Evening star., 1923-08-05
ECUADOR SAVACES
DELIGHT IN HEADS
Feasts Follow Quest of En-
emy in Forests by Quar-
reISome Jibaros.

Head hunters still dominate the for
ests of Eastern Ecuador. The Jibaro
Indians, one of the worlds most
Quarrelsome and vengeful people, are
the subject of a study recently COM
pleted by Rafael karsten, under
auspices of the bureau of American
ethnology of the Smithsonian Insti-
tuition here. the results of which have
been published.
The Jibaros, no doubt, at present
are the most warlike of all the In
dian tribes of South America The
blood feuds within the tribes, and the
wars of determination among differ
ent tribes. are continuous. Their re-
ligious and social life is bound close
~ TO the taking of human heads.
The education of the boys aims at
making them brave and skillful war
riors. When a Jibaro has enemies
upon whom he himself has been un-
awaken and maintain hatred of them
among his sons by discourSeS directed
at them every day. This is repeated
every morning when the father gets
up.
Death Traps Many.
The large community houses. in
which the Jibaro families live, are
surrounded by death traps. These
consist of holes in the ground large
enough for a full-grown man to fall
into. At the bottom are three pointed
sticks, erect. At the surface the hole
Is covered with small sticks and
leaves. which makes il impossible to
the enemy. moving along in the dark
feet are transfiNed by the sticks.
Another death trap is described as
follows: Across the path along which
the enemy is expected 10 come
III Il Il ewfv sfr had q
height Of u mans chest. AT the tree
where one end of the string is fas-
tened a charged and cooked rifle is
tied The end of the string is brought
In such connection with the trigger
OF the rifle that when the enemy.
II a push the shot Is discharged and
Is likely to hit him in the chest.
AT any rate the house Is warned by
the discharge.
Premium Upon Death.
mans social standing among the
Jibaros depends on how many men
he has killed. A youth is in the
he has secured at least one human
head.
Each family lives by itself They
resent even a loose tribal organiza-
tion which would impose some bounds
upon them. The government of
I<CuduOI IOils dsO mas given up ali
efforts to rule these choloric and un-
ruly people. The slightest family
disagreement is considered cause for
war. Every Jibaro who dies, no mat
ter what the cause. is considered to
have been bewitched. and the medi-
cine men, whose prestige depends
upon the number of wars they can
start, have little trouble in tracing
the incarnation to some member OF
neighboring tribe, thus giving an
excuse for further head hunting
They never aim at territorial con-
quest in their wars. On the contrary
they fear and detest the country Of
the enemy, where secret, supernatural
dangers may threaten them The land
of the enemy, therefore, is abandoned
as soon as possible. Besides, since the
Jibaros inhabit practically virgin
forest, where they can make new set
Elements almost anywhere, they have
no need for conquering fresh territory.
Feast After Slaughter.
The taking of a head is the ex-
cuse for three day feast, in which
the whole family joins It signifies
that the youth has won his snurs
The head Is carefully prepared being
shrunk to about the size of an orange
and is afterward carried by the victor
upon his spear. The Importance at
tached to the head Is explained bv rho
belief that the head is the seat Of the
soul and that the possesor of a large
number of heads has power over thai
many souls.