Purchas his pilgrimage. Or Relations of the vvorld and the religions obserued in all ages and places discouered, from the Creation vnto this present In foure partes. This first containeth a theologicall and geographicall historie of Asia, Africa, and America, with the ilands adiacent. Declaring the ancient religions before the Floud ... With briefe descriptions of the countries, nations, states, discoueries, priuate and publike customes, and the most remarkable rarities of nature, or humane industrie, in the same. By Samuel Purchas, minister at Estwood in Essex.

CHAP. V.

Of the Warres, Man-eating, and other Rites of the Brasilians.

THe Brasilians exercise irreconciliable hostilitie, not to enlarge their do∣minions, but only to be reuenged for the death of their friends and an∣cestors, slaine by their enemies. The Elder men, as they sit or lie in their hanging beds, will make an Oration of the vertue of their Prede∣cessors, and of their sustained wrongs, and so excite the yonger to take armes: these Orations last sometimes six houres. Their armes are clubs or woodden swords, fiue or six foot long, and a foot broad, a finger thicke, and very sharpe. One of these men being throughly moued, would trouble two of our Fencers. Their bowes are as long as ours, the string made of the herbe Tocon, little, yet able to endure the strength of a horse: their arrowes an ell long, which they will shoot twice as fast, as our men: they haue leather shields: Their elder men lead the rankes (if they may be so called, which haue none to marshall or order them) and with great shouts, and shewing the enemies the bones of their slaine-friends, they enter into a fierce bat∣tell. Their captiues they conuey in the middest of their armie home to their territories, and thereunto the men will not sticke to giue their sisters or daughters, to performe all the duties of a wife, and feed them with the best, till they redemand the same out of their flesh: the men are employed (if it be long before the slaughter) in hunting, fow∣ling, fishing; the women in gardening, or gathering, Oisters. When that dismall day approcheth, knowledge is giuen, and the men, women, and children assemble to the place appointed, and there passe the morning in drinking; and the Captiue (although he knoweth the dreadfull issue) danceth, drinketh, and frolickes it with the best. After six or seuen houres thus spent, two or three of the strongest fasten a rope about his middle, leauing his armes at libertie, and so lead him vp and downe the Village in tri∣umph. Neither doth he for all this hang downe his head, as men fiere going to be han∣ged, but with incredible courage emblazoneth his owne worthinesse. Thus, thus, saith he, haue I sometimes bound your kindred, and thy father, saith he to one, haue I de∣uoured, and thy brethren (to another) haue I bouc••ned and eaten: and what innumera∣ble numbers of you Touou Pinambausy haue these hands taken, this throat swallowed? Neither will the Margaiates suffer this my death vnreuenged. Then they bring him stones, & bid him reuenge his death. He hurleth them at those which stand about him,

