Page:A narrative of travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro.djvu/382

 342 ON THE ABORIGINES

The furniture consists principally of maqueiras, or hammocks, made of string, twisted from the fibres of the leaves of the Mauritia flexuosa : they are merely an open network of parallel threads, crossed by others at intervals of a foot ; the loops at each end have a cord passed through them, by which they are hung up. The Uaupds make great quantities of string of this and other fibres, twisting it on their breasts or thighs, with great rapidity.

They have always in their houses a large supply of earthen pots, pans, pitchers, and cooking utensils, of various sizes, which they make of clay from the river and brooks, mixed with the ashes of the caripe bark, and baked in a temporary furnace. They have also great quantities of small saucer- shaped baskets, called "Balaios," which are much esteemed down the river, and are the subject of a considerable trade.

Two tribes in the lower part of the river, the Tarianos and Tucdnos, make a curious little stool, cut from a solid block of wood, and neatly painted and varnished ; these, which take many days to finish, are sold for about a pennyworth of fish-hooks.

Their canoes are all made out of a single tree, hollowed and forced open by the cross-benches ; they are very thick in the middle, to resist the wear and tear they are exposed to among the rocks and rapids ; they are often forty feet long, but smaller ones are generally preferred. The paddles are about three feet long, with an oval blade, and are each cut out of one piece of wood.

These people are as free from the encumbrances of dress as it is possible to conceive. The men wear only a small piece of tururi passed between the legs, and twisted on to a string round the lions. Even such a costume as this is dispensed with by the women : they have no dress or covering whatever, but are entirely naked. This is the universal custom among the Uaupes Indians, from which, in a state of nature, they never depart. Paint, with these people, seems to be looked upon as a sufficient clothing ; they are never without it on some part of their bodies, but it is at their festivals that they exhibit all their art in thus decorating their persons : the colours they use are red, yellow, and black, and they dispose them generally in regular patterns, similar to those with which they ornament their stools, their canoes, and other articles of furniture.