Pilgrimage, Book 9 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
Of CVMANA.
CVMANA is a Prouince named of a Riuer, called Cumana, aGom.c.76.where certaine Franciscans, Anno 1516, built them a Monasterie, and the Spaniards were very diligent in the fishing for Pearles. About bP.M.Dec.7. lib.4.that time three Dominicans went fourescore myles West from thence to preach the Gospell, and were eaten of the Indians, which hindered not, but others of the same Order founded them a Monasterie in Ciribici, neere Maracapana. Both these Orders tooke paines with the Indians to conuert them, and taught their children to write and reade, and to answere at Masse, and the Spaniards were so respected, that they might safely walke alone through all the Countrey: but after two yeres and a halfe, the Indians, whether for their too much imployment in the Pearle-fishing, or for other cause, rebelled, and killed a hundred Spaniards, slew the Friers, one of which was then saying Masse, and as many Indians as they found with them; which the Spaniards of Domingo soone after reuenged.
The losse cGom.c.78.of Cumana hindered their Trade for Pearles at Cubagua, and therefore the King sent Iames Castilion to subdue them by force: which he did, and began the Plantation of New Caliz, for the Spaniards to inhabite there. Cubagua was called by Columbus, the Finder, the Island of Pearles, situate in twelue degrees and a halfe of Northerly latitude, and containes twelue myles in circuit. This little Island is exceeding great in commoditie, that accreweth by those pearles, which hath amounted to diuerse millions of Gold. They fetch their Wood from Margarita, an Island foure myles to the North; and their Water from Cumana, which is two and twentie myles thence: they hauehave a Spring of medicinall Water there in the Island. The Sea there, at certaine times of the yeare, is very redde, which those Pearle-oysters by some naturall purgation are said to cause. There are Fishes, or Sea-monsters, which from the middle vpwards resemble men, with Beards, Haire, and Armes. The dCap.79.people of Cumana goe naked, couering onelyonly their shame. At Feasts and Daunces they paint themselues, or else annoint themselues with a certaine Gumme, in which they sticke feathers of many colours. They cut their haire aboue the eares, and will not suffer it to grow on any places of their bodies, esteeming a bearded man a Beast: They take great paines to make their teeth blacke, and account them women, which hauehave them white. They blacke them with the poulder of the leaues of a certaine Tree called Gay; these leaues they chew, after they are fifteene yeares olde; they mixe that poulder with another of a kinde of Wood, and with Chalke of white shells burned, in manner as the Easterne Indians vse their Betele and Arecca, with Chalke of Oysters: and this mixture they beare continually in their mouthes, still chewing it, that their teeth are as blacke as coales, and so continue to their death. They keepe it in Baskets and Boxes, and sell it in the Markets to some, which come farre for it, for Gold, Slaues, Cotton, and other Merchandise. This keepeth them from paine, and rotting of the teeth. The maids goe naked, onelyonly they binde certaine bands hard about their knees, to make their hippes and thighes seeme thicke, which they esteeme no small beautie. The married women liue honestly, or else their husbands will diuorce them. The chiefe men hauehave as many wiues as they will; and, if any stranger come to lodge in one of their houses, they make the fairest his bed-fellow, These also shut vp their daughters two yeares before they marrie them, all which time they goe not forth, nor cut their haire: After which, there is made a great Feast, and very many bidden, which bring their varietie of cheare, and also Wood to make the new Spouse a house: A man cuts off the Bridegroomes haire before, and a woman the Brides, and then eate and drinke, with much excesse, till night.
This is the lawfull wife, and the other which they marrie afterwards, obey this. They giuegive their Spouses to be defloured to their Piaces, (so they call their Priests) which these reuerend Fathers account their Preheminence and Prerogatiue; the husbands, their honor; the wiues, their warrant.
