pigafetta’s voyage round the world.

343

hufband ; but flie did not come towards us. This being finilhed, the two old womenundrefs themfelves, eat what had been brought in the two firft plates, and then invitethe women, but not the men, to partake with them. The hog is then feared. Neveris this animal eaten before it has undergone a fimilar purification, and none but oldwomen officiate on the occafion.

At the death of one of their chiefs the ceremonies practifed are, likewife, very lingu-lar, as I have myfelf witneffed. The mod diftinguilhed women in the country repairedto the houfe of the defumft, in the middle of which the corpfe was placed in a cafe,found which a barrier of cords was made. To thefe cords branches of trees were faft-e ned; and between thefe branches hangings of cotton were fufpended fo as to formalcoves. Beneath thefe alcoves the women alluded to feated themfelves, covered witha white cloth. Each woman was attended by a fervant who cooled her with a fan ofpalm. The other women with mournful countenances were feated round the chamber.One among them had a knife with which the gradually cut off the hair of the dead.Another, who had been the principal wife of the decafed, (for though a man may haveas many wives as he pleafes, there is but one miftrefs,) ftretchcd herfelf in fuch manner°n the corpfe that her mouth, hands, and feet were oppofed to thofp of the dead.While the one was cutting off his hair, the other was crying; and ffie began to fing asfoon as the work was completed. All round the chamber vafes of porcelaine were^placed containing fire, into which at intervals myrrh, ftorax, and gum benjamin werec aft, which diffufed a mod pleafing fragrance. Thefe ceremonies continue five or fixdays, during which the corpfe remains in the houfe; I believe the precaution is ufed ofembalming it with camphor to prevent putrefadfion. At length the body is fafteneddown with wooden pins and interred in the cemetery, which is an enclosure covered"dth canopies.

We were affured that every night a black bird, the fize of a crow, came at midnightmtd perched on the houfes, arid by its fcreams frightened the dogs, who never ceafedbarking till break of day. We never were able to learn the caufe of this Angular phe-nomenon of which we were all of us witneffes.

1 fhall mention another of their ftrange cuftoms. I have already faid that thefeIndians go naked, or with only a piece of cloth of the palm to cover their privities.All the men, young as well as old, have a fort of fibula confiding of a bar of gold or tinthe fize of a goofe quill, which traverfes the prepuce from one fide to the other overhe glans, leaving an opening in the middle for the paffage of the urine ; this bar, at thetvv ° ends, is faftened by means of heads fimilar to thofe of our large nails; thefe evenare oftentimes jagged with points fo as to reprefent a ftar.

d hey informed me that this extraordinary ornament is never removed, not even in the. °f coition ; that it was their wives who invented and infilled on this ufage ; and thatWas they themfelves who prepared their children for its affixture from their earlymancy * ; what, however, is certain, notwithftanding this ftrange invention, all the

' v °men gave us a preference to their hulbands f.

Pro-

* T

hann n -i C trar, ^ at, ' on into modern Italian of the Extrait de Pigafetta, is read : Grandi e piccoli?Ve ,° " membro bucato da una parte all’ altra appreffo il capo, e in quel buco hanno meffo come unab r „ letta d’orogroffa come una penna d’oca : i altri mettono come una ttella acuta fopra la tefta dehmem-10 P«r d’oro.

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Pafiat ~'l decenc y’ s lake text ' 8 muc h abridged: the original runs thus. Grandnet piccoli hannoco mo 0 ' ^ uo mt tubro circa de la ttfta de luna parte a laltra con uno few de oro bovero de ftanio grofloli can' 1 '? 3 P enna °-ha, e in uno capo et laltro del medelimo fero alguni como una ftella con ponte fourap erc L' a trl como una tefta di chiodo da euro afiaiffime volte lo void vedere da molt! eofi vequi como joveni’e non Io poteva credere nel mezo del fero e un buto per il quale urinano il fero e le ftelle fempre Hanno

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