And thus being alone they take some herbs of the Gioia* broad and another herb wrapped in a leaf of an onion half a quarter long; and one of the above-mentioned Gioia is what they all usually take. And crumbling it with their hands they make a paste of it and then put it in their mouths by night to make them vomit what they have eaten, in order that it may not hurt them; and then they begin to sing the above-mentioned song. And lighting a torch they take that juice. This done at the beginning, and waiting somewhat the Buhuitihu (Bohuti) rises and goes toward the sick man who is seated in the middle of his cabin as has been said and turns him around twice as he pleases. Then he stands before him and takes him by the legs feeling his thighs and running his hands down to his feet, then he draws him hard as if he wished to pull something off; then he goes to the entrance of the cabin and closes the door, and speaks saying "Begone to the mountains, or to the sea or whither thou wilt," and blowing like one who blows in winnowing he turns around again and puts his hands together and closes his mouth and his hand shake as if he were very cold, and he blows on his hands and then draws in his breath again like one who is sucking the marrow from a bone and he sucks the sick man on the neck, on the stomach, shoulders, jaws, breasts, belly and many other parts of the body. This done they begin to cough and to make faces as if they had eaten something bitter, and he spits into his hand and draws out that which we mentioned which he had put in his mouth either at his own cabin or on the way, either a stone or meat or a bone, as has been said. And if it is anything eatable, he says to the sick man, "Take notice! You have eaten something which has brought on this illness which you suffer from. See how I have taken out of your body what your cemi had put in your body because you did not say your prayers to him or did not build him some temple or give him something from your possessions." And if it is a stone he says, "keep it safe.” And sometimes they are convinced that these stones are good, and that they help women in labor, and they keep it very carefully wrapped in cotton in little baskets and give them to eat what they eat themselves, and they do the same to the cemis which they have in their cabins. Upon solemn days when they bring out much to eat either fish, meat, or bread or anything else, they put everything in the cabin of the cemis that the idol may eat of it.

The next day they take all this food to their own cabins after the cemi has eaten. And so may God help them if the cemi eats of that; or of anything else, the said cemi being a dead thing made of stone or wood.

*Bachiller y Morales thinks the word a textual error for the form cogioba used above, ch. xi, yet see below ch. xvii where it is described and another name Zachon is mentioned.

CHAPTER XVII.

How sometimes these physicians are deceived.

When they have done what has been described and still the sick man dies, if the dead man has many relatives or was lord of a village (castella) and can resist the said Buhuitihu (Bohuti) which means physician, (because those who have little power do not venture to contend with these physicians) he who wishes to do harm to him does this. Wanting to know if the sick man died through the fault of the physician or whether he did not do what was prescribed, they take an herb called gueio which has leaves like basil, thick and broad (and it is called also another name Zachon.) They take the juice of this leaf and cut the nails of the dead man and cut off the hair on his forehead, and they make powder (of them) between two stones, which they mix with the juice of the aforesaid herb, and they pour it into the dead man's mouth or his nose and so doing they ask the dead man if the physician was the cause of his death, and if he had followed the regimen (or diet). And they ask him this several times until he speaks as plainly as if he were alive, so that he answers all that they ask of him, saying that the Buhuitihu (Bohuti) did not follow the regimen, or was the cause of his death that time. And they say the physician asks him if he is alive or how it is that he speaks so plainly; and he answers that he is dead. And when they have learned what they want, they return him to his grave from which they took him to learn from him what we have described. They also proceed in another way to learn what they want. They take the dead man and build a big fire, like that with which a charcoal-burner makes charcoal, and when the wood is become live coals they place the body into this great fiery mass and then cover it with earth as the charcoalburner covers charcoal and here they let it lie as long as they please. And as it lies there they ask him questions as has already been said of the other method. And he replies that he knows nothing and they ask him this ten times and then he speaks no more. They ask him if he is dead; but he does not speak more than these ten times.

CHAPTER XVIII.

How the relatives of the dead man take vengeance when they have received an answer by means of the drench.

The relatives of the dead man get together some day and wait for the Buhuitihu (Bohuti) and beat him with clubs till they break his legs, his arms and his head so that they fairly bray him as in a mortar, and they leave him in that condition believing that they have killed him. And they say that by night there come many snakes of different kinds which lick the face and the whole body of this physician who has been

testicle

left for dead as we said and who remains so for two or three days. And while he stays there in that condition they say that the bones of his legs and arms unite and knit together and he gets up and walks leisurely in the direction of his cabin. And those that see him ask him saying: "Were you not dead?" and he answers that the cemis came to his assistance in the form of snakes. And the relatives of the dead man, greatly enraged, because they thought they had avenged the death of their relative, seeing him alive grow desperate and try to lay hands on him to put him to death; and if they get hold of him again they gouge out his eyes and crush his testicles, because they say that none of these can die no matter how much he is beaten if they do not take away his testicles.

