Arawak people

“ The Arawak linguistic family, as constituted by L. Adam, at first by the name of Maypure, has been called by Von den Steinen “Nu-Arawak,” from the prenominal prefix “nu” for the first person, common to all the Arawak tribes, scattered from the coast of Dutch Guiana and British Guiana to the upper basins of the Amazon and Orinoco. The principal tribes are: the Aturai and the Vapisiana of British Guiana; the Maypures and the Banivas of Venezuela; the Manaos and the Aruacos of the Rio Negro; the Yumanas and the Passehs of the left bank of the Solimães; the Marauas more to the south ”

“ Wherever they went, they destroyed the men, but spared the women; and they placed the heads of their enemies in rocky caves that they might show their sons and their sons' sons these symbols of the valour of their fathers. According to some tales all brave Caribs at death enter a paradise where they forever wage successful war against the Arawak, while cowards are condemned in the future world to be enslaved to Arawak masters. ”

“ There are great numbers of Sarāwak people at Sadong, all looking out for birdsʼ-nests; new caves have been explored; mountains ascended for the first time in the search. It shows the progress of good government and security, and, at the same time, is characteristic of the Malay character. ”

“ Certain objects have two names; one of which is applied by males, the other by females only. Raymond says that the latter terms are Arawak, and that the Arawaks were the older inhabitants of the islands, the men whereof were exterminated and the women adopted as wives. No explanation is more probable than this, and it is applicable in other parts of the world besides America. [164]
That many of the Carib tribes are flat-headed, and that they are also cannibals, is well known. A nation of women, however, forming a section of their population, has yet to be discovered. ”

“ Another most shameful mode of exaction and tyranny is practiced by these Borneo people, particularly their Nakodas. It consists in lending small sums of money to the natives (that is, Sarāwak people) , and demanding interest at the rate of fifty per cent per month; by this means a small sum is quickly converted into one [176] which is quite out of the power of the poor man to pay; and he, his wife, and children, are taken to the house of the creditor to work for him, while the debt still accumulates, and the labor is endless. ”

“ But whether a Vagrarian, Vice, or some other Elemental, I cannot possibly say.
I have stated that I am doubtful as to whether totemism exists in Arawak. The truth is, with regard to this question, I am in receipt of somewhat conflicting testimony. Some say that the natives have as their god a deity in the form of a jaguar, to whom they pray for vengeance on their foes and for the property of lycanthropy; which property (vide the case of the Kandhs) would give them the additional pleasure of executing vengeance in their own person. ”

“ However, in 1738, Governor Trelawny made a treaty with them, assigning them certain lands to live in.
If I have depicted the mildness of character of the extinct Arawak, I will here mention what Bryan Edwards says of the West African black:—
“The distinguishing features of the Gold Coast negroes are firmness of mind and body, ferocious dispositions, but, withal, activity, courage, and stubbornness, which prompt them to enterprises of [164] difficulty and danger, enabling them to meet death, in its most horrible shape, with fortitude or indifference.” ”

“ Now the sitting posture is common to [263] the Peruvians, the Oregon Indians, and numerous tribes of Brazil; indeed, Morton considers it to be one of the most remarkable characteristics of the Red Man of America in general.
The Arawak custom is peculiar. When a man of note dies his relations plant a field of cassava; just as the Nicobar Islanders plant a cocoa-nut tree. Then they lament loudly. But when twelve moons are over, and the cassava is ripe, they re-assemble, feast, dance, and lash each other cruelly, and severely with whips. ”

“ From the tribes of this region come various other myths, belonging, apparently, to the cosmogonic and demiurgic cycles. The Arawak tell of two destructions of the earth, once by flame and once by fire, each because men disobeyed the will of the Dweller-on-High, Aiomun Kondi; and they also have a Noachian hero, Marérewána, who saved himself and his family during the deluge by tying his canoe with a rope of great length to a large tree. Another Arawak tale begins with the incident which opens the story of Maconaura. The Sun built a dam to retain the fish in a certain place ”

