Pilgrimage, Book 9 · Chapter 4
CHAP. IIII.
Of Brasil.
AS Guiana is bounded with those mightie Riuers of Orenoque and Marannon, so Brasil extendeth it selfe North and South, betweene Marannon & the riuer of Plata or Siluer, which three we hauehave already shewed to be the greatest Riuers in the World. The Westerne Borders are not so well discouered. The Easterne are washed by the Sea. Maffaus aP. Maffaeus hist. Ind. lib.2.P. Bert.Geograp. Mag. Geog. G. Ens hist. Ind. accident. P. carric.lib.3.cap.22 & d. Bot.part.1.lib.6.hath largely described the same, whose words Bertius, Maginus, and Gasper Ens hauehave transcribed: the summe whereof Iarric and Boterus hauehave inserted into their French and Italian Relations.
Petrus Alnarus Capralis, being sent by Emanuel, King of Portugal, in the yeare 1500. vntounto the East Indies, to auoid the calmes on the Guinnee shore, fetched a further compasse West, and so discouered the Continent, which now of that red wood there plentifully growing, is called Brasil, but by him was named the Land of the Holy Crosse, because he had there erected a Crosse with much ceremony. This Brasil was soone after by Americus Vesputius, at the charges of the said King, further discouered. The Region is pleasant and holesome, the hills and valleyes equally agreeing in their vnequalnesse, the soile fat and fertile: there are plentie of Sugar-canes; a kind of Balme expressed out of the herbe Copaibas, and many fruits which the Countrey naturally produceth; besides those which our Europe hath communicated. Many sorts there are of beasts, as a kinde of Swine bWhich feeds on grasse, sleeps in the water. Boterus.which liue in both Elements, their forefeet, being short in proportion to the hinder, make them slow in running, and therefore being hunted, commit themselues quickly to the water. Anta, resembling a Mule, but somewhat lesse; slender snouted, the nether chappe very long, like a Trumpet, with round eares and short tailes, hiding themselues in the day-time, cThe Spaniards call it (of the contrary) the ligh… dog. The Portugals Sloth. The Indians, Hay. Some hauehave written that it liues of aire; and seldome or neuer hath it beene seene eating.and feeding in the night, the flesh tasteth like Beefe: there is also the Armadillo; the Tygre, which being hungry, is very hurtfull; being full, will flee from a dogge: there is a deformed beast of such slow pace, that in fifteene dayes it will scarse goe a stones cast. It liueth on the leaues of trees, on which it is two dayes in climing, and as many in descending, neither shouts nor blowes forcing her to amend her pace. The Tamendoas are as big as a Ram, with long & sharp snouts, a taile like a Squirrell, where-vnderunder they hide themselues, wil put out their tongue two foot, to gather plenty of Ants into their mouthes, hauing scraped vp the places where they keepe with their pawes. The Portugals hauehave there raised plenty of horses and sheepe. The men worship no God at all, but are giuen to sooth-sayings. The men and women goe altogether naked, are flat-nosed, make themselues blacke with the fruit Genipapi, weare their haire hanging from the hinder part of the head, not suffering it elsewhere to grow: in their nether lips weare long stones for a gallantrie (which being remoued, they seeme in deformed manner to hauehave a double mouth) they goe together by companies with great silence, the wife going before her husband. They entertaine and welcome strangers at first with weeping and deepe sighes, pitying their tedious iourney, and presently dry their eyes, hauing teares at command. Women in trauell are deliuered without great difficultie, and presently goe about their houshold businesse, the husband in her stead keepeth his bed, is visited of the neighbours, hath his broths made him, and iunkets sent to comfort him. They are ignorant of dThey know no numbers further then fiue, the rest they supply as they can with their toes and fingers: and if the things numbred exceed, they number by the toes and fingers of many persons assembled together. Stad. lib.2.c.29.numbering and letters: some Tradition they are said to hauehave touching Nae and the Floud. VnderUnder the same roofe (which is like a boat with the keele vpwards) liue many families, they lie in nets or beddes hanging aboue the ground (which is vsuall in a great part of the Indies) to auoid hurtfull creatures: they minde the day, and are not carefull for the morrow, easily communicate what they hauehave, are very patient of labour and hunger, feasting if they hauehave wherewith, from morning till night, and fasting other-whiles, when they want, three dayes together. In swimming they are miraculously skilfull, and will diue whole houres to search any thing vnderunder the water. They beleeue not any reward or punishment after this life ended, but thinke that as men die, so they goe to the other world, maimed, wounded, sicke or whole: and therefore, bury the bodies with a net to lie in, and food for some dayes, thinking that they both sleepe and eat. They are excellent archers, and what enemies they take in their wars, they feed well many dayes, and then kill and eat them for great dainties. They dwell in houses scattered and separated from each other; their language is almost generally the same; they hauehave no lawes nor Magistrates; the women call certaine things by one name, and the men by another. They hauehave no vse of three letters eIt seemes otherwise by Lerius his dialogue of that language.c.20.in the Alphabet, L, F, R, a reason whereof some hauehave wittily giuen, because they hauehave no Law, Faith, nor Ruler. They are vnmindfull of good tarnes, and too mindfull of iniuries: impotent of lust and rage, and in summe, more like beastes then men. Thus farre Maffaeus.
