They believe in a creator of all, but to whom they pay no kind of homage, nor have recourse upon any urgent occasions; and also an inferior spirit, endowed with the knowledge of futurity, whom they denominate Nanigogigo. They admit the immortality of the soul; but it would appear, they have no idea of future recompenses being proportioned to the conduct of life; they imagine that the souls of the captains and unigenitos are in a state of enjoyment after death, and that those of the people wander about the cemetery.
The unigenitos acquire most credit by their pretended familiarity with the Nanigogigo, for which the people consider them privileged. The macauhan is a bird which produces much auguration amongst the Guaycurus, when its notes are unintelligible to them; upon such occasions the subsequent night is a season of inconvenience and labour to the unigenitos, who occupy themselves alternately in lamentable singings, or in imitating the notes of various birds, shaking at the same time a calabash with little stones in it, and in calling upon the Nanigogigo to interpret the mysterious song of the bird. They practise the same artifice when they pretend to know whether an invalid will die or recover, and if good or ill success will attend an ensuing war.
It is considered a beauty amongst these people to have no hair upon the eyebrows, being particularly careful to extract it on its appearing.
Their language abounds with words and phrases of soft and easy pronunciation. The women explain themselves at times differently to the men; for instance, in the expression of “Farewell, I am going,” the latter say “sara gigo oipilo,”—the women, “sara gigo ioy.”
There is nothing more remarkable amongst the Guaycurus than the inhuman practice of the mothers in destroying the embryo on discovering their pregnancy, until they arrive at the age of thirty. The reason of this custom is to avoid the inconveniences annexed to the birth and rearing of their offspring.
The streets of their villages or towns are straight and wide, the houses are covered with mats of bulrushes, disposed horizontally in dry weather, and slopingly in wet weather. Many have two and three mats, one above the other, with more or less interval, as much for the exclusion of the rain as for the diminution of the heat. They sleep on the ground upon hides, and cover themselves with the cloths that the women spread over the two bundles of grass between which they ride on horseback.
None of their dwelling places are permanent. They are always near some river or lake, and continue whilst there are game, fish, fruits, and pasturage for the cattle. On experiencing any want, in a moment the town disappears, and the plains, previously covered with thousands of animals, are deserted. The marches of these caravans are grand and interesting. On arriving at their destined place, another town rises almost in a moment, and the surrounding campos, where scarcely a few deer pastured, are on a sudden covered with numerous horses, oxen, and flocks of sheep.
They manufacture an inebriating drink with honey and water, called chicha; and to the rum of the Portuguese they give the name of nodak.
Some express themselves tolerably in the Portuguese language, and have made transitions to the towns or establishments of the province, since they received the protection and subjected themselves to the Faithful Crown, in virtue of which, the following patent, previously alluded to, was granted to them.
“Joam d’Albuquerque de Mello Pereyra e Caceres, of his Majesty’s council, chevalier of the order of St. John of Malta, governor and captain-general of the capitanias of Matto Grosso and Cuiaba, &c. maketh known to all those to whom this my letter patent may come, that the nation of Indian Guaycurus, or Cavalleiros, having solemnly contracted perpetual peace and friendship with the Portuguese, for a term judicially done, in which the two chiefs, Joam Queyma de Albuquerque and Paulo Joaquim Joze Ferreyra, in the name of their nation, subject themselves and promise a strict obedience to the laws of his Majesty, in order to be from this day hence forward recognised as vassals of the same sovereign; I command and order all magistrates of justice and war, commandants, and all persons of the dominions of his Faithful Majesty, to recognise, treat with, and aid them, with all the demonstrations of friends. And, for the confirmation of the above, I have ordered the present Letter Patent to be passed to them, with my signature, and sealed with the signet of my arms, in this capital of Villa Bella, on the 30th July, 1791.”