“ Sir Everard im Thurn described the Arawaks, of whom there are many families, as one of the most advanced groups in British Guiana, whence they extend into Venezuela. They build the cleanest and best houses, sometimes square and sometimes round, especially on the savannahs. Their standard of morality is high, and their religious belief, where untouched by those of the colonists, is a pure animism. ”

“ This is the real home of the natives, and for ages has formed the chief settlement of the Arawa tribe. Nothing could possibly be more grotesque than to see groups of the native women—from the wrinkled old grandams to the girls of a dozen years—bathing at all hours in the warm, steaming pools without any apparent thought of undue exposure. It is their daily, almost hourly resort. ”

“ Pain and sickness are the invisible shafts he shoots at men, yauhahu simaira the arrows of Yauhahu, and he it is whom the priests invoke in their incantations. Once upon a time, men lived without any means to propitiate this unseen divinity; they knew not how to ward off his anger or conciliate him. At that time the Arawacks did not live in Guiana, but in an island to the north. One day a man named Arawanili walked by the waters grieving over the ignorance and suffering of his nation. Suddenly the spirit of the waters, the woman Orehu, rose from the waves and addressed him. ”

“ Differing greatly from the Caribs, the Arawaks, who live in the neighbourhood of the British settlements, have ever been noted for their mild and peaceable disposition. But still they have been compelled to fight for their independence, and use bows and arrows and clubs—the latter formidable weapon being similar to that of the Caribs. More family affection than other tribes usually exhibit exists among them. Husbands and wives appear faithful and attached, and live happily together. The boys are early trained to fish and paddle their canoes ”

“ On the mainland the Arawaks lived in small communities, only electing a war-chief as occasion required—in Haïti the Cacique seems to have been leader and ruler as well. And here we must mention the most striking characteristic of the American Indian—his utter abhorrence of anything like coercion. Even in childhood his parents let him do as he pleases, never attempting to govern him in any way. It followed therefore that neither war-captain nor Cacique had any real power to compel them to a course they disliked, and that discipline was entirely wanting. ”

“ The Arawak stock of languages is the most widely disseminated of any in South America. It begins at the south with the Guanas, on the head-waters of the river Paraguay, and with the Baures and Moxos on the highlands of southern Bolivia, and thence extends almost in continuity to the Goajiros peninsula, the most northern land of the continent. ”

“ They enjoy a rather high degree of culture, being celebrated for the manufacture of cassava graters, for the hunting dogs which they breed and train, and for the fine pottery they manufacture. Both Schomburgk and Im Thurn regard them as an independent stock; but from a comparison of the fifteen nouns given by the former in their language, [366] I infer that they are an Arawak tribe, speaking a dialect mixed with some Carib and Tupi words, and with frequent vowel elision. ”

“ Naturally these persons, who had so inhumanly treated the poor Arawaks—and they seem to have been a mild and gentle type of savage, very different from the Caribs, who were cannibals, and who confined their attentions to the eastern islands of the Caribbean Sea—could not be expected to treat the African with greater consideration. ”

“ The civilization of the Araucanians, both past and present, is among the most interesting of the social developments of American origin, and is, perhaps, the one which has survived in truest individuality. Little record is found of individuals; but two historical facts may be cited concerning the women of the great Indian race of the south facts illustrative of the spirit which was inculcated into females as well as males and born of the indomitable love of liberty which was the fundamental characteristic of the Araucanians. ”

“ The dances over, Nimok pronounced an oration: he dwelt on the advantages of union; how desirous he was to benefit his tribe; how constantly it was his custom to visit Sarāwak in order to watch over the interests of the tribe—the trouble was his, the advantage theirs; but how, without union, could they hope to gain any advantage—whether the return of their remaining captive women, or any other? He proposed this union; and that, after the padi was ripe, they should all live at Ra-at, where, as a body, they were always ready to obey the commands of the Tuan Besar or the Datu. ”