Let vsus in the next place heare such as hauehave liued in the Countrey: of which Lerius and Theuet, two French-men, and Ioannes Stadius a German, hauehave written seuerall Treatises.
Ioannes Stadius fIo.Stad. Hessi cum picturis. a…. T.de Bry in 3. parte Americae.in the yeare 1554. was prisoner to the Tuppin Imbas, and because he serued the Portugals, should hauehave beene slaine and deuoured. But by GODS merciemercy he escaped. He was the Gunner in the Fort of Saint Vincent, and going into the wood to prouide somewhat wherewith to entertaine some friends then come to him, became himselfe a prey to those men-hunters. When they had taken him, they contended which of them had beene the first taker, and that controuersie ended, he was stripped naked and led away. He was giuen to one of their Kings, and this victorie by them was ascribed to their Tamaraka, or Idols, which they said had by Oracle prophecied thereof. But their Kings were no other then the chiefe in eueryevery cottage, which consisted of one kindred, and these Tamaraka were certaine rattles, as shall after appeare. The manner is, that it gets them a great name, to exhibit this feast of a slaine captiue, and therefore some that hauehave taken, will credit some other friend with the gift of a captiue to this solemne butchery, on condition to repay him the next captiue he taketh. This was Stadius his case, who was thus tossed by exchange from one to another, till at last he escaped altogether. But when he had been newly taken, the women came about him, and one while buffeted him, one saying, this is for such a friend of mine, that the Peros or Portugals had slaine; another fixing on his flesh the memoriall of another friend of hers, and then lead him with a rope about his necke, almost strangling him, making him also to dance in the middest of them, with rattles tied to his legs: but he after grew in some credit & respect amongst them, & saw diuers others eaten, while himselfe could not be free from feare of the like destiny. The Sauages, that they take, put on a great shew of resolution, and little regard (in seeming) that their tragedie, supported with this comfort, that their friends will reuenge it. In time of sicknesse or sudden dangers, they would resort to him to pray to his GOD for deliuerance; and this conceit of his GOD, which they obserued in his Deuotions, was the principall meanes of deferring his execution. Such as are mortally wounded in their fights, they would spend presently, or at least kill and dresse them, for a feast neere at hand: and one man that had liued long amongst them, and was desperately sicke, left Death should deptiue them of their cheere, they slue, and (because of his sicknesse) hurling away the head and inwards, eat vp the rest. They take great pride in this their cruelty, and when K…nyan Bebe their King, hauing a basket full of peeces of mans flesh, on which he was feeding, offered Stadius a peece, who told him that it was more then beastly, he answered, I am a Tigre, and I delight in these delicacies. This Stadius after escaped in a French shippe.