wherof there are some foure thousand, and hurteth diuers: I saw one (saith our Author) whose legge I had thought had beene broken by the violence of one of those blowes. After this comes one, which all this while had beene hidden, with the a 1.1 fatall clubbe, and, Art not thou one of the Margaiates? saith he: and hast thou not deuoured our kin∣dred? the other answereth, O how lustily I haue done it, how prompt haue I beene in taking them, how greedy in eating? And therefore, replieth the other, shalt thou be kil∣led and rosted on the Boucan. What then? saith he, my death shall not be b 1.2 vnreuenged. The club ends their dialogue, with one blow striking him dead. His wife (if he had any, as they sometimes vse to bestow on their capitues) comes to the carkasse, and spends a little time and passion in mourning, but her Crocodiles teares are soone dried, and the humor fals into her teeth, which water for the first morsell. The other women, especial∣ly the elder (which are most cruell and greedy) bring hot water and wash the body, and rub it till it looke like the skin of a Pig: then comes the Master of the feast, which owed the captiue, and cuts it out as readily, as any Butcher with vs can doe a Wether. They daub the children c 1.3 with the bloud: foure women carry about the armes and legs for a shew, with shouts and cries: The trunk is diuided into two parts, the vpper part being cut and separated from the lower: the inwards are left to the women, which seeth and make broth of them called Mingau, which they sup vp, with their children: they eat al∣so the flesh about the head. The braine, tongue, and that which within the head may serue for meat, is the childrens share. The author of the feast hath a new name added to the former (for they haue so many names as they haue slaine captiues, the chiefe of the Cottage branding him on the arme, with an honorable marke for the memory therof) and all that day he must spend in quiet. The Wayganna d 1.4 are a kinde of Brasilians, which hold confederacy with no other nation, but kil all which come to their hands, and that so cruelly, that they will cut off their armes and legs while they are aliue. These liue in the mountaines. They cut them with stones, and those which haue trade with the Chri∣stians, vse kniues. Their Boucan is a grediron of foure cratches, set in the ground, a yard high, and as much asunder, with billets laid thereon, and other stickes on them grate∣wise. On this they rost the flesh, putting fire vnder, all the people standing about the same, and euery one gets a little peece of him. But me thinkes I see horror expressed in the countenance of him that reades this, and euery one weary of viewing this tragedy, loathing this inhumane feasting with humane flesh: I will therefore leaue their sham∣bles, and (which better beseemes a Pilgrime) will visit their holies and holy places. But alas, where or what are they? Maffaeus hath already told vs, that they obserue no Gods; and Lerius confirmes the same, yet sheweth that they acknowledge a Diuell, whom they call Aygnan: not that they worship him, but are tormented by him. Euen in spea∣king of him, e 1.5 they tremble, and the remembrance breeds a compassion at amazement in the hearer, an amazed passion in the speaker, while he applauds our happinesse, free from such tyranny, deplores his owne miserie: he sometimes in the forme of a beast, sometimes in forme of a bird, and other-whiles deformed in some monstrous shape, doth grieuously torment them. Euen whiles the Christians were in conference with them, they would pitiously cry out, Hei, Hei, helpe, Aygnan vexeth me. Nor could this be counterfeit in the iudgement of any that conuersed with them. They beleeue the immortalitie of the soule, and that the soules of the vertuous, that is, (in their fense) of such as haue killed and eaten many enemies, shal fly beyond the highest mountains, and be gathered to the soules of their progenitors, and there liue in pleasant gardens, and perpetuall dancings and delicacies. The cowardly ghosts shal be carried vnto tor∣ment, by Aygnan, without end. They haue no name, whereby to signifie GOD vnto them, but wondered to heare what the French-men told of the Creator of Heauen and Earth. And because they are afraid of thunder, which they call Toupan, they told them that GOD was author thereof: the foolish Indians reply, that he was then naught which would make them afraid. But the feare of Aygnan made them sometimes flexible to embrace the Christian Religion, hearing that this Diuell was inferiour to the Christi∣ans GOD. So that euen in these, the most degenerate of all, which I haue obserued in this long and tedious Pilgrimage, there is some sparke left of Religion, euen in

the acknowledgement of a Deuill, and of eternall rewards and punishments.

