestures. He is in pain,--in positive agony,--for these venomous ants
both sting and bite, and have been busy at both from the very first
moment. Each moment his agony grows more intense, his sufferings more
acute, for the poison is thrilling through his veins,--he turns pale,--
his eyes become blood-cast,--his breast quivers with emotion and his
limbs tremble beneath him; but despite all this, woe to him if he utter
a cry of weakness! It would brand him with an eternal stigma,--he would
never be suffered to carry the Mundrucu lance to battle,--to poise upon
its point the ghastly trophy of the _Beheaders_. On, on, through the
howling throng, amidst friends and relatives with faces anxious as his
own; on to the sound of the shrill-piping reed and the hoarse booming of
the Indian drum; on till he stands in front of the cabin of the chief!
There again the song is sung, the "jig" is danced, both proudly
prolonged till the strength of the performer becomes completely
exhausted. Then, and not till then, the gloves are thrown aside, and
the wearer falls back, into the arms of his friends, "sufficiently
punished!"
This is the hour of congratulation. Girls gather round him, and fling
their tatooed arms about his neck. They cluster and cling upon him,
singing his song of triumph; but just at that crisis he is not in the
mood for soft caresses; and, escaping from their blandishments, he makes
a rush towards the river. On reaching its bank he plunges bodily in,
and there remains up to his neck in the water, till the cooling fluid
has to some extent eased his aching arms, and tranquillised the current
of his boiling blood. When he emerges from the water, he is a man, fit
stuff for a Mundrucu warrior, and eligible to the hand of a Mundrucu
maiden.
It may be remarked that this terrible ordeal of the Mundrucus, though,
perhaps, peculiar among South-American Indians, has its parallel among
certain tribes of the north,--the Mandans and others, as detailed by
Catlin, one of the most acute of ethnological observers.
The _scalp trophy_, too, of the Northern Indian has its analogy in a
Mundrucu custom--that which distinguishes him most of all, and which has
won for him the terrible title of "Beheader."
This singular appellation is now to be explained.
When a Mundrucu has succeeded in killing an enemy, he is not, like his
northern compeer, satisfied with only the skin of the head. _He must
have the whole head_, scalp and skull, bones, brains, and all! And he
takes all, severing the head with his knife by a clean cut across the
small of the neck, and leaving the trunk to the vulture king. With the
ghastly trophy poised upon the point of his lance, he returns triumphant
to the malocca to receive the greetings of his tribe and the praises of
his chief.
But the warlike exploit requires a memento--some token by which he may
perpetuate its fame. The art of printing does not exist among the
Mundrucus, and there is no friendly pen to record the deed. It has been
done,--behold the evidence! much clearer than often accompanies the
exploits of civilised heroes. There is the evidence of an enemy slain;
there is the grim, gory voucher, palpable both to sight and touch--proof
positive that there is a dead body somewhere.
Of course, such evidence is sufficient for the present; but how about
the future? As time passes, the feat may be forgotten, as great deeds
are elsewhere. Somebody may even deny it. Some slanderous tongue may
whisper, or insinuate, or openly declare that it was no exploit after
all--that there was no dead man; for the vultures by this time would
have removed the body, and the white ants (_termites_) would have
equally extinguished all traces of the bones. How, then, are the proofs
to be preserved? _By preserving the head_! And this is the very idea
that is in the mind of the Mundrucu warrior. He is resolved not to
permit his exploit to be buried in oblivion by _burying the head_ of his
enemy. That tongue, though mute, will tell the tale to posterity; that
pallid cheek, though, perhaps, it may become a little shrivelled in the
"drying," will still be smooth enough to show that there is no _tatoo_,
and to be identified as the skin of an enemy. Some young Mundrucu, yet
unborn, will read in the countenance of that grinning and gory witness,
the testimony of his father's prowess. The head, therefore, must be
preserved; and it is preserved with as much care as the cherished
portrait of a famous ancestor. The cranial relic is even _embalmed_, as
if out of affection for him to whom it belonged. The brains and
eye-balls are removed, to facilitate the process of desiccation; but
false eyes are inserted, and the tongue, teeth, and ears, scalp, skull,
and hair, are all retained, not only retained, but "titivated" out in
the most approved style of fashion. The long hair is carefully combed
out, parted, and arranged; brilliant feathers of rock-cock and macaw are
planted behind the ears and twisted in the hanging tresses. An
ornamental string passes through the tongue, and by this the trophy is
suspended from the beams of the great malocca.
