A narrative of travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro,

by Alfred Russel Wallace

Fifthly and (in the present state of our knowledge) lastly, come the Indians of the Peruvian province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, extended, on one side, into the Republic of Tarija and the Chaco, and, on another, into the Mission of Chiquitos. Three sections of the division have been visited and described—a, the Guarayos; b, the Chiriguanos; c, and the Sirionos. These are described by D’Orbigny in his ‘Homme Américain,’ pp. 338–348.

It is submitted that, in the question as to the original habitat and focus of the Guarani family the primâ facie evidence is in favour of the Provinces of Santa Cruz de la Sierra; the locality of the Guarayos, Chiriguanos and Sirionos, the two latter bearing, probably, the same name in a modified form. This view is proposed because the locality in question is the only portion of the Guarani occupancy which is common to the two great water-systems on which they are so remarkably distributed; and it rests upon the principle of not multiplying causes unnecessarily, rather than upon any special evidence. In one respect indeed, there is an accredited fact against it. The Chiriguanos are said to have been pressed forward into their present locality by the Spanish conquest—a fact, however, of which the evidence is very unsatisfactory, and one which does not apply to the Guarayos. I repeat the statement that the present notice goes no further than the indication of the primâ facie probabilities of the question, and that it merely points out the most promising line of criticism, a line which has yet to be worked out.

But there is a point of detail which may well find its place here. The languages which have hitherto been placed in the Guarani class are languages of which the Guarani character has long been admitted. Of new additions no notice has been taken; yet one such new addition can probably be made—one, and perhaps more.

Into the details of a language spoken to the south of the Amazons, and to the east of the Madeira, the language of the Mundrucu Indians, I have gone no further than the short list of Balbi’s ‘Atlas Ethnographique.’ However, the inspection of this is sufficient to show that it is more Guarani than aught else.—e. g.

English	Sun.
Mundrucu	uashi.
Guarani	cuarazi.
Lingoa Geral	arassi.
Tupinamba	gouarassi.
Tupi	coaracy.
Omagua	huarassi.
English	Moon.
Mundrucu	uashiat.
Guarani	yaci.
Lingoa Geral	iassu.
Tupinamba	iasce.
Tupi	iacy.
Omagua	yase.
English	Earth.
Mundrucu	ipu.
Guarani	ibi.
Lingoa Geral	bu.
Tupinamba	ubuy.
Tupi	ibi.
Omagua	tujuca.
English	Water.
Mundrucu	hu.
Guarani	i.
Lingoa Geral	hu.
Tupi	i.
Omagua	uni.
English	Fire.
Mundrucu	tasha.
Guarani, etc.	tata.
English	Eye.
Mundrucu	uieta.
Guarani	teza.
Lingoa Geral	tessa.
Tupinamba	dessa.
Tupi	tesa.
Omagua	ssissazaicana.
English	Head.
Mundrucu	oija.
Guarani	acang.
Lingoa Geral	acanga.
Tupinamba	acan.
Tupi	acanga.
Omagua	yacae.
English	Nose.
Mundrucu	ueinampo.
Guarani	hu.
———	tu.
Lingoa Geral	una.
Tupinamba	tin.
Tupi	un.
Omagua	ti.
English	Mouth.
Mundrucu	woi-pi.
Guarani	yurù.
Lingoa Geral	puru.
Tupinamba	ioure.
Tupi	puru.
Omagua	yuru.
English	Tongue.
Guarani	wai-co.
Lingoa Geral	cu.
———	apo-cum.
Tupinamba	ape-cou.
Tupi	ape-cu.
Omagua	cu-muera.
English	Tooth.
Mundrucu	woi-no.
Guarani	tai.
Lingoa Geral	tanha.
Tupinambi	ram.
Tupi	tanha.
Omagua	sai.
———	dai.
English	Hand.
Mundrucu	woi-po.
Guarani	po.
———	mbo.
Lingoa Geral	po.
Tupinambi	po.
Tupi	poo.
Omagua	pua.
English	Foot.
Mundrucu	woi-canuputa.
Guarani	pi.
———	mbi.
Lingoa Geral	purumga.
Tupinambi	povy.
Tupi	pu.
Omagua	pueta.

If this view be tenable, the uaschi of Mundrucu simply = light, and its difference in form from the Guarani words is explained. So is its similarity to the name uashiat = moon.

The Coretu.—It by no means follows that because two languages have the same name they are identical; on the contrary, they may be widely different—a point which has already been noticed. Now the ‘Atlas Ethnologique’ of Balbi gives us a short Coretu vocabulary which is not the Coretu of Mr. Wallace.

English.	Coretu (Balbi).	Coretu (Wallace).
Sun	haie	aoué.
Moon	haia-pucku	jamímaíga.
Earth	gaira	thetáh.
Water	cootabre	deco.
Fire	aegacae	puílre.
Eye	siroho	yeellúh.
Head	caumeo	cuilrí.
Nose	liiissapo	ergílli.
Mouth	hiamolecko	dishí.
Tongue	coahuri	dolór.
Tooth	simahapo	gophpecuh.
Hand	coholo	muhú.
Foot	namacgo	giápah.

In these two lists the only two similar words are the names for sun. Hence, the phenomenon illustrated by the name Baniwa is repeated in the case of the word Coretu.

Upon the Cobeu and Tucano, no facts beyond those that lie in the tables themselves are known.