The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-06-11 00:00:00

THE ABIPONES.

The following account of the rites which seems,.
patsy the death of mos A lotion, is taken from Martin
llehrighoffer's account of this equestrian people of
Paraguay :.
" Death is dreadful to most mortals, hut particularly so
to the Abipooses. They rennet even bear the sight of a dying
person He•ce, whenever any one's life is despaired of,
his felbw inmates immediately forsake the bowie, or are
driven away by the old women who remain to take care of
the sick, lest they shou!d be so affected by the mournful
spectacle, that fiat of death should make them shrink from
endangering their lives in baffle. They are, therefor,,
obliged to p•m many nights its another person's tent, or iu
the open air. As they have very little experience of permits
dying a natural death, they du not know the signs of It when
it draws near. A short •bstioence from food, unusual silence, or
s'eeplessnees, makes Owen presage appraach'oe dimolotion.
As won as a report is epread that a man is dying, the old
women. who ate either related to the person, or tamed fur
medical skill, flock to his house. They stand in • row round
the sick man's bed, with dishevelled hair assd bare shoulders,
striking • gourd, the mournful sound of which they accom-
pasty with violent motion of the feet and arms, and lewd
vociferatious. She who excels the rest iu age, or fame for
medical skill, steeds nearest to the dying mass's head, and
'alike* an immense military drum, *lnch returns a horrible
bellowing. Another, who is .appointed to watch the sick
man, removes every now sod thew the bull's hide with which
he es covered, examines his face, sad if he MISS yet to
breathe, spriokles him plentifully with cold water, a jug of
which is placed under the bed. When I first witnessed
these things l pitied the (ate of the sick man, who, I feared,
would be killed, if nut by the disease, at any rate by the
howling of the women sal the noise of the drum, •r else
smothered by the weight of the bide, unit which the whole
body is covered, and which is as bard and as heavy •a •
board. Under the pretext of compsmion they use all this
cruelty to the departing soul, that the women may be spared
the sight of his 1401 agonies, amt the hearing of his groans.
" lithe respiration of the,dying man be not heard at a dis.
Lance like • pair of bellows in Vulcan's wurkshop, mil if his
breath atop even for • moment, they proclaim with • etre.
torten voice. that he b•e given up the ghost. A peat
crowd assembles oar all 'ides, exclaiming, he is dead, he is
no more. All the married women and widows of the town
crowd to the mourning, attired as I have described bebop,
and whilst they are filling the streets with confused waili•gs,
with the rattliug el gourds and beating of pans covered with
stags s►ins, • sudden shout is often beard •enoreeiag that
the anti whom they mourn for as dead is collie to life seam.
The joyous exclamation, lie is revived, is instantly substi-
tuted for the mournful hoe bug of the women, some of whom
return home, whilst others batten to the miserable into 131
on the confiues of life and death, and torment him with their
dreadful yellines, till at last they deprive him of life. Afier
his death, the first business of-the bystanders is to pull out
the heart stud tongue of the deceased, boil them, :mil give
them to a dug to devour, that the author of his Math may
soon die also. The cin pee, while yet warm, is clothed sc.
cording to the fashion of the country, wrapped in a hide, mid
butted with leathern thong., the head being covered with a
cloth, or any garment at hoed. The savage Abiptmee will
not endure the busty of • dead man to remain king in the
house; while yst warm, it is conveyed on ready horses to
the rive. Women are appoiated to go forward urn swift
steeds, to dig the grave, sod honour the funeral with lamen-
tations. I'i hat, if we my that many of the Abipones are
buried because they are thought dead, but that in reality !hey
(lie, because lb( y are buried? It is not unlikely that the.e
poor wretches are suffocated, either by the hide with wind)
they are bound, or by the earth which is Leaped over them.
But as they pull out the heart and tongue of the deceased, it
Cannot be doubted that they are dead when testy are buried;,
though I strongly suspect that the heart is •tames cut out
when they are half alive, and would primps revive were they
not prematurely deprited of this necessary instrument of
life. The savaties, who hasten the burying of thrie dead so
much, presume to censure us for keephig the Christian In.
diem out of their g masy hours after their decease."

On the 25th ult. a fine specimen of that rare bird
the night heron (nrdea nytieorar, Lin.) was *llOl Oil
the top of • tall oak, by the Earl of HOME, Mtge!,
Berwseksh►re. The female was sane day wounded
by his Lordship. hut unluckily falling into* bed of
reeds, could not be found. though a •ery diligent
search was made by his Lordship Dud his game-
keepers.

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