Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/664

* INDIANS. 580 INDIAN SUBREGION. const and inndc its intluence felt even among the wild tribtM of tlic L |i|>er Ainuzun and the Chaco border. In nearly all |hese nations we find a firmly established system of government, with soeial distinetions dearly defined : eareful and successful agriculture, including irrigation and the use of manures; superior pottery, with cu- rious designs found nowhere else; weaving of cot- ton and the hair of domesticated animals; bcai- tiful metal -work in gold. silvcT, ami bronze; and an architecture with such enduring monuments as the stu|K'ndous ruins of (!nin C'hinni. Paucar- tjimbo, and Tiahuan.ieo. So far as can be learned the various governments were based upon the clan system, even in Peru, where the Inca him- self was but the executive olticer of a council of the gcntes. Of the various religious systems the best known is that of the t^nichua, whose great god was the Sun. after whom came their culture hero, the white and bearded Niracwha. The dead were buried in the ground, deposited in stone sepulchres, or mummilied and preserved thus in temples and caves. Anything in the nature of a hieroglyphic system appears to have been unknown, the nearest approach having been the quipu records of the Quichua. The descendants of these cultured Andean nations still number many millions, in fact constituting the bulk of the populaticm over large areas, and although in theory accorded eial civil rights, they are yet, like aboriginal races elsewhere, in a state of prac- tical vassalage to the dominant race of the con- queror. The tribes of the Amazonian region, the Ori- noco, and the Parana, were all in various degrees of savagery, although nearly all sedentary and more or le.--s agricultural in habit. Cannibalism prevailed extensively, the word itself being de- rived from the name of the fierce C'arib tribe. The custom still exists on sonic of the southern headstrcams of the Amazon. Living mainly ' under the tropics, many tribes were entirely naked, and tattooing and body-painting, although occasionally found, were rare. Labrets were worn by a number of tribes. Scalping was un- known, but several tribes, notably the Mundu- rucrt, preserved the heads of their slain enemies. The blowgun and poisoned arrow were general throughout the Upper Amazon and Orinoco re- gions, curari poison con.stituting a chief article of intertribal trade, tiovernnieiil was of the loosest, and confederations were almost unknown. The prevailing religious form was a crude animism, apparently several degrees lower than that of the North American savages. Throughout this va.st area the tril>es which have not disappeared are stiH nearly in their primitive condition, ex- cepting where devoted missionaries have gathered Ihein into villages, ehietly in Peru. Bolivia, and Paraguay. The .Jesuit missions among the Gua- rani "are recognized as the most successful ever established in America. At one time they con- tained over 300,000 Christianized Indians, the basi.s of the modern civilized States of Paraguay and Uruguay. The tribes of the northern and central Pam- pcan region, including the Chaco and Pampas sec- tions of .Argentina, are warlike equestrian nomads and hunters, living in tents of skin, sub- sisting almost entirely upon meat, and in other respects also very similar to our own plains tribes, but superior in the possession of herds of cattle and sheep, as well as horses, and in a c-ertnin skill in iron-working. The Araueanians of .Southern Chile, an extension of one of the most importjinl Pain|)ean stocks, have success- fully maintained their independence both against the Inca einiM rors and the conquering Spaniard. The Patagonians resemble their northern neigh- bors of .rgentina, but represent a somewhat lower grade of culture. Like them, they are brave fighters and of fine physique. The natives of bleak Ticrra del Kucgn are in perhaps the lowest stage of culture found in Soutli America, occupying the merest temporary shelters, going almost naked even in coldest weather, and having no apparent tribal forms or ceremonials. On the other hand, they are skillful liunters and daring fishermen. Below is given a tentative list of the existing South -Xnicrican linguistic stocks, numlwring ap- proximately sixty so far as present very deficient knowledge jiermits a classification, Brinton being the chief authority: .UkuUifnn (Ticrra del Fuego). Andaquinn frokimhia). .•Vrauan (Hrazil). .raucaii or .uraninn f.-VrKcntina. Chile). Arawakan (Brazil. 'enezuela, etc.. an<l islands). ,tacamcflnn (Chile). .Aymaran (Peru, Bolivia). Barbac^ian (Ccdomliia). Betoyan (Colombia, Venezuela). Caniclianan (Bolivia). Carajan (Brazil). Carihnn ( Brazil. 'enezuela, Guiana, islands), Caririan (Brazil). Catamaroflan (.rKentina). Cavubaban (Bolivia). ChanRuinan (Colombia). Charriian (I'niKuay, etc.). Chibchan (Colombia. Costa Rica). Chiquitan (Bolivia). Chocoan ((Vilombia). Chonekan or Tzonecan (Patagonia), Churoyan (Colombia). Cocanuran (Colombia). Cun.an (C<tlombia). Cuahiban or (luayban (Colombia). Ouar.aunan (Venezuela). (tuaveiiran (.Argentina, etc.). Itonnman (Bolivia). Jaruran or Yaruran (^*enezuela). Jivaroan (Ecuador, etc.). Laman (Peru). Lulean (.rgentina). Mainan (Ecuador, etc.). Matacoan (.rgentina, Paraguay). Mocoan (Colombia). Mosetenan (Bolivia). Movimaii or Mobiman (Bolivia). Onan (Tierra del FueRo). Otomacan ( Venezuela^. Paniquitan (Colombia). Panoan (Peru). PayaKuan (.Argentina). Pei:)an ( Peru. Ecuador, etc.). Piaroan (Salivan?) — (C^olombia, Venesuela). Puinavian (Colombia). Puquinan (Peru). Quichuan or Kcchuan (Peru, Ecuador, etc.). Salivan ( Piaroan?)— <'enezuela). Samucuan (Bolivia). Tacanan (Bolivia), Tapuyan (Brazil, Colombia). Ticunan (Brazil). Timotean (Venezuela). Tunian (Brazil. Bolivia, etc.). Vanstanan (Tierra del Fuego). Yuncan (Peru). Yusucasan (Bolivia). Zaparoan (Ecuador). INDIAN SARSAPARIXLA, XurrwARl-RooT. The roots of Ileniidesmus Indieus, an East In- dian shrub of the natural order .'sclepiadacea', used as a substitute for sarsaparilla. INDIAN SUBREGION. A zoogeographical district of the Oriental Region, comprising India from the valley of the Indus eastward to the delta of the Brahmaputra, and southward nearly