As the inhabitants move about, or get into and out of their hammocks while replenishing the nightly fires, whose smoke is the only defence against the mosquitoes and other winged pests, the whole building rocks, the joints creak, and the house seems on the point of coming down. But the junctions of the beams and posts are so firmly tied that they are far stronger than they look, and however fragile the shed may seem, it is quite equal to any strain they may have to endure.
In the interior, however, the huts are more of a complicated character, and have walls as well as a roof. Their form is invariably round, and their roofs pointed in the centre. Some are shaped almost exactly like single-poled tents, having a circular upright wall, some five or six feet in height, and from that wall a tolerably high conical roof ending in a sharp point. Their general shape much resembles that of the Makololo house, seen on page 329. The roof, however, is neater, and the central pole, by which it is supported, rises to some height above the top, looking like the ornamental spikes with which English builders are fond of decorating some of their villas.
Other houses, though built on the same principle, are not quite conical. They have no distinction between the wall and roof, and, instead of being circular, are octagonal. They may be very well imitated by cutting out eight isosceles triangles from cardboard, the larger sides being about four times the length of the shortest, and sewing them together. A knitting needle through the centre will act as a support, and look very much like the centre pole of the edifice.
These huts are used by the Macoushies, the makers of the very long blow guns which have already been described, and from projections in the upright poles the weapons are suspended when not in use. It need scarcely be said that the task of house building belongs to the women, inasmuch as it pertains to the category of heavy work, which is beneath the character of a man to undertake. Indeed, with these people, as with many other uncivilized nations, the rooted disinclination of the men to labor, and the consequent falling of all the work upon the women, is one of the most serious obstacles to their progress in civilization; and even polygamy is not so much a drawback as the inferior condition of the women.
Treating of the native houses, Mr. Brett remarks that the builders, simple as may be the house itself, carefully select a site which must combine several requirements. In the first place, it must be near a stream, so that the women may not have more trouble than needful in fetching water for the use of the household, and that the canoe may be within easy reach of the house when the owner wishes to set out upon one of the frequent migrations which take place among these tribes.
It must be a spot which is rather out of the way. The native Guianan likes peace and quietness, and has a strong objection to being disturbed, the apathy of his nature being supplemented by an inveterate shyness, which makes him keep aloof from strangers. It must also be a spot where the ground is light and sandy, and where the very slight cultivation needed in this land can be easily carried on.
The house being built, the next business is to prepare a field for the cultivation of yams and cassava, and this is the only hard work which the men will condescend to do. The ground is already occupied by trees, but this is of no consequence to the native agriculturist. Having selected a convenient spot, he cuts down the trees, ingeniously contriving that the fall of one shall bring down several others. This is done at the beginning of the hot season, i. e. somewhere in August. The tropical sun soon dries the fallen trees, and when they are sufficiently parched for the purpose, the Indian sets them on fire, a process which rapidly consumes all but the trunks and the largest branches. He has now done his share of the work, and leaves the rest to the women, who have to clear away the débris as far as they can, and to do all the digging, planting, and weeding that is needed.
Among these people polygamy, though not always the rule, is often the case, and a man’s greatness is partly estimated by the number of his wives. It is not, however, carried out to such an excess as is the case with many other peoples, inasmuch as one chief was looked upon with the greatest respect because he had the unusual number of nine wives. This chief, a Warau, was very jealous of his establishment, and was said to have shot one of his wives, and severely wounded another with his cutlass. As a rule, however, a man has one wife only, the exceptions being rarer in proportion to the number of wives.
The Caribs appear to carry out the principle of proprietorship in their women to the fullest degree, as is exemplified by an amusing anecdote related by Mr. Brett. It must be premised that, as is usual among nearly all uncivilized natives, the wife is purchased from her father or oldest male relative, who has absolute power over and can sell her as he would sell his bow, and with as much regard for the feelings of one article of property as the other.
“A high-spirited Caribi girl, indignant at being given in marriage to an elderly man, who had already other wives (one being her own sister), ran away from him, and bestowed her hand on one of the Essequibo Caribs, a younger man whom she liked better. After a while, the old man visited that quarter—not, however, to exercise his undoubted right to bring her back and beat her, but to claim compensation for her services. It was willingly allowed, and for a gun, a barrel of salt, or some article of like value, the woman was left with the man of her choice, who perhaps thought himself secure, and the business ended.