A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels | Page 7

always appeared in this disguise, whereby they might never after be discovered, or known by any of the Christians that should happen to see them after they had made their escape; for it is impossible even to know an Indian under these colours, although he has been at your house a thousand times, and you know him at other times as well as you do any person living."--Mr Bryan Edwards mentions something of the Charaibes like this. "Not satisfied with the workmanship of nature, they called in the assistance of art, to make themselves more formidable. They painted their faces and bodies with arnotto so extravagantly, that their natural complexion, which was really that of a Spanish olive, was not easily to be distinguished under the surface of crimson. However, as this mode of painting themselves was practised by both sexes, perhaps it was at first introduced as a defence against the venomous insects, so common in tropical climates, or possibly they considered the brilliancy of the colour as highly ornamental." These Charaibes had other ways of deforming themselves, some of which resembled what we shall find described in the course of this work. They made deep cuts on their cheeks, and stained them black; and painted white and black circles round their eyes. The tatooing which Mr Barrow speaks of, as practised in part of Africa where he travelled, one should incline to imagine very different from what is in fashion at Otaheite, which, according to our text, affords any other than pleasurable sensations to the person undergoing this operation. The reader may judge for himself, at least so far as idea goes. "A greater degree of amusement (than what their music and dancing yield) seems to be derived by the women from the practice of tatooing, or, marking the body, by raising the epidermis from the cuticle; a custom that has been found to exist among most of the uncivilized nations inhibiting warm countries, and which probably owes its origin to a total want of mental resources, and of the employment of time. By slightly irritating, it conveys to the body pleasurable sensations. In Kafferland it has passed into a general fashion. No woman is without a tatooed skin; and their ingenuity is chiefly exercised between the breast and on the arms." Such a description corresponds with the notion of some frequently renewed beautfyings of the toilet, rather than that of the infliction of deep and indelible marks, as are prescribed in the Otaheitan ritual. Thus we may see here, as in other instances, that different motives give rise to similar practices.--E.]
Their clothing consists of cloth or matting of different kinds, which will be described among their other manufactures. The cloth, which will not bear wetting, they wear in dry weather, and the matting when it rains; they are put on in many different ways, just as their fancy leads them; for in their garments nothing is cut into shape, nor are any two pieces sewed together. The dress of the better sort of women consists of three or four pieces: One piece, about two yards wide, and eleven yards long, they wrap several times round their waist, so as 'to hang down like a petticoat as low as the middle of the leg, and this they call Parou: Two or three other pieces, about two yards and a half long, and one wide, each having a hole cut in the middle, they place one upon another, and then putting the head through the holes, they bring the long ends down before and behind; the others remain open at the sides, and give liberty to the arms: This, which they call the Tebuta, is gathered round the waist, and confined with a girdle or sash of thinner cloth, which is long enough, to go many times round them, and exactly resembles the garment worn by the inhabitants of Peru and Chili, which the Spaniards call Poncho. The dress of the men is the same, except that, instead of suffering the cloth that is wound about the hips to hang down like a petticoat, they bring it between their legs so as to have some resemblance to breeches, and it is then called Maro. This is the dress of all ranks of people, and being universally the same as to form, the gentlemen and ladies distinguish themselves from the lower people by the quantity; some of them will wrap round them several pieces of cloth, eight or ten yards long, and two or three broad; and some throw a large piece loosely over their shoulders, in the manner of a cloke, or perhaps two pieces, if they are very great personages, and are desirous to appear in state. The inferior sort, who have only a small allowance of cloth