Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/388

 5 6 Journal of A merican Folk-Lore.

Auca linguistic labors of the distinguished French philologist. — To the "Afiales," Tomas Guevara is contributing a series of articles on the " Historia de la Civilizacion de Araucania," which are of considerable value and interest. The articles which have already appeared (from November 1898 to June 1899) occupy vol. ci. (1898) pp. 615-653, 865-908; vol. cii.-ciii. (1899), pp. 279-317, 499-560, 691-698, 753-782, 1025-1040, and treat of geography, — a long list of place-names, with their signification, is given at pp. 875-908, be- sides many native names of trees (pp. 868-872), — archaeology and physical anthropology (pp. 279-317), language and literature (pp. 499-543), ethnology (pp. 544-560), political and social organization (pp. 691-698, 753-782), mythology and religion (pp. 1025-1040). An excellent map of the Araucanian region and many engravings accompany the essay. Besides the list of geographical names, there are given a sketch of Araucanian phonology and morphology, based on missionary data, with some references to Dr. Lenz's studies, from which the author also transcribes (p. 517) a Pehuenche story; several specimens of Araucanian in prose and verse, with trans- lations (pp. 522-536) ; a list of words of Araucanian origin in mere or less use among the population of Spanish stock (pp. 538-543), — in this respect the Araucanian is in northern Chile a more important element in Castilian speech than the Ouechua ; a list of relationship- terms, male and female (pp. 771-775), forms of address, etc. The Araucanians, besides erotic poetry, war-songs, satires, funeral songs and verse of the common sort, possess innumerable brief ballads of a historical nature, inspired by the lives of famous caciques, like Lorenzo Colipi, Mariluan, Manil and Quilipan, Namincura, etc. Following is the translation of one of these ballads telling how a cacique made war on Colipi, boasting that he would marry his favor- ite wife : —

1. I am going to kill Colipi, you said, to take away from him his property, and his

best wife.

2. Why do you sleep all the time ?

You were going to marry the wife of Colipi.

3. The sun is high. Why do you not wake ?

4. Your red hair is scattered on the ground.

5. The couch of the woman is very soft. Why do you not wake ?

The irony at the expense of the chief, who fell in battle, is very noticeable here. Among the chief figures in the mythology of the Araucanians, according to the old chroniclers, are Pillan (the god of thunder) and his malign imps the Huccuvus ; a maleficent deity called Epunamuiiy a sort of goblin, apparently ; Cherruve, a deity of

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