Chiefly is he needed in times of sickness, when, by virtue of his rattle, he is supposed to be capable of driving away the evil spirit whose curse has caused the malady. When a piai man is called to a case of sickness, he sends all the women away, and even keeps the men at a respectful distance. His exercises then begin, and are continued for hours, chants to the evil spirit being accompanied with sundry rattlings, until in the depth of night the Yauhahu manifests himself to the sorcerer, and tells him how to extract the “arrow” which he has aimed at the sick man. Of course it is incumbent on the sorcerer to produce the arrow in question, which is done by sucking the affected part, and producing from the mouth a little pebble, a bird’s claw, a snake’s fang, or something of the kind.
If the reader will refer to [illustration No. 5], on page 1265, he will see a very complicated and rather elegantly formed rattle. The hollow gourd forms part of the rattle, but it is very small, and depends from a series of three hoops, which are strung with beetle wings. The noise which this simple instrument makes is really wonderful, and the slightest movement of the string by which it is held sets all the wings clattering against each other. This interesting object was brought from Guiana by H. Bernau, Esq.
Even accepting the marakka and the beetle wing rattle as musical instruments, we find that the Guiana natives have but little variety in music. The only instruments which are really worthy of the name are pipes or flutes made of different materials. One of these instruments is in my collection. It is made of the ever-useful bamboo, and includes one internode, i. e. the space between two knots.
The mouthpiece is narrow and oblong, and the maker has possessed sufficient knowledge of sound to cut out a large scooped piece from the middle of the instrument. The owner seems to have prized this flute exceedingly, as he has covered it with elaborate patterns. It is blown like our own flute, and the sound which it produces is loud, full, but, if musical, is melancholy also, and much resembles the wailing sound produced by blowing into the mouth of a soda-water bottle. The length of this flute is fourteen inches.
The natives also make a flute of the leg bone of the jaguar, which is very much prized, the spoils of the jaguar having a very high value among them. [One of these] is shown on the next page. The Caribs once used human bones for this purpose, but at the present time are content with jaguar bones, as equally indicative of courage and skill.
To return to the superstition of the Guianan natives. One of the beings which they most dread is the water mamma, or Orehu. This is an unfortunate being who inhabits the water, and occasionally shows herself, though in different forms, sometimes even assuming that of the horse, but often taking that of the manati. The Orehu is a female spirit, and is generally, though not always, malicious, and, when she is in a bad temper, is apt to rise close to the canoes, and drag them and their crews under water.
The legends told by the various tribes respecting their origin are very curious, as showing a great similarity with those of other parts of the world with whom there could have been no geographical connexion. For example, the legend of the earth submerged under water, through the disobedience of some of its inhabitants, and repeopled by a few who were placed in a safe spot until the waters subsided.
One of the strangest of their legends is told by Mr. Brett. It concerns the origin of the Warau and Carib tribes.
Originally the Waraus lived in a country above the sky, where they had all they could desire. One day a young hunter shot an arrow into the air, and when he came to search for it, found a deep hole through which it had fallen. Looking down through the aperture, he saw another world opened out beneath him, and was seized with curiosity to visit it. Accordingly, he made himself a sort of ladder of rattan, which grows abundantly in the upper world where he lived, and descended to the world below.
Here he remained for some time, revelling on the flesh of animals hitherto unknown to him. After a while, he climbed up the ladder with great trouble, and told his friends the wonders which he had seen. Struck with surprise at his narrative, and eager to partake of the luxuries which he described, the whole of his friends determined on paying a visit to these wondrous regions. Accordingly, they descended the ladder in safety, except the last of their number, a very fat man, who, in trying to squeeze himself through the aperture, became fixed in it, and could not escape, thus shutting off all communication between the two worlds.