Head, _zysqui_, _dzekung_, T., _thokua_, G.
Ear, _cuhuca_, _kuku_, T.
Tongue, _pcua_, _ku_, T.
Breasts, _chue_, _tsu_, T.
Navel, _mue_, _mbwo_, T.
Foot, _quihyca_, _ketscha_, T.
Bird, _sue_, _du_, T., _nukua_, G.
Fish, _gua_, _gua_, G.
Snake, _tacbi_, _thekebe_, G.
Ant, _ize_, _tsa_, T.
Maize, _aba_, _ep_, T.
Stone, _hyca_, _hak_, T.
Water, _sie_, _di_, T., _chi_, G.
Sun, _sua_, _chui_, G.
House, _güe_, _hu_, T., _xu_, G.
Comb, _cuza_, _kasch_, T.
One, _ata_, _et_, T., _ti_, G.
Two, _boza_, _bu_, T., _bu_, G.
Three, _mica_, _mia_, T., _mai_, G.
The numerous relics which since 1859 have been disinterred from the
ancient sepulchres of Chiriqui may be attributed to the members of this
stock; perhaps, as M. Pinart has suggested, to the ancestors of the
Guaymis, or, as Dr. Berendt thought, to the Cunas or Coibas.[248] These
graves are scattered in small groups or cemeteries, rarely more than ten
acres in extent, over the Pacific slope of the province of Chiriqui. The
similarity of the culture of their makers to that of the Chibchas has not
failed to impress archæological experts. Thus, W. H. Holmes remarks in
his admirable article on the “Art of Chiriqui.” “In their burial customs,
in the lack of enduring houses or temples, and in their use of gold, they
were like the ancient peoples of middle and southern New Granada.”[249]
These relics are in stone, in pottery of many varieties and forms, and
in the metals gold, copper, silver and tin in various alloys. So large
was the quantity of gold that from a single cemetery over fifty thousand
dollars in value have been extracted. No wonder that Columbus and his
companions gave to this region the appellation _Castillo del Oro_, Golden
Castilé.
Such a condition of civilization is in accord with the earliest
descriptions of the Chiriqui tribes. When in 1521 Francisco Compañon
overran their country, he found the Borucas and their neighbors living in
villages surrounded with high wooden palisades, the posts firmly lashed
together, making a solid wall of defence.[250]
The culture of the Chibchas has been portrayed by numerous writers, and
it deserves to rank as next to that of the Nahuas and Kechuas, though in
many respects inferior to both of these. Their chiefs held by succession
through the female side, the matriarchal system prevailing throughout
their tribes. Agriculture was diligently pursued, the products being
maize, potatoes, yucca and cotton. Artificial irrigation by means of
ditches was in extended use. Salt was prepared on a large scale by
evaporation, and their skill in the manufacture of cotton cloth was
notable. Copper and bronze were unknown, and all their tools and weapons
were of wood and stone. In this respect they were in arrears of their not
distant neighbors, the Kechuas. Gold, however, they had in quantity, and
knew how to smelt it and to work it into vases and ornaments of actual
beauty. The use of stone for building was unknown, and their finest
structures were with wooden walls coated with clay and roofed with straw.
In spite of what has sometimes been brought forward, it is not likely
that they had any method of writing, and much that has been advanced
about their calendar is of doubtful correctness. They had neither the
quipos of the Peruvians nor the picture writing of the Mexicans. The
carved stones which have sometimes been produced as a species of calendar
were probably merely moulds for hammering gold into shape.
Quite a body of their mythologic legends have been preserved, replete
with interest to the student of the religious sentiment of this race.
They indicate an active imagination and may be regarded as quite
authentic.
The Chibchas proper, as well as the Aroacos, were meso- or
brachycephalic, the cephalic index ranging above 80. They were of
moderate stature, dark in color, the face broad, the eyes dark and often
slightly oblique, the cheek-bones prominent and the general appearance
not handsome.