The men and women weare Collars, Bracelets, Pendants, and some Crownes of Gold and Pearles: the men weare Rings in their noses, and the women Brooches on their breasts, whereby at first sight the sexe is discerned. The women Shoot, Runne, Leape, Swimme, as well as the men: their paines of trauell are small: they tyll the Land, and looke to the house, whiles the men Hunt and Fish. They are high-minded, treacherous, and thirstie of reuenge: Their chiefe weapons are poysoned Arrowes, which they prepare with the bloud of Snakes, and other mixtures. All of both sexes, from their infancie, learne to Shoot. Their meat is whatsoeuer hath life, as Horseleaches, Battes, Grashoppers, Spiders, Bees, Lice, Wormes, raw, sodden, fried: and yet their Countrey is replenished with good Fruits, Fish, and Flesh. This Diet (or, as some say, their Water) causeth spots in their eyes, which dimme their sight. They hauehave as strange a Fence or Hedge for their Gardens and Possessions, namely, a thred of Cotton, or Bexuco, as they call it, as high as a mans Girdle; and it is accounted a great sinne to goe ouer or vnderunder the same, and he which breakes it (they certainly beleeue) shall presently die. So much safer is their thread wouen with this imagination, then all our Stone-walls.
The eP.M. Dec.8.lib.7.Cumanois are much addicted to Hunting, wherein they are very expert, and kill Lyons, Tygres, Hogges, and all other foure-footed Beasts, with Bowes, Nettes, Snares. They take one Beast, which they call Capa, that hath the soles of his feet like a French shooe, narrow behind, broad and round before. Another, called Aranata, which for the Physnomie and subtletie seemes to be a kinde of Ape: it hath mouth, hands, and feet, like a man; a goodly countenance, bearded like a Goat. They goe in Heards, they bellow loud, runne vp Trees like Cats, auoid the Huntsmans Arrow, and cast it with cleanly deliuerie againe at himselfe. Another Beast hath a long snout, and feedeth on Ants fOuied calleth it a Beare., putting his tongue into a hollow Tree, or other place, where the Ants are, and as many of them as come thereon, he lickes in. The Friers brought vp one, till the stinke thereof caused them to kill it, snouted like a Foxe, rough-haired, which voided in the excrements long and slender Serpents, which presently died. This Beast stinking while he liued, and worse now dead, yet was good foode to the Indians. They hauehave one which will counterfeit the voice of a crying child, and so cause some to come forth, and then deuoure them. The like is written of the Hyena, That she will call the Shepheards by their names, and then destroy them when they come forth.
They hauehave Parrots as bigge as Rauens, with bells like Haukes, liuing on the prey, and smelling like Muske: Great Battes, one of which was a Physician, by strange accident, to a seruant of the Friers: which being sicke of a Pleurisie, was giuen ouer for dead, because they could not raise a veine wherein to let him bloud; in the night a Batte (after the custome of that creature) bit and sucked him, whereby so much bloud issued, that the sicke man recouered; which the Friers counted for a miracle. They hauehave three sorts of Bees, one whereof is little and blacke, and makes Honey in the Trees, without Waxe. Their Spiders are greater then ours, of diuerse colours, and weaue such strong Cobwebbes, that they aske good strength to breake them. There are Salamanders as bigge as a mans hand: they cackle much like a Pullet: their biting is deadly. I might here hold you too long in viewing these strange Creatures, we will now returne to their stranger customes.
They take great pleasure in two things, Dauncing and Drinking, in which they will spend eight dayes together, especially at the Marriages, or Coronation of their Kings. Many gallants will then meete together, diuersly drest; some with Crownes & Feathers, some with shels about their legges instead of bels, to make a noise: some otherwise, all painted with 20. colours & figures: he that goes worst, seemes best: taking one another by the hand, they dance in a ring, some backwards, some forwards, with a world of varietie; grinning, singing, crying, counterfeiting the deafe, lame, blind; fishing, weauing, telling of stories; and this continueth six houres, and then they eate and drinke: before, he which danced most, now he which drinketh most, is the most complete and accomplished gallant: and now beyond counterfeiting, drunkennesse sets them together in brauing, swaggering, quarrelling: others play the swine, spew vp the former to make way for other liquor: and they adde hereunto the fume of an herbe, which hath the like drunken effect; it seemeth to be Tabacco.
This perhaps will not seeme strange to some, seeing these sauage customes of drinking, dancing, smoking, swaggering, so common with vsus in these dayes: it might indeed seeme strange to our fore-fathers, if their more ciuill, more sacred ghosts, might returne and take view of their degenerating posteritie: but now he must be a stranger in many companies, that will not estrange himselfe from eiuilitie, from humanity, from Christianity, from GOD, to become of a man a beast; of an English-man, a Sauage Indian; of a Christian, afiend, saue that he hath a bodie, in the diuersified pollutions whereof, he hath aduantage, and takes it, to out-swagger the Diuell. These are the Gull-gallants of our dayes, to whom I could wish, that either their Progenitors had beene some Cumanian Indians, or that they would leaue this vsurped gallantrie to those true owners, and resume spirits truly English.
