The Naturalist on the River Amazons

The Munduructis are perhaps the most numerous and formidable tribe of Indians now surviving in the Amazons region. They inhabit the shores of the Tapajos (chiefly the right bank), from 3° to 7° south latitude, and the interior of the country between that part of the river and the Madeira. On the Tapajos alone they can muster, I was told, 2,000 fighting men; the total population of the tribe may be about 20,000. ‘They were not heard of until about ninety years ago, when they made war on the Portuguese settlements; their hosts crossing the interior of the country eastward of the Tapajos, and attacking the establishments of the whites in the province of Maranham. The Portuguese made peace with them in the beginning of the present century, the event being brought about by the common cause of quarrel entertained by the two peoples against the hated Muras. They have ever since been firm friends of the whites. It is remarkable how faithfully this friendly feeling has been handed down amongst the Mundurucus, and spread to the remotest of the scattered hordes. Wherever a white man meets a family, or even an individual of the tribe, he is almost sure to be reminded of this alliance. They are the most warlike of the Brazilian tribes, and are considered also the most settled and industrious; they are not, however, superior in this latter respect to the Juris and Passés on the Upper Amazons, or the Uapés Indians near the head waters of the Rio Negro. They make very large plantations of mandioca, and sell the surplus produce, which amounts on the Tapajos to from 3,000 to 5,000 baskets (60 Ib. each) annually, to traders who ascend the river from Santarem between the months of August and January. They also gather large quantities of salsaparilla, india-rubber and Tonka beans, in the forests. The traders, on their arrival at the

Campinas (the scantily-wooded region inhabited by the main body of Munduructs beyond the cataracts) have first to distribute their wares-cheap cotton cloths, iron hatchets, cutlery, small wares, and cashaga-amongst the minor chiefs, and then wait three or four months for repayment in produce. A rapid change is taking place in the habits of these Indians through frequent intercourse with the whites, and those who dwell on the banks of the Tapajos now seldom tattoo their children. The principal Tushatia of the whole tribe or nation, named Joaquim, was rewarded with a commission in the Brazilian army, in acknowledgment of the assistance he gave to the legal authorities during the rebellion of 1835-6. It would be a misnomer to call the Munduructs of the Cupari and many parts of the Tapajos, savages; their regular mode of life, agricultural habits, loyalty to their chiefs, fidelity to treaties, and gentleness of demeanour, give them a right to a better title. Yet they show no aptitude for civilised life of towns, and like the rest of the Brazilian tribes, seem incapable of any further advance in culture. In their former wars they exterminated two of the neighbouring peoples, the Jumas and the Jacarés; and make now an annual expedition against the Pardraudtes, and one or two other similar wild tribes who inhabit the interior of the land, but are sometimes driven by hunger towards the banks of the great rivers to rob the plantations of the agricultural Indians. ‘These campaigns begin in July, and last throughout the dry months; the women generally accompanying the warriors to carry their arrows and javelins. ‘They had the diabolical custom, in former days, of cutting off the heads of their slain enemies, and preserving them as trophies around their houses. I believe this, together with other savage practices, has been relinquished in those parts where they have had long intercourse with the Brazilians, for I could neither see nor hear anything of these preserved heads. They used to sever the head with knives made of broad bamboo, and then, after taking out the brain and fleshy parts, soak it in bitter vegetable cil (andiroba), and expose it for several days over the smoke of a fire or in the sun. In the tract of country between the Tapajos and the Madeira, a deadly war has been for many years carried on between the Munduructs and the Ardras. I was told by a Frenchman at Santarem, who had visited that part, that all the settlements there have a military organisation. A separate shed is built outside each village, where the fighting men sleep at night, sentinels being stationed to give the alarm with blasts of the Turé on the approach of the Ardras, who choose the night for their onslaughts.

Each horde of Mundurucus has its pajé or medicine man, who is the priest and doctor; fixes upon the time most propitious for attacking the enemy; exorcises evil spirits, and professes to cure the sick. All illness whose origin is not very apparent is supposed to be caused by a worm in the part affected. This the pajé pretends to extract; he blows on the seat of pain the smoke from a large cigar, made with an air of great mystery by rolling tobacco in folds of Tauari, and then sucks the place, drawing from his mouth, when he has finished, what he pretends to be the worm. It is a piece of very clumsy conjuring. One of these pajés was sent for by a woman in Joad Aracuw’s family, to operate on a child

who suffered much from pains in the head. Senhor Joaé contrived to get possession of the supposed worm after the trick was performed in our presence, and it turned out to be a long white air-root of some plant. The pajé was with difficulty persuaded to operate whilst Senhor Joaé and I were present. I cannot help thinking that he, as well as all others of the same profession, are conscious impostors, handing down the shallow secret of their divinations and tricks from generation to generation. The institution seems to be common to all tribes of Indians, and to be held to more tenaciously than any other.