Nicolas Durantius, gLerius hist. Nu…g.in Amer.a Knight of Malta, sir-named Villagagnon, in the yeare 1555. (malcontent with his estate at home) sailed into Francia Antarctica, or the Southerne parts of Brasil, vnderunder the Tropike of Capricorne, and pretended there to worship GOD according to the purity of the Gospell, and to fortifie, both for the habitation of his owne, and for a Sanctuary vntounto such as at home were persecuted for the truth. He fortified & sent thence to Geneua for assistāce in this his holy intent: wherupon Richerius and Charterius, two Ministers, with diuers others, among whom was Iohn Lerius, were sent, and landed there in the yeare 1577. Lerius hath written his obseruations of these parts, as Theuct also, another of Villagagnons company, but (as Lerius testifieth) in many things falsely. The first Sauages that Lerius and his fellowes saw, were the Margaiates, which hold friendship with the Portugals, and are enemies to the French, and to the Touou Pinambaulsy, or Tuppin Imbas, confederates of the French, and as deadly enemies to the former. In the meane way they passed by the Tapem…ry, Paraiba, Ouctacates, all which, howsoeuer they exercise hostilities, and mutuall disagreements, yet agree in like barbarous and rightlesse Rites. With the Touou-Pinambaulsy he conuersed familiarly about a yeare. They are in habit of bodie like the Europeans, but stronger, and lesse subiect to sicknesse, not subiect to our bodily distempers, by like intemperance, or vexation of minde, by turbulent and distracting passions of couetousnesse, enuy, ambition. They are all naked, except sometimes the old men, rather to hide their disease in those parts, then their shame, couer their priuities. They weare in their nether lippe a hGreat at one end, and little at the other: in their infancie it is a bone: and after a greene stone, in some as long as ones finger: they will thrust out their tongue at the hole, when the stone is remoued.Pyramidall stone, which brauery weigheth downe their lippe, and subiecteth the face to great deformitie. Some also not content with this, adde two others in their cheekes to like purpose. They presse downe the noses of their Infants to make them flat. They annoynt themselues with a kinde of gumme, which they couer with the downe of feathers sticking thereto. They weare also frontlets of feathers: in their eares they weare bones. They which will excell the rest in gallantry, and would seeme to hauehave slaine and eaten the most enemies, slash and cut their flesh, and put therein a blacke powder, which neuer will be done away. They vse rattles of the shell of a certaine fruit, in which they put stones or graines, and call them Maraca, of which they hauehave some superstitious conceit. The women differ from the men in nourishing their haire, which the men shaue off before, & make not those holes in their lips; but in their eares weare earings of the forme and bignes of a meane candle. They paint also their faces with diuers colours, and weare bracelets of little bones, of which the men weare chaines or collars. They would not weare cloaths, pretending their custome of nakednes, and often washing (sometimes ten times in a day) whereto cloaths would be a hinderance: and our captiue women further then the whip forced them, would not accustome themselues to the apparell we gaue them. The women make two kindes of meale of certaine roots, which they vse in stead of bread, which they doe not put, but hurle, into their mouthes without losse. Their office is also to make their drinke of rootes sliced, and chewed in their mouthes, and thus prepared, boiled, and stirred in a great pot ouer the fire: the like drinke they make of chewed Mayes, which they call Anati: the men would account it a disgrace to do these things, and that they would not taste so well. They call this drinke Caouin, it is thicke, and tastes like milke: I hauehave seene them continue (saith Lerius) drinking this liquor three dayes and nights together: they hold it a disparagement not to be able to hold out at this Bacchanal exercise, which they celebrate with dancing and singing, especially at their beastly man-feasts. The women dance apart from the men. One of them reported to our Author, that they had taken a ship of the Peros, or Portugals, and eaten the men: they found therein great vessels, which they could not tell what it was, but dranke so much therof, that they slept three daies after: it is likely that it was Spanish wine. They eat Serpents and Toads (which with them are not venemous) and Lizards: Our Author saw one Lizard as big as a man, with scales on her backe like Oisters. They hauehave a kind of Monkey called Sagouin, of the bignes of a Squirrell, the fore-halfe in shape resembling a Lion: they hauehave another strange beast, called Coaty, as high as a Hare, with a little head, sharp eares, and a snout or beake aboue a foot long, the mouth so little, that one can scarsely put in his little finger; it feedeth on Ants. They take iThe Brasilian Petum, is neither in forme nor vertue, the same with Tabacco, as Lerius saith. The women take it not.Petum (it is not Tabacco) not in pipes, but put foure or fiue leaues in another greater, and firing it, suck in the smoke, and therewith, in time of warre, will sustaine themselues three dayes together, without other sustenance. They weare this herbe about their neckes.