The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-29

roughly included in some hAif hun- dred tribes. bue subdivisions of thsse tribes and rsfnnants Of families now nearly extinct could easily swell the number more than ten-foId. While some general characteristics run through the whole raoe. each tribe re- tains certain peculiar customs Of ita own. followed. as ever. with religious pseusisy essssn.a.
 The tribe known as. the Ofs3ohee, for instance, gets its name from the curious; habit it's members cling Co. of enlarging the lower part of the ear by q process begun when they are chill dren. until sometimes the Gar hangs down almost to the shoulder. Such were taeeea the original descendants of the meas of "royar blood.
 The Nahunnedes. new, AlQost extinct. tradition has 1t, were respensible. on account of shot1 gkirt.1ike fcushrnass' and their long. loose flowing hair, for the naming Of the great ,Aghazon. II was they who in this garp of women warriors attacked q river party on the Pizarro. and were immediately dubbed 'aafnazofsas.s .Ths kreht river natufs aiiy took it's name from them. } z hfummfSlea Heads. t
 Rather GruAaome to civilized eyes must be the pfepafation of human heads praoticed by the Agnarunas of the Ma rahon River district. This tribe, sorne- times called, "head-hunters." has the r6pnisive custom of treating the heads of .thelr enemies, after. death. in sueh a manner that, though reduced to about. ons-ffth their natural size. they retain the same shape throughout that they posgesbed during life, and in . eeemina1y naumniIfisd. diminutive head thus prepared, can easily be recognized the features of the individual when alive.
 Ths American ConsuI says:
 Specimens of these heads became 50 much ia demand i few years ago for museums, etc, that premium seemed to te thus placed On the heads of pers sons venturinG in the vicinity of this tribe and many murders resulted. The Peruvian Government has now forbid aen the pfaetieey and the specimens becoming mprs ecages are eommandins hielser priees. I have known of them seiIInr for, siE6 to ,tsoe in gold. and rather . poor specimen was recently sold in 1auitos for $50. Tn the Rio Nagfo and Orinoco regions there is said 10 exist a tribe which prepares entire bodies in this manner, and in the Pu- tuFnayo district they are said to re- tain in natural si4e. by system of srnoking. the hAads cf enemies san ns,I bones. and other parts of skeletons '"T The United States National Mursun. which Is a branch of the Smithsonian Institution, contains specimens of ra- tive heads prepared in this manner.
 All the tribes Of Peruvian Indians probably possess individual customs of
 Al 4Aks NFs4 A fHN a d 10 Known, no one has as yet made them the subject of q systematic study. They have in common. however, many prac- tic6s strange to Americans of the twentieth century.
 At Least FfTty Languages.
 These dark brownisfI peoples though divided naturally into at least fifty main tribes, for the most part speak independent languages with many dia- lects. Some of the tribes can count as high as five, very few even to ten. but most of them use only the finRers in expressing numbers greater than one They live, for shelter from the excessive rains. in rude shaclks of poles coveted with a matching Of palm leaves. sometimes hastily constructed. but at other times built very cleveriy and strongly much in the shape oR small circus tent.
 Eaxth Eaters.
 The Indians of Peru eubsist entire ly on the yucca. Bsnanas, corn. fish. ana the flesh of birds and game from the forests, stones and haFdwoods are used for grinding and crushing. and eartiaenware pots, etc. are used for boiling, roasting and frying. Tn only a few localities is salt to be found, and even then 1t Is generally used in a mixture with hot wild peppers. Some of the tribes that live on the Amazon