Evening star., 1938-08-30
OF STARS,
MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Prosress
in Field, Laboratory
and Study.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

Inc world over doctors are pretty
much alike.
Take, for example, the wishinu of the
Jivaro Indians on the headwaters Of
the Amazon who cures his patients by
driving out the disease spirits which
have possessed them. He must undergo
long and costly education-at least a
month long, which is a lot Of education
for Observation-Disclosures he can practice
his profession. He is bound by a very
rigid code Of medical ethics which
forces him to answer sick call at any
hour of the night or day through track
less jungles. He must give sleepless
nights to watching by bedsides. If he
fails to cure he is apt to be sued" for
malpractice with very effective kind
of legal machinery-that is, the family
Of the patient demands that he pay the
value of one human life of else lose
his head.
BY and large, he is an able, honest,
idealistic man. More often than not he
is also a rich man, according to Jivaro
standards of wealth. Doubt never enters
his own mind as to the correctness and
effectiveness of his own methods Of
diagnosis and cure.
Such is the picture of the wishinu
presented by Dr. Mathew w. Stirling,
chief of the Bureau of American Ethnol-
ogy of the Smithsonian Institution, who
spent nearly year among these primi-
tive people, the feminine appearance of
whose warriors is believed to be RESPONSE
BILE for the name Amazon applied to the
river. DR.. Strings report has just been
published as a Smithsonian bulletin.
&c ,ot
are only six kinds of evil spirits, some
one Of which is responsible for almost
any disease. The first of these is Minura,
the spirit Of the ray fish-strongest of
all the disease causers and consequently
the most difficult for the wishinu to re-
move. When treating a patient the
doctor" at intervals sucks the afflicted
part and if successful in his efforts,
which may last for days, the spirit finally
is drawn out into his own mouth. Then
he spits it out the door and with many
gestlculations orders it not to enter the
house again.
The treatment is almost always car
ried on at night and in complete dark
ness. Minura is described as looking
like bearded warrior. For an excep-
tionally high fee the wishinu will send
him to aflict some enemy first drawing
him out Of the ray fish by blowing to-
bacco toward the river and then shoot
ing him" with a bloWgun toward the
intended victims home.
Other disease spirits, each responsible
for its own, category of malades, are
found in snakes, woodpeckerS, various
sorts OF birds. and ants. The Wishinu
has specific formulae for calling out each
of them, or for sending them against an
enemy
He also must have a good deal of
practical knowledge for not all diseases
are considered as due to spiritual in
vasion Colds, fever, dySentery are re-
garded as arising from natural causes
and are treated with specific herbs used
either internally or as poultices. The
Wisnlnu is often a skilled bone setter.
using casts of chickle, the basis of
chewing gum, after bones have been put
in place.
The medicine man. Mr. Stirling relates
has many functions quite aside from
those Of healing. Actual treatment of
the sick takes up less than half his time
He prepares love potions for enamoured
sWains. He has control over the great
host of nature spirits and is able to call
forth Piribri, the rain god. With weirc
incantations he induces Pangi, the river
god, to overturn the canoes of enemies
He also plays an important part in the
conduct of war. When a man dies in
his tribe it is believed that some enemy
has hired the services of another wishinl
to bewitch him. BY means of his magic
arts the family doctor can divine who
this enemy is, SO that grieving relatives
can go after his head. Sometimes he
even leads war parties, and is easily the
most influential man in his tribe.
The Wishinu has the grim satisfaction
OF knowing that his head would be the
most priced trophy the enemy could OBJ
tain and that in case of a raid extraordi-
nary efforts will be made to obtain it.
In the report Mr. Stirling presents
many details of the personal life, family
relations, agriculture, political organi-
zation, religion, legendry and warfare
OF the -Livarox, who, even after four
centuries OF contact with the whites
maintain their old folk ways with very
little change.
They are essentially an unconquered
people and during the present century,
when there has been no great economic
urge for subduing and civilizing them
they have been bothered little with white
contacts. Mr. Stirling is one of the few
recent explorers to have lived among