“ The Araucanians inhabit the southern part of Chili, and derive their name from the province of Arauco. They are a nation enthusiastically attached to freedom, and pride themselves in the appellation of Auca, which signifies free. They are muscular, robust, of great strength of constitution, and often attain the age of 90 or 100 years. They are bold and warlike, and have ever been most determined foes to all the Spanish invaders of their native country ”

“ Of the two powerful races from the south, the first comers were doubtless the Taïno [7] (as the Antillean Arawak are named) , whom the Spaniards found in possession of most of Cuba and of the other greater islands, Porto Rico alone showing a strong Carib element along with the Arawak. ”

“ Among the tribes of North America their nearest peers would probably be found among the Navajos; but the Araucanians were in many respects far superior to their brothers of the northern plains. They were, above all, warriors, and for long they successfully resisted the Spanish invasion. They were a free, restless, brave, and highly independent people, and far better fitted for survival than their more highly cultured neighbors, and this they have proved by resistance to the ill effects of eastern civilization and a persistence unto this day. ”

“ Arachi explained at length why Abdul Hazim should not cut his throat.
"If you say this Angola man is near by, why should I not take him without payment?" asked the slaver.
"Because," said Arachi, "this foreigner is not the only man in the country, and because I have great influence with Sandi, and am beloved by all manner of people who trust me. I may bring many other men to your lordship."
Arachi returned to the camp, towing a small canoe with which the slaver had provided him. ”

“ Now, poor Arawa, you will find out to your cost how Hongi is coming to Mokoia!
One morning, as the Arawa were preparing for their usual daily amusement, they saw, to their horror and consternation, the advancing fleet of their bloodthirsty enemies. The time for jeering and laughter had passed, some tried to escape and a few succeeded, the others stood and fought the hopeless fight of spears and stones versus muskets. The canoes drew near the island and Hongi opening fire on the hapless defenders, shot them down in heaps, then, landing, killed or enslaved all that remained of the Arawa tribe. ”

“ The inhabitants were all considered the property of the sultan—serfs rather than slaves—and were divided into four classes. Imprimis, the Dyaks (the aborigines) ; the Bruni, or people of the soil, probably the descendants of the first Malay emigrants; the Awang-Awang, the meaning of which I am ignorant of; and the Hamba Rajah, or rajahʼs slaves. There is every reason to believe the Dyaks are an aboriginal people; but between the Bruni and Awang-Awang it is difficult to decide the priority. The Hamba Rajah speaks for itself. ”

“ The Araucanians have no places of worship, no idols, no religious rites. They believe that as their God and his genii need not the worship of men, they do not require it; that they are not desirous of imposing a tribute or exacting a service, except for the good or interest of their servants; and that they thus resemble the Toquis and Ulmenes, who can call upon them to fight for their country and their liberties, but for no personal offices. They, nevertheless, invoke the aid of the good Meulen, and attribute all their evils to the influence of the wicked Wencuba. ”

“ In the second wave series we find the Apayo, the western division at least of the people known as Kalinga, the Tinguian, and Ilocano.2 In none of these groups do we find the institutions just mentioned. Trial unions are unknown, and marriage restrictions are based solely on blood relationship; government is through the headman aided by the elders of his village, or is a pure democracy. Considerable variation exists between the dwellings of these four peoples, yet they conform to a general type which is radically different from that of the Igorot. ”

“ They wove cotton into garments, and were skilful in polishing stone. They hammered the native gold into ornaments, carved curious masks of wood, blocked rude idols out of large stones, and hollowed the trunks of trees to construct what they called canoes.
Such is approximately the culture of the existing tribes of the stock. The Arawaks of Guiana also raise cassava and maize, though they depend largely on hunting and fishing. Like the northern tribes, they have well-developed gentile or totemic systems, with descent in the female line. ”