The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-11-19
BRAZILIAN INDIANS.
Characteristic aud sustoms of Some of tn.
South American Tribes.

Characteristic aud sustoms of Some OF the
South American Tribes.
Brazilian Indians are said to be about
the ugliest human beings on the face
of the earth, not excepting the Dig
gers" of lower California and the tribes
of Terra del Fuego. The Rotocudos,
who are most noted, have advanced far
enough to till small patches of land,
live in huts. raise cattle and weave mats
for sale. The Portuguese gave them
their singular name from the word
botogue. meaning barrel bung-from
their habit of wearing large, round
disks of wood in their ears and under
lips This fashion used to go SO far
that in middle life many of them had
stiff under lips projecting five or six
inches, holding plug as big as the top
of a coffee cup OF late years the Gus
tom is mostly discontinued but both
sexes still GO perfectly naked, except
those living in the near neiQhborhood
of white settlements. The men varnish
themselves all over with bright yellow
paint made from the bark and gum of "a
species of palm: and the women dress
oB 90 SCiiC Si'tiiLth sadfVo W. ~ oR-
plying a few streaks of white and
red to their faces, arms and bosoms.
Though many of the Botocudos are
now practically civilized. we are assured
that those of the far interior are yet
cannibals to the extent of eating their
captives taken in war. Like the Greeks
of the Homeric age, they consider IL
the greatest of evils To lie unburied
after death; so they delight in making
bones. have the questionable pleas
ure of owning one of these ghastly
trophies, which has five holes and is or
namented with tufts of red and yellow
feathers attached to the bone by
strings; but it requires somebody more
courageous than your correspondent 10
test its value as a musical instrument
by personal experiment
There is another Brazilian tribe.
whose name j do not remember who
are an almost exact counterpart of the
Pueblos of Mexico and Arizona-sim-
pie, peaceful and industrious. They
live near the coast, and are doubtless
descendants of those Pinzon and other
early voyagers first encountered. But
unfortunately they are few in number
and rapidly dying out, for among their
fierce neighbors the .'tnrn unto
him the other cheek also" princi-
pie is disastrous to life and prop
erty There are many scattered
tribes of unreclaimed Eavages, most of
whom are wandering cannibaIs and all
implacably hostile. Perhaps the most
interesting among these lat safe dis
tance) are the Mundrucus, or "Behead-
ers, who, with their allies are said to
number between twenty and thirty
thousand They live mp the Msdura
Tapajos, Rio Negro. and other tributa-
ries of the Amazon, in palm-leaf huts
set around central malocca-the latter
not the dwelling OF chief. as might be
supposed, but rather a grand council
chamber, fortress, arsenal. aud general
pow-wow room. In IL are deposited
those horrible trophies--the preserved
heads OF their enemies-which have .
given to the Mundrucus their terrible
title Of ''Beheaders Unlike the Jiveros
of southeastern Ecuador, shey do not |
SxlTdct the SKULL tut by some savage |
process of embalming keep the cranial |
relic as nearly entire as possible, insert |
ing false eyes, made of bits of shell or |
polished quartz the long hair coInbcd |
out and carefully decorated with strings |
Of rockcoc< and macaw feathers, feath- I
er earrings In the ears, and dyed strings
passed through the tongue by which /
to suspend il from the rs.;ers. !
In peaceful times hundreds Of /,
these are ranged around the walls of i
the nolocca or set IN rogs around the i
fields to keep the ghosts away /
that might otherwise injure the grow |
ing food; and on wsrsiAe and festive /
occasions they are tToited out on the 4
points of the warriors spears Strange /.
To say, the Dyaks OF BoTneo have sim
liar custom Of preserving their sneE1sss /
head, and are provided with h.ow-gnns. |
almost identical with those OF So.sfb |
Americans
Like most other Amazonian indians 1
the MundrucBs cultivate ii..le nan /
dioca, corn and psaBtaius They know
how TO prepare farins meal from q /
Inzn5iocs. and also 70 Grew sort of IL /
,oxicsnt resembling ellisha Tnsy havs /
goura vessels. Some Of them ouasHt.s /