PLATE LIV.WITOTO TYPESWITOTO WOMAN WITH LEG LIGATURES
PLATE LIV.
WITOTO TYPES
WITOTO WOMAN WITH LEG LIGATURES
When bathing the Indian is exposed to a certain element of danger from fish that inflict varying degrees of injury. There is the stinging eel, and skate of some sort and another stinging fish,[431]the caneiro, and the piranha. Electric fish are less common in the upper rivers than in the main streams, and I never noticed one Indian of the Issa-Japura tribes take any special precaution against them, though elsewhere the natives will beat and prod the water with rods before they bathe, to discover, if possible, whether any eels are lurking in the vicinity. The caneiro’s method of attack is by suction, not shock. They are very plentiful in all these rivers, and their power of suction is most extraordinary. I am not likely to forget the first time I made acquaintance with one of these voracious little fish. It suddenly attacked, or rather attached itself with its sucker-like mouth, to the inner side of my leg. The sensation was most alarming. I made with all possible speed to land. The caneiro certainly sucks up the flesh rapidly and painfully, but I am doubtful if it really “tears off pieces of the skin and flesh,†as it is said to do.[432]The piranha, though quite a small fish,[433]is even more ferocious. It will attack anything, and is said to be capable of reducing a large animal to a skeleton in the space of a few minutes. There is a story, repeated elsewhere, that one very small fish is actually a human parasite. The Indians aver that it will enter the body of a man when bathing. Orton mentions this fish, which according to him is “a slender silurid fish (Vandellia)†but remarks that he never met “with one confirmatory case.â€[434]Neither did I. But I found that all Indians take precautions against it when bathing.
On the vexed question of original Asiatic extraction what little evidence I have to offer is in general support of the theory that some at least of the ancestral stock probably found their way hither from Asia, or—what is more in accordance with the laws of migration as so far ascertained—spread from the American to the Asiatic continent. There is undeniably a marked prevalence of what are recognised as Mongoloid traits among these peoples. I fully accept Ratzel’s dictum, “We may hold firmly to the relationship of the Americans with the East Oceanic branch of the Mongoloid race.â€[435]To quote another writer, “As Burton remarks, this strain demonstrates itself in big round Calmuck skulls, flat faces, with broad, prominent cheek-bones, oblique oriental eyes, rather brown than black. They have also dark thick eyebrows, and thin moustaches fringing large mouths, with pointed teeth and sparse beards hardly covering the long pointed chin.â€[436]The truth of this description can be judged from the illustrations in this volume. The most casual observer must notice the prevalence of Mongoloid facial characteristics prevalent among the South American Indians, such as obliquity of eye, prominent cheek-bones, broad flat nose. My own observations led me to conclude that the Mongoloid type was very pronounced in individual cases, so much so that I estimated at least one per cent to be of a pure Chinese type, and my common name for them (videmy note on secrecy of individual names, p. 154) was Chin-Chin. I would refer to such illustrations as that facing p. 254 in the second volume of Spruce’sNotes of a Naturalist. (See again Spruce, i. 328; Orton, p. 170, for references to prevalent obliquity of eye.) On the other hand, Bates remarks of the Tupuyo that “their eyes are black and seldom oblique like those of the Tartar races†(Bates, i. 78); and Wallace remarks, “Inever could discern an unusual obliquity of the eyes†(Wallace, p. 332). I cannot agree with this statement. The latter, however, noted the prominent cheek-bone among the Curetu (p. 354); and Orton refers to it and to the flat nose (Orton, p. 170).
Further characteristics in common among Mongoloid peoples and these tribes are the customs of shaving or depilating facial hair, and a prolonged period of suckling the young (videWestermarck, p. 484).
All tribes south of the Japura remove hair, except that on the head.
Tukana depilate body hair.
Tuyuha men depilate armpits, not pudenda: women depilate pudenda.
Kuretu—all depilate.
Purakato, according to Koch-Grünberg, do not depilate.
Karahone are said not to depilate. This (see text) is debatable. I believe that they pluck out the hair of the chin and whiskers, but leave eyebrows and moustache.
Bara—women only depilate.
Menimehe—all depilate, but the women are not so careful about it as the Boro.
Boro—all depilate.
Witoto—men more careless, women depilate.
Tuhana, according to Koch-Grünberg, do not depilate.
Okaina—all depilate.
Resigero—all depilate.
Muenane—all depilate.
These tribes have no body hair, except pubic hair, which is very scanty. The Indian women are most particular about the removal of all pubic hair. The men are less careful, though it is supposed to be done, but as that part of their bodies is never voluntarily exposed they are more heedless than the women.
(VideColour Curve. Tintometer.)
Robuchon gives the colours of the Witotos as brown-copper colour, varying between twenty-nine and thirty of the chromatic scale of the Anthropologicas of Paris.
Mean average attempted by means of colour markings and identified according to Lovibond’s tintometer scale.
There was practically no tribal differentiation of pigmentation in the units of these groups, as far as the unexposed part of thebody is concerned. This is understandable. The palm of the nigger’s hand differs little from his white brother’s.
There is here more differentiation. The tribes numbered 1-9 are in order of shade, from the lightest according to personal observation. This is borne out by data except the grouping which was not so apparent to the eye.
Apparently in one tribe only is red non-existent, free yellow taking the place—No. 1 (videcurve).
GraphColour Curves of Skin Pigmentation (Indians of the Middle Issa and Japura Valleys)
Colour Curves of Skin Pigmentation (Indians of the Middle Issa and Japura Valleys)
Note.—It will be seen at a glance that differentiation is caused by increased “sadness†or excess of black, and by the amount of free red. These are the two governing factors. Orange is constant throughout.
N.B.—There is extraordinary variation amongst individuals of the same tribe, as well as amongst tribes of the same language-group and language-groups themselves.
No. 1. Maturity.
No. 2. Ante-pubertal.
Note.—The lighter tips of latter which become eliminated after puberty,i.e.elimination oforange.
Eye.—1. Dark,i.e.black-brown iris.Note.—Outer angles of eyes visibly elevated; deep-set; eyeball thick; covers the caruncle; outer angle slightly compressed and pointed.
Hair.—Colours—1. Black,not coalblack. 2. Children’s hair is some shade lighter than adults’, but still “black.â€
Form of Face.—1. Face inclined to be square and wedge-shaped. 2. Inclined to concavity. 3. Compare photographs. 4. Chinese, Fig. 6, but not so pronounced. (N.B.—There is great variation.) 5. Chin small, round, retreating. 6. Cheek-bones broad. Face flat (inclination to,videphotographs). 7. Medium lips—great variation. 8. Ears medium-sized—flat. 9. Lobes sometimes attached.
No. 1. Very short neck; short sternum; straight shoulders. When standing at ease the middle finger of hand is half-way between flexion of knee and hip-joint. Thighs short.
No. 2. Neck short; shoulders straight; good teeth—very large and even.
No. 1. Woman full grown. No. 2. Still growing, of pubertal age. According toSchedule, pp. 11, Anatomical Observation.
External Characters.—General condition well nourished—healthy. No. 1. Stout. No. 2. Medium.
Many writers have stated that the Indians of the Upper Amazon forests have no words in their languages to express a Supreme Being. (See, for example, Bates, i. 162; Wallace, p. 354; Nery, p. 273; Orton, p. 316; Bates, ii. 137, 162-3; Markham.) It therefore seemed to me worth while to make the following list of words expressive of some idea of a superior, non-human being, good or bad.
Note re Pronunciation.—Vowels as in Italian and consonants as in English. The system adopted by the Anthropological and Geographical Societies has been followed.