The American Race: A Linguistic Classification and Ethnographic Description of the Native Tribes of North and South AmericaBrinton, Daniel G. (Daniel Garrison)
History
The American Race: A Linguistic Classification and Ethnographic Description of the Native Tribes of North and South America
Brinton, Daniel G. (Daniel Garrison)
Indians; Indians -- Languages
These islands in turn were peopled from the mainland to the east, as
I have already shown, their earlier population having been Arawak.
All the Island, Orinoco and Guiana Caribs can thus be traced back to
the mainland of northern Venezuela. In this vicinity was spoken the
Cumanagoto dialect, in the province of Cumana or New Andalusia. According
to the early missionaries, it was current along the coast for more than
a hundred leagues, extending into the province of Caracas and beyond.
The tribes who spoke it were the Chaymas, the Cores, the Cumanas, the
Quacas, the Parias, the Palenques, the Varrigones, and others.[375]
Other dialects to the west are the Opone and Carare, specimens of which
were obtained by Lengerke in the vicinity of Bucaramanga, province of
Santander.[376]
The sierra which divides the head-waters of the Caura from those of the
Rio Branco and other streams flowing into the Rio Negro and Amazon, are
peopled on both slopes by wandering tribes of the Carib stock. Near the
sources of the Caura, Chaffanjon found the once formidable Guaharibos,
now naked and wretched fugitives, fearing the white far more than they
are feared by him.[377] On the southern slope, along the Rio Jauapery
and neighboring streams, are bands of Crichanas, Ipurucotos (Purigotos),
Macuchis, and Jauamerys (Waimiris), all speaking nearly related dialects
of the Carib tongue. Dr. Barboza Rodrigues has given a touching picture
of their recent struggles with the whites of the adjacent settlements,
and the miserable condition to which they are reduced. We owe to the
same sympathetic naturalist an interesting description of their customs
and language.[378]
The hill tribes of French Guiana are known as Roucouyennes, from the
_roucou_, a vegetable coloring matter with which they paint their skins.
They exhale a peculiar odor like that of new leather, probably from
the action of the tannin in the roucou on the skin. Naturally they are
light in color, and at birth almost white.[379] Marriages of father and
daughter, or brother and sister, are not rare among them.[380]
A connecting link between these Caribs of Guiana and the Bakairis of
the south is supplied by the Apiacas of the Rio Tocantins, who speak a
pure dialect of the stock, midway in character between those of the two
extremes named.[381]
The Arubas, who occupied the island of that name off the coast of
Venezuela, and whose mixed descendants now speak the Papamiento jargon,
are no doubt correctly assigned to this stock by M. Pinart. They were
skillful potters, and buried their dead in large urns. The numerous
polychromatic petroglyphs they have left and their peculiar character are
especially noteworthy.[382]
Sir Robert H. Schomburgk classifies the Carib stock in Guiana as follows,
giving a short specimen of each dialect, which differ, he says, among
themselves about as much as French and Italian.[383]
CARIB SUB-STOCK IN GUIANA.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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