The Gods of the Cumanians are the Sunne and Moone, which are taken for Man and Wife, and for the greatest Gods. They hauehave great feare of the Sunne when it thunders or lightens saying that he is angry with them. They fast when there is any Eclipse, especially the women: for the married women plucke their haires, and scratch their faces with their nailes: The maids thrust sharpe fish-bones into their armes, and draw bloud. When the Moone is at full, they thinke it is wounded by the Sunne, for some indignation he hath conceiued against her. When any Comet appeareth, they make a great noise with Drummes and hallowing, thinking so to scarre it away, or to consume it, beleeuing that those Comets portend some euills.
Among their many Idols and figures, which they honor as Gods, they hauehave one like a Saint Andrewes Crosse, which they thought preserued them from night-spirits; and they hanged it on their new-borne children.
They call their Priests Piaces, whose maiden-head-rite wee before mentioned. They are their Physitians and Magicians. They cure with roots and herbes, raw, sod and pounded, with the fat of birds, fishes, and beasts; with wood and other things vnknowne to the people, with abstruse and darke words which themselues vnderstand not. They sucke and licke the place where the paine is, to draw out the euill humors. And if the paine encreaseth, they say that the Patients are possessed with euill spirits: and then rubbe their bodies all-ouer with their hands, vsing certaine words of Coniuration or Charmes, sucking after that very hard; giuing them to vnderstand, that by that meanes, they call out the euill spirits. Presently they take a peece of wood, the vertue whereof none else knoweth but the Piace, & therewith rubbe their mouths and throats, so long till they cast all that is in their bellies, vomiting sometimes bloud with the force thereof; the Piace in the meane time stamping, knocking, calling, and gesturing: after two houres there comes from him a thicke flegme, and in the middest thereof a blacke hard bullet, which those of the house carry and cast into the fields, saying, Let the Diuell goe thither. If the sicke-man recouer, his goods die and become the Priests; if he die, they say his time was come. The Piace is their Oracle, with whom they consult, whether they shall hauehave warre, what shall be the issue thereof, whether the yeare will be plentifull. They fore-warne them of Eclipses, and aduertise of Comets. The Spaniards demanded in their necessitie, whether any shippes would come shortly, and they answered, that on such a day a Caruell would come with so many men, and such prouision and Merchandize, which accordingly came to passe.
They call vponupon the Diuell in this manner: the Piace entereth into a Caue, or secret place, in a darke night, and carries with him certaine couragious youthes, that may moue questions without feare. Hee sits on a bench, and they stand on their feet, hee crieth, calleth, singeth verses, soundeth shells: and they with a heauy accent say many times Prororure, Prororure: if the Diuell comes not, all this Blacke-Sanctus is renued with grieuous sighes and much perplexitie. When he commeth (which is knowne by the noise) he sounds lowder, and suddenly falls downe, by visages and varied gesture, shewing that the Diuell is entered. The one of those his associates demandeth what him pleaseth: The Friers went one day with their coniuring and coniured holies, the Crosse, Stole, Holy-water: and when the Piace was in that distraction, cast a part of the Stole on him, crossing and coniuring in Latine, and he answered them in his natiue language much to the purpose: at last they demanded whither the soules of the Indians went, he answered to hell.
These Piaces by their Physicke and Diuining grow rich: they goe to Feasts, and sit by themselues apart, and drinke themselues drunke, and say the more they drinke, the better they can diuine. They learne these Arts when they are children, and are enclosed in the woods two yeares, all that time eating nothing that hath bloud, see no women, nor their owne parents, come not out of their Caues or Cells: and the Piaces, their Masters, goe to them by night, to teach them. When this time of their solitarie discipline is past, they obtaine a testimoniall thereof, and beginne to professe in practise of Physicke and Diuination. Let vsus burie the Cumanois, and then we hauehave done.
Being dead, they sing their praises, and bury them in their houses, or drie them at the fire and hang them vp. At the yeares end (if he were a great man) they renue the lamentation, and after many other ceremonies, burne the bones, and giuegive to his best beloued wife his skull to keepe for a relique: they beleeue that the soule is immortall, but that it eateth and drinketh about in the fields where it goeth, and that it is the Eccho which answereth when one calleth.