It is not permitted to remain there. In some dark niche of this
Golgotha--this Mundruquin Westminster--it might be overlooked and
forgotten. To prevent this it is often brought forth, and receives many
an airing. On all warlike and festive occasions does it appear, poised
upon the point of the warrior's lance; and even in peaceful times it may
be seen--along with hundreds of its like--placed in the circular row
around the manioc clearing, and lending its demure countenance to the
labours of the field.
It is not a little singular that this custom of embalming the heads of
their enemies is found among the Dyaks of Borneo, and the process in
both places is ludicrously similar. Another rare coincidence occurs
between the Amazonian tribes and the Bornean savages, viz in both being
provided with the blow-gun. The _gravitana_ of the American tribes is
almost identical with the sumpitan of Borneo. It furnishes a further
proof of our theory regarding an original connection between the
American Indians and the savages of the great South Sea.
The Mundrucu is rarely ill off in the way of food. When he is so, it is
altogether his own fault, and chargeable to his indolent disposition.
The soil of his territory is of the most fertile kind, and produces many
kinds of edible fruits spontaneously, as the nuts of the _pupunha_ palm
and the splendid fruits of the _Bertholetia excelsa_, or juvia-tree,
known in Europe as "Brazil-nuts." Of these then are two kinds, as
mentioned elsewhere, the second being a tree of the genus _Lecythys_,--
the _Lecythys ollaria_, or "monkey-pot" tree. It obtains this trivial
name from the circumstance, first, of its great pericarp, almost as
large as a child's head, having a movable top or lid, which falls off
when the fruit ripens; and secondly, from the monkeys being often seen
drawing the seeds or nuts out of that part of the shell which remains
attached to the tree, and which, bearing a considerable resemblance to a
pot in its shape, is thus very appropriately designated the pot of the
monkeys. The common Indian name of the monkey-pot tree is _sapucaia_,
and the nuts of this species are so called in commerce, though they are
also termed Brazil-nuts. They are of a more agreeable flavour than the
true Brazil-nuts, and not so easily obtained, as the _Lecythys_ is less
generally distributed over the Amazonian valley. It requires a peculiar
soil, and grows only in those tracts that are subject to the annual
inundations of the rivers.
The true Brazil-nuts are the "juvia" trees of the Indians; and the
season for collecting them is one of the _harvests_ of the Mundrucu
people. The great pericarps--resembling large cocoa-nuts when stripped
of the fibres--do not open and shed their seeds, as is the case with the
monkey-pot tree. The whole fruit falls at once; and as it is very
heavy, and the branches on which it grows are often nearly a hundred
feet from the ground, it may easily be imagined that it comes down like
a ten-pound shot; in fact, one of them falling upon the head of a
Mundrucu would be very likely to crush his cranium, as a bullet would an
egg-shell; and such accidents not unfrequently occur to persons passing
imprudently under the branches of the Bertholetia when its nuts are
ripe. Sometimes the monkeys, when on the ground looking after those
that have fallen, become victims to the like accident; but these
creatures are cunning reasoners, and being by experience aware of the
danger, will scarce ever go under a juvia-tree, but when passing one
always make a wide circuit around it. The monkeys cannot of themselves
open the great pericarp, as they do that of the "sapucaia," but are
crafty enough to get at the precious contents, notwithstanding. In
doing this they avail themselves of the help of other creatures, that
have also a motive in opening the juvia shells--cavies and other small
rodent animals, whose teeth, formed for this very purpose, enable them
to gnaw a hole in the ligneous pericarps, hard and thick as they are.
Meanwhile the monkeys, squatted around, watch the operation in a
careless, nonchalant sort of way, as if they had no concern whatever in
the result; but as soon as they perceive that an entrance has been
effected, big enough to admit their hand, they rush forward, drive off
the weaker creature, who has been so long and laboriously at work, and
take possession of the prize.