This is further confirmed by that which is written of certaine Magicians or Priests amongst them: which persuade the people, that they haue dealings with spirits, that by their meanes they haue their rootes and sustenance, and may by them haue forti∣tude. I (sayth Lerius) was present at one of their Assemblies, where six hundred were gathered together, which diuided themselues into three parts; the Men went into one house, the Women into a second, the Children into a third. The Caraibes for∣bad the women and children to depart their houses, but to attend diligently to sing∣ing: and we (sayth he) were commaunded to abide with the women. Anon the men in one house fell to singing, He, He, He, answered by the women in the other with the same. They howled it out for a quarter of an houre, shaking their breasts, and fo∣ming at the mouth, and (as if they had had the falling sicknesse) some falling downe in a swoune, the Deuill (in seeming) entring into them. The children also followed in the same harsh deuotions. After this, the men sung pleasantly, which caused me to goe thither, where I found them singing and dauncing in three seuerall Rings, in the middest of each three or foure Caraibes, adorned with Hats and garments of feathers, euery one hauing a Maraca, or Rattle, in both his hands. These Rattles are made of a fruit bigger then an Ostriches egge, out of which they said, that the Spirit would speake, and they continually shooke them, for the due consecration. These Caraibes daunced to and fro, and blowed the smoake of Petum on the standers by, saying, Re∣ceiue yee all the Spirit of Fortitude, whereby yee may ouercome your enemies. This they did often: the solemnitie continued two houres, the men ignorant of Musicke, and yet rauishing my spirit with the delight I conceiued in their Song. Their wordes sounded this, that they were grieued for the losse of their progenitors, but were com∣forted in the hope, that they should one day visit them beyond the Hills; and then threatened the Ovetacates ( f 1.6 which dwell not farre from them, and at enmitie with all their neighbours, as swift as Harts, wearing their haire to the buttockes, eating raw flesh, and differing from all others in Rites and Language) and now prophesied their destruction at hand. Some what also they added in their Song of the Floud, that once had drowned all the world, but their ancestors, which escaped by climbing high trees. That day they feasted with great cheare.

This Solemnitie is celebrated euery third yeare; and then the Caraibes appoint in euery Familie three or foure Maraca, to be adorned with the best feathers, and sticked in the ground, with meat and drinke set before them; and the people beleeue they eate it. They minister vnto their. Maraca fifteene dayes; after which, in a superstiti∣ous conceit, they thinke, that a Spirit speakes to them while they rattle their Maraca. They were exceedingly offended, if any tooke away any of this Prouision, as the French sometimes did; for which, and denying other the Caraibes lyes, those Priests hated them exceedingly. Yet doe they not adore their Maraca, or any thing else.

Stadius g 1.7 tells (as you heard) that they ascribed his taking to the prediction of their Maraca. He tells of their consecration, that the h 1.8 Paygi (so hee calls them) enioyne that euery one should carrie their Tamaraka to the house, where they should receiue the facultie of speech. Euery ones rattle is pitched in the ground by the stele or stalke, and all of them offer to the Wizard which hath the chiefe place, arrowes, feathers, and eare-rings; he then breaths Petnn on euery rattle, puts it to his mouth, shakes it, and saith, Nee Kora, that is, Speake if thou be within: anon followeth a squeaking voice which I, saith Stadius thought the Wizard did, but the people ascribed it to the Ta∣maraka. Then those Wizards perswade them to make warres, saying, that those spi∣rits long to feede on the flesh of Captiues. This done, euery one takes his Rattle and builds vp a roome for it to keepe it in, where he sets victualls, requireth and asketh all necessaries thereof, as we doe of God: and these, as Stadius affirmeth, are their Gods. These Paygi doe initiate women vnto witchcraft by such ceremonies of smoke, dan∣cing, &C. till shee fall as in the falling sicknesse, and then he saith, hee will reuiue her, and make her able to foretell things to come: and therefore when they goe to the

warre they will consult with these women, which pretend conference with spirits.

Andrew Thenet i 1.9 (which was in France with Villagagnon) agreeth in many of the former reports: he addeth, that for feare of Aignan they will not goe out, but they will carrie fire with them, which they thinke is forceable against him: that the Paygi exercise poysonings, coniuration, and other things, which I know not with what au∣thoritie he auerreth against the former witnesses, whereas Thevet, sometimes taken in lying, deserueth lesse credit in the rest. When there is any tempest in the water, hee sayth they attribute it to the soules of their progenitors, and cast something into the water, to appease it.

They haue a tradition, That one, in habit like to the Christians, had long since told their progenitors of diuine matters, but to so little effect, as he forsooke them; and euer since had those bloudie Warres continued amongst them. How little the Iesuites can preuaile, in bringing the Brasilians to Christianitie, Maffaus k 1.10 hath written somewhat, and Pierre du Iarric, a Iesuite, very largely; which is not so pertinent to our present purpose.