The opposite (western) shore of the Tapajos for some distance beyond the falls, and the country thence to the channels behind Villa Nova, are inhabited by the Mauhés tribe, of whom I have spoken in a former chapter. These are also a settled, agricultural people, but speak a totally different language from that of the Munduructs. I saw at Aveyros several men of this fine tribe, who were descending the river in a trading canoe, and who, on being confronted with a Mundurucut, were quite unable to understand him. ‘There are many other points of difference between the two tribes. The Mauhés are much less warlike, and do not practise tattooing. Their villages are composed of a number of small huts, tenanted by single families, whilst the separate hordes of Munduructss generally live together, each in one large dwelling. The Cupari horde do not form an exception in this respect, as they also lived together in one of these large huts until very recently. The Mauhés are undistinguishable in physical appearance from their neighbours, being of middle size, with broad, muscular chests, and well-shaped limbs and hands. But the individuals of both tribes can be readily distinguished from the Muiras; less, however, by the structure and proportions of the body than by the expression of their countenances, which is mild and open instead of brutal, surly and mistrustful, as in those savages. They are invariably friendly to the whites; as I have already mentioned, they use the Parica snuff, a habit quite unknown to the Munduructis. They are the only tribe who manufacture Guarana, a hard substance made of the pounded seeds of a climbing plant (Paullinia sorbilis), which they sell in large quantities to traders, it being used throughout the whole of the interior provinces of Brazil, grated and mixed in water, as a remedy in diarrhcea and intermittent fevers. The Munduructis have a tradition that they and the Mauhés originally formed one tribe; the two peoples were formerly bitter enemies, but are now, and have been for many years, at peace with each other. Many centuries must have elapsed since the date of their first separation, to have produced the great differences now existing in language and customs between the two tribes. I fancy the so-called tradition is only a myth, but it doubtless conveys the truth. The points of resemblance between all the tribes inhabiting the region of the Amazons are so numerous and striking, that, notwithstanding the equally striking points of difference which some of them exhibit, we must conclude that not only the Munduructis and Mauhés, but all the various peoples had a common origin—that is, they are derived by immigration from one quarter and one stock, the separate tribes subsequently acquiring their peculiarities by long isolation.

I bought of the Tushatia two beautiful feather sceptres, with their bamboo cases. These are of cylindrical shape, about three feet in length and three inches in diameter, and are made by gluing with wax the fine white and yellow feathers from the breast of the toucan on stout rods, the tops being ornamented with long plumes from the tails of parrots, trogons, and other birds. The Munduructs are considered to be the most expert workers in feathers of all the South American tribes. It is very difficult, however, to get them to part with the articles, as they seem to have a sort of superstitious regard for them. They manufacture head-dresses, sashes, and tunics, besides sceptres; the feathers being assorted with a good eye to the proper contrast of colours, and the quills worked into strong cotton webs, woven with knitting sticks in the required shape. The dresses are worn only during their festivals, which are celebrated, not at stated times, but whenever the Tushatia thinks fit. Dancing, singing, sports, and drinking, appear to be the sole objects of these occasional holidays. When a day is fixed upon, the women prepare a great quantity of taroba, and the monotonous jingle is kept up, with little intermission, night and day, until the stimulating beverage is finished. We left the Tushatia’s house early the next morning. The impression made upon me by the glimpse of Indian life in its natural state obtained here, and at another cluster of houses visited higher up, was a pleasant one, notwithstanding the disagreeable incident of the Pardrauate visit. The Indians are here seen to the best advantage; having relinquished many of their most barbarous practices, without being corrupted by too close contact with the inferior whites and half-breeds of the civilised settlements. The manners are simpler, the demeanour more gentle, cheerful, and frank, than amongst the Indians who live near the towns. I could not help contrasting their well-fed condition, and the signs of orderly, industrious habits, with the poverty and laziness of the semi-cilivised people of Altar do Chad. I do not think that the introduction of liquors has been the cause of much harm to the Brazilian Indian. He has his drinking bout now and then, like the common working people of other countries. It was his habit in his original state, before Europeans visited his country; but he is always ashamed of it afterwards, and remains sober during the pretty long intervals. The harsh, slave-driving practices of the Portuguese and their descendants have been the greatest curses to the Indians; the Munduructis of the Cupari, however, have been now for many years protected against ill-treatment. This is one of the good services rendered by the missionaries, who take care that the Brazilian law in favour of the aborigines shall be respected by the brutal and unprincipled traders who go amongst them. I think no Indians could be in a happier position than these simple, peaceful, and friendly people on the banks of the Cupari. The members of each family live together, and seem to be much attached to each other; and the authority of the chief is exercised in the mildest manner. Perpetual summer reigns around them; the land is of the highest fertility, and a moderate amount of light work produces them all the necessaries of their simple life. It is difficult to get at their notions on subjects that require a little abstract thought; but the mind of the Indian is in a very