Eye, _yafi_, _yafi_.
Hand, _kousseh_, _cose_.
House, _iat_, _yath_.
Man, _pitsto_, _piz petam_.
Tongue, _tunneh_, _toné_.
Tooth, _kit_, _quith_.
Two, _hendsta_, _enz_.
Three, _tejta_, _tec_.
Four, _pansta_, _panz_.
_4. South Columbian Tribes, Natives of Cauca, Coconucos, Barbacoas,
Andaquis, Mocoas, Cañaris._
In the states of Cauca and Antioquia there are scarcely any full-blood
natives remaining, and the tribes after the conquest were so shifted
about that it is difficult to know to which of them we should attribute
the abundant remains of ancient art which are scattered profusely
over this region. There are numerous sepulchral tumuli, especially
in the Frontino and Dabeiba districts, which yield a rich harvest to
the antiquary. They contain gold figures, vases and ornaments, stone
implements of uncommon perfection, mirrors of polished pyrites, and small
images in stone and terra cotta. There are also remarkable ruins in the
valley of the Rio de la Plata, an affluent of the upper Magdalena. They
consist in colossal statues rudely carved from stone, and edifices of
the same material, partly underground, the walls of large slabs, and the
roof supported by cylindrical carved pillars. A few of these still remain
intact, but the majority have been wrecked by the earthquakes and by the
vandalism of treasure-hunters.[255]
In an attempt to restore the ancient ethnography of this region, Dr.
Posada-Arango thinks the former tribes can be classed under three
principal nations:[256]
1. The _Catios_, west of the river Cauca.
2. The _Nutabes_, on the right bank of the Cauca, in its central
course.
3. The _Tahamies_, toward the east and south.
In addition to these, there are the Yamacies, near the present city of
Saragossa.
According to the early records, these tribes lived in fixed habitations
constructed of wood and roofed with thatch. They were cultivators of
the soil, skilled in the manufacture of pottery and stone implements,
and had as domestic animals parrots and a small species of dog (_perros
de monte_). Their clothing was of cotton, and they were much given to
wearing ornaments, many of which were of gold.
From the unfortunate absence of linguistic material, I am unable to
classify these interesting peoples.
In the valleys of the Sierra south of the Paezes dwelt the _Guanucos_,
described by the first explorers as a warlike people in an advanced
stage of culture. Their houses were of stone, roofed with straw. The sun
was worshipped with elaborate ceremonies, including choruses of virgins
and the ministration of thousands of priests.[257] The dead were buried
and the funeral solemnities associated with human sacrifice. At present
the neighbors of the Paezes on the western slope of the Cordillera are
the Moguexes or Guambianos, partially civilized and carrying on a rude
agriculture. They are much given to dissolute dances to the sound of the
marimba, and to stupefying themselves with stramonium, which they also
use to catch fish.[258]
The informant of the Abbé Hervas, Señor Velasco, asserted that the
Guanucos were a branch of the _Coconucos_, who dwelt near the foot of the
mountain of that name in Popayan, and figure considerably in some of the
older histories.[259] Bollaert learned that some of them still survive,
and obtained a few words of their language, which he was also told was
the same as that of the Pubenanos.[260] I have found by comparison that
it is identical with that of the Moguexes and Totoros,[261] and I am
therefore enabled to present the following group as members of what I
shall call the