The Arawaks.—The Arawaks are our nearest neighbours, and, consequently, the most Europeanized. Sir R. Schomburgk says, that they and the Warows amount to about three thousand, and from Bernau we infer, that this number is nearly equally divided between the two; since he reckons the Arawaks at about fifteen hundred. Each family has its distinctive tattoo, and these families are twenty-seven in number.
The children may marry into their father's family, but not into that of their mother. Now as the caste is derived from their mother, this is an analogue of the North American totem. Polygamy is chiefly the privilege of the chiefs. The Pe-i-man is the Arawak Shaman. He it is who names the children—for a consideration. Failing this, the progeny goes nameless; and to go nameless is to be obnoxious to all sorts of misfortunes.
Imposture is hereditary; and as soon as the son of a conjuror enters his twentieth year, his right ear is pierced, he is required to wear a ring, and he is trusted with the secrets of the craft.
In imitating what they see, and remembering what they hear, the Arawak has, at least, an average capacity. Neither is he destitute of[260] ingenuity. Notation he has none; and the numeration is of the rudest kind.
| Aba-da-kabo | = | once my hand | = | five. |
| Biama-da-kabo | = | twice my hand | = | ten. |
| Aba-olake | = | one man | = | twenty. |
Perfect nudity is rare amongst the women; and some neatness in the dressing of their hair is perceptible. It is tied up on the crown of the head.
The nearer the coast the darker the skin; the lightest coloured families being as fair as Spaniards. This is on the evidence of Bernau, who adds, that, as children grow in knowledge and receive instruction, the forehead rises, and the physiognomy improves.
The other Guiana Indians, so far as they are Carib at all, are Caribs Proper, rather than Arawaks. Of these, the chief are—
The Accaways,—occupants of the rivers Mazaruni and Putara, with about six hundred fighting men. They are jealous, quarrelsome, and cruel; firm friends and bitter enemies. When resisted, they kill; when unopposed, enslave.
The law of revenge predominates in this tribe; for—like certain Australians—they attribute all deaths to contrivances of an enemy. Workers in poison themselves, they suspect it with others.