Agriculture—Plantations—Preparation of ground in the forest—Paucity of agricultural instruments—Need for diligence—Women’s incessant toil—No special harvest-time—Maize the only grain grown—No use for sugar—Manioc cultivation—Peppers—Tobacco—Coca cultivation—Tree-climbing methods—Indian wood-craft—Indian tracking—Exaggerated sporting yarns—Indian sense of locality and accuracy of observation—Blow-pipes—Method of making blow-pipes—Darts—Indian improvidence—Migration of game—Traps and snares—Javelins—Hunting and fishing rights—Fishing—Fish traps—Spearing and poisoning fish.
Apart from the industries already dealt with, the occupations of the South American Indians of these parts consist in agricultural pursuits, hunting, fishing, making war, and holding festival. They are not a pastoral people and have no cattle; even the domestic pig is unknown, fowls are never seen, and dogs only exist in their wild state in the forest. There they are numerous enough, dun in colour, with ears erect. These Indians do not keep or train them, though some of the tribes away from this district have hunting dogs.[117]
PLATE XXVI.
1. INDIAN PLANTATION CLEARED BY FIRE PREPARATORY TO CULTIVATION
2. VIEW ON AFFLUENT OF THE KAHUINARI RIVER
The greater part of the agricultural work falls, as has been seen, to the lot of the women, though the preliminaries—the heavier work of clearing, cutting, and breaking up the untouched soil—are undertaken by the men. Each tribal house stands in the midst of a small clearing. In front is the big dancing ground, for though the dancing proper takes place inside the maloka, this outer dance clearing is used for the purpose of assembly, and for effective entries. Near by are the cultivated plots that belong to the chief. The Indian with his own private lodging in the bush, or any married Indian,—and all marry when they come to man’s estate—has his special plantation patch by his country-house, if he has one, somewhere in the neighbourhood of the tribal house if he is content with only his quarters therein. But no plantations are made actually surrounding the maloka; they are perhaps half a mile away, for, as a rule, the house stands alone. Sometimes a man’s plantation will be two days’ journey from the house of assembly, in which case a “country-house” is a necessity. The tribal plantations belong to the chief, as he, having all the unattached women, is better able to cultivate them.
To prepare the plots of ground the smaller trees are felled, the larger ones are burnt. The stumps of trees, cut about four feet above the ground, decay with some rapidity, and, directly the branches are dry enough to burn, fire is brought out and the clearing made into a gigantic bonfire, or rather series of bonfires, for the always damp wood will never do more than smoulder, but it is sufficient to destroy the brushwood and the tangle of creeping plants. There is then a savannah, a clearing such as is shown in the illustration ([Plate XXVI.]), a wilderness of charred posts and vegetable ashes which make most excellent manure. The ground is then broken up with wooden clubs, and therewith the men’s labour is at an end.[118] Henceforward their women take charge of the plantation—ike the Witoto call it before it is planted; it is akpho after planting.
The Indian plantation is no orderly market-garden. To begin with, the women have nothing but the roughest wooden implement, a wedge-shaped stake, with which to dig, and rake, and hoe. The ground is always uneven and broken; the charred remnants of the original vegetation are left to crumble beside the young growth, and the cultivated seedlings have to struggle for space and air with quick-growing wild things, forest growths and creepers that encroach on every side, and would speedily reclaim any cleared portions of the unconquerable bush were it not for the incessant diligence of the women. They go there daily straight from the morning bath, and keep up a constant chattering as they plant the cuttings of manioc, or tend to the pine-apples and the sugar-cane, while the men take to their canoes, or go a-hunting in the bush in company. I have never seen single Indians hunting or walking in the forest. For obvious reasons they never venture far afield by themselves, or even in very small parties.
Sowing is done during the rainy season, but beyond the fact that things then grow faster than when it is comparatively drier, there is no especial harvest time. Crops grow and ripen all the year round. The Indians are not grain-growing people. Rice is unknown,[119] and the only grain that is sown at all is maize. This, though much cultivated by the Kuretu, and by tribes on the Tikie, is not grown in any quantity by Indians south of the Japura. What there may be is very small. Coca, manioc, and tobacco are the most universally cultivated. The Witoto grow a little sugar-cane and it is occasionally found growing wild, but in very few places. Originally, I imagine, it was imported. The Indians do not use it for sugar, as sweet things do not seem to appeal to their palates, and “beer” is unknown. Half-wild pumpkins and plantains are to be found in most plantations; pines,[120] bananas, yams, papaws, sweet potatoes, and mangoes are found cultivated more or less. The yellow fruit of the guaraná is prized by these Indians, especially the Boro, and is used here by them in the preparation of a stimulating drink[121] similar to that in use on the Rio Negro.[122] The wild cacao,[123] though not common, is seen about here, but the tribes do not cultivate it. Manioc, which is also known as cassava,[124] is a plant that grows throughout the tropical regions of America, and in the West Indies. It is known also in Africa, and has been introduced by the white man into some of the Pacific Islands.