In Marriages l 1.11 they abstaine onely from mother, sister, and daughter: they obserue no Marriage-Ceremonies, but vpon consent of her friends and her owne, take her home. It is a credit to haue many wiues, amongst whome is no Leah to enuie Rachels greater portion of loue: the husband may kill the Adulteresse; but for their vnmarri∣ed maidens they are not serupulous. Our Author, hearing a woman cry in the night, thought she had beene in some danger of deuouring by a wilde Beast, but found her husband playing the homely Midwife to her in her trauell, biting off the nauell-string, and pressing downe the nose. The father washeth and painteth him. They vse to put to their male infants little Bowes and Arrowes into the bed, and chat out their hope of the childs valour, in being auenged when he shall be a man, vpon his enemies. They name their children at aduenture, by the name of a Beast, Bird, or otherwise, as this child was called Orapacon, that is, Bow and Arrowes. The men are modest, in accom∣panying with their wiues secretly. The women haue not the ordinarie feminine sick∣nesse. Lerius thinkes, that humor was diuerted in their youth, seeing the mothers cut their daughters side downe to the thigh, at twelue yeares of age. But twice while he was there, did he see any in priuat brawling, or contention: if such happens, as they be∣gan, so they are suffered to end it: if any hurt, or kill other, he sustaineth the like in his owne person, inflicted by the kindred of the partie wronged. They haue their proper peeces of ground, which they husband with their Rootes and Mais. When they en∣tertaine a stranger, the Moussacat, or good-man, seemes to neglect him a while, and the guest sits him downe silent on the bed, the women sit by on the ground, and hold their hands before their eyes, weeping, with many prayses, that he is a good man, a valiant man, that (if he be a Christian) he hath brought them fine wares. The stranger must en∣deuour, in some measure, to imitate the like weeping gesture. The Moussacat is all this while whittling his arrow, not seeming to see his new guest, till anon he comes: And are you come, sayth he? How doe you? with many termes of his best Rhetoricke: and then askes, if he be hungrie; and if he be, sets his cheare before him on the ground: which kindnesse is repayed with Glasses, Combes, or the like. They are very kind both to their owne, and to such strangers as they are enleagued with. They would carrie burthen, or man, for the space of some myles, when they needed: their loue and hatred are in like extreames; the one to their owne, the other to their enemies. They haue Physicians, called Pages. They vse much mourning at the death of any, and making a round pit, burie him vpright therein, six houres after his death, with that wealth they had. In their Villages liue some six hundred persons: they remoue their Villages of∣ten, which yet carrie the same name. Stadius m 1.12 sayth, there are few Villages of aboue seuen houses, but those houses are a hundred and fiftie foot long, and two fathomes high, without diuision into pluralitie of Roomes; and therein liue many Families, all of one kindred.

What our Countreymen haue done on this Coast, I referre the Reader to M. Hak∣luyts Discoueries.

Notes

• a 1.1

  This Clubbe they call ••wa∣ra Pern••m, which is conse∣crated to this mischiefe by certaine cere∣monies of singing and painting.
• b 1.2

  This confi∣dence is as wel in the women as in the men.
• c 1.3

  ••o.Stad.lib.2.cap.••9.
• d 1.4

  Stad.l.2.c.3.
• e 1.5

  Ler.cap.16.
• f 1.6

  Ler.c.5.
• g 1.7

  Stad.l.2.c.23.
• h 1.8

  Le••tu•• sayth, That the Ca••••i∣bes & the Paygi are two kinds: Thevet but one: and Sta∣dius mentions no more but the Paygi.
• i 1.9

  A. Thevet Antarct.
• k 1.10

  Maff. l.15. Piecre du Iarric l.3.a.c.22. ad finem.
• l 1.11

  Ler. c.17.
• m 1.12

  Sted.l.2.c.5.