Neither does the Mundrucu nut-gatherer get possession of the juvia fruit
without a certain degree of danger and toil. He has to climb the
tallest trees, to secure the whole crop at one time; and while engaged
in collecting those upon the ground, he is in danger of a blow from odd
ones that are constantly falling. To secure his skull against
accidents, he wears upon his head a thick wooden cap or helmet,--after
the fashion of the hats worn by our firemen,--and he is always careful
to keep his body in an upright attitude, stooping as seldom as he can
avoid doing so, lest he might get a thump between the shoulders, or upon
the spine of his back, which would be very likely to flatten him out
upon the earth. These Brazil-nuts furnish the Mundrucu with a portion
of his food,--as they also do many other tribes of Amazonian Indians,--
and they are also an item of Indian commerce, being collected from among
the different tribes by the Portuguese and Spanish traders.
But the Mundrucu does not depend altogether on the spontaneous
productions of the forest, which at best furnish only a precarious
supply. He does something in the agricultural line,--cultivating a
little manioc root, with, plantains, yams, and other tropical plants
that produce an enormous yield with the very slightest trouble or
attention; and this is exactly what suits him. A few days spent by the
little community in the yam patch--or rather, by the women and children,
for these are the agricultural labourers in Mundrucu-land--is sufficient
to ensure an abundant supply of bread-stuff for the whole year. With
regard to flesh-meat he is not so well off, for the domestic animals,
and oxen more especially, do not thrive in the Amazon country. In
Mundrucu-land, the carnivorous jaguar, aided by flies and vampire bats,
would soon destroy them, even if the Indian had the inclination to raise
them, which he has not.
Instead of beef, therefore, he contents himself with fish, and
occasionally a steak from the great tapir, or a griskin of _manati_.
Birds, too, furnish him with an occasional meal; but the staple article
of his flesh diet is obtained from the _quadrumana_,--the numerous
species of monkeys with which his forests abound. These he obtains by
shooting them down from the trees with his bow and arrows, and also by
various other hunting devices.
His mode of cooking them is sufficiently peculiar to be described. A
large log fire is first kindled and permitted to burn until a sufficient
quantity of red cinders are produced. Over these cinders a grating is
erected with green saplings of wood, laid parallel to each other like
the bars of a gridiron, and upon this the "joint" is laid.
Nothing is done to the monkey before its being placed on the gridiron.
Its skin is not removed, and even the intestines are not always taken
out. The fire will singe off the hair sufficiently to content a
Mundrucu stomach, and the hide is broiled and eaten, with the flesh. It
is thus literally "carne con cuero."
It may be observed that this forest gridiron, or "barbecue," as it is
properly termed, is not an idea exclusively confined to South America.
It is in use among the Indians of the north, and various uncivilised
tribes in other parts of the world.
Sometimes the Mundrucu does not take the trouble to construct the
gridiron. When on the march in some warlike expedition that will not
allow time for being particular about the mode of cooking, the joint is
broiled upon a spit over the common fire. The spit is simply a stick,
sharpened at both ends, one of which impales the monkey, and the other
is stuck into the ground. The stick is then set with a lean towards the
fire, so as to bring the carcass over the blaze. While on the spit the
monkey appears in a sitting position, with its head upward, and its long
tail hanging along the sapling,--just as if it were still living, and in
one of its most natural attitudes, clinging to the branch of a tree!
The sight is sufficiently comical; but sometimes a painful spectacle has
been witnessed,--painful to any one but a savage: when the young of the
monkey has been captured along with its dam, and still recognising the
form of its parent,--even when all the hair has been singed off, and the
skin has become calcined by the fire,--is seen rushing forward into the
very flames, and with plaintive cry inviting the maternal embrace! Such
an affecting incident has been often witnessed amid the forests of
Amazopia.
We conclude our sketch of the Mundrucus, by stating that their form of
government is despotic, though not to an extreme degree. The "tushao,"
or chief, has considerable power, though it is not absolute, and does
not extend to the taking of life,--unless the object of displeasure be a
slave, and many of these are held in abject bondage among the Mundrucus.
The Mundrucu religion resembles that of many other tribes both in North
and South America. It consists in absurd ceremonies, and appeals to the
good and evil spirits of the other world, and is mixed up with a vast
deal of quackery in relation to the ills that afflict the Mundrucu in
this life. In other words, it is a combination of the priest and doctor
united in one, that arch-charlatan known to the North-American Indians
as the "Medicine-man," and among the Mundrucus as the "Puge."