How they learn what they want from him they burn and how they take vengeance.

When they uncover the fire the smoke that comes from it rises till they lose sight of it, and it gives forth a shrill cry as it comes from the furnace, then turns down and enters the cabin of the Buhuitihu, (Bohuti) or physician, and that very moment he falls sick if he did not follow the diet (or regimen) and he is covered with sores and his whole body peels, and thus they have a sign that such a one did not observe the diet and that therefore the sick man died. Wherefore they try to kill him as has been described in the case of the other.

These then are the spells which they are wont to use.

CHAPTER XIX.

How they make and keep cemis of wood and stone.

Those of stone (wood?) are made in this fashion. When someone is going along on a journey he says he sees a tree which is moving its roots; and the man in a great fright stops and asks: "Who is it?" And he replies "My name is Buhuitihu,* and he will tell you who I am." And the man goes to the physician and tells him what he has seen; and the enchanter or wizard runs immediately to see the tree which the man has told him of and sits down by it, and he makes cogioba as we have described above in the story of the four.† And when the cogioba is made he stands up on his feet and gives it all its titles as if it were some great lord, and he asks it: "Tell me who you are and what you are doing here and what you want of me and why you have had me called. Tell me if you want me to cut you or if you want to come with me, and how you want me to carry you, and I will build you a cabin and add a property to it." Then

*The text is erroneous. It should be "Call the Bohuti" as appears from Las Casas's quotation of the same passage Docs. Inéd. LXVI, 436.

†See above ch. xi. Las Casas describes in detail the process of "making cohoba" which he says he had seen many times. Docs. Inéd. LXVI, 469-71.

that tree or cemi becomes an idol or devil, replies to him telling him the shape in which it wants to be made. And he cuts and makes it in the shape it has directed; builds its house for it, and gives the property and many times in the year makes cogioba for it. This cogioba is to pray to it and to please it and to ask and to learn some things from the cemi, either evil or good, and in addition to ask it for wealth. And when they want to know if they will be victorious over their enemies they go into a cabin into which no one else goes except the principal men; and their chief is the first who begins to make cogioba, and to make a noise; and while he is making cogioba, no one of them who is in the company says anything till the chief has finished; but when he has finished his prayer, he stands a while with his head turned (down) and his arms on his knees; then he lifts his head up and looks toward the sky and speaks. Then they all answer him with a loud voice, and when they have all spoken giving thanks, he tells the vision that he has seen intoxicated with the cogioba which he has inhaled through his nose, which goes up into his head. And he says that he has talked with the cemi and that they are to have a victory; or that his enemies will fly; or that there shall be a great loss of life, or wars or famine or some other such things which occur to him who is intoxicated to say. Consider what a state their brains are in, because they say the cabins seem to them to be turned upside down and that men are walking with their feet in the air.

And this cogioba they make for cemis of stone and of wood as well as for the dead as we have described above.

The stone cemis are of several kinds. There are some which they say the physicians draw from the body and the sick believe these are the best to help women with child to be delivered. There are others that speak which are shaped like a large turnip with the leaves spread on and as long as caper bushes. These leaves generally are shaped like an elm leaf; others have three points, and they believe that they make the Giuca (Yucca?) to grow. Their roots are like a radish. leaf of the giutola for the most part has six or seven points. I do not know with what to compare it because I have never seen anything like it in Spain or in other countries. The stalk of the giuca is as tall as a Let us now speak of their belief relating to the idols and cemis and of their great delusions derived from them.

man.

CHAPTER XX.

The

Of the Cemi, Bugia and Aiba,* of which they relate that when there were wars he was burnt by them and then washing him with the juice of the giuca his arms grew again and his eyes were made anew and his body grew again.

The giuca was small and with water and with juice as mentioned above they washed it in order that it should become big. And they say that

*Alternate names of Baidrama mentioned just below.

disvidend

it made those ill who had made this cemi because they did not bring it giuca to eat. This cemi was named Baidrama;* and when some one was sick they called the Buhuitihu (Bohuti) and asked him whence came this illness; and he replied that Baidrama had sent it because they had not sent him (something) to eat by those who had charge of his cabin. This the Buhuitihu (Bohuti) said the cemi Baidrama had told him.

CHAPTER XXI.

Of the cemi of Guamorete.

They say that when they built the house of Guamorete who was a principal man, they put there a cemi that he had on top of his house. This cemi was called Corocote; and once when they had wars, the enemies of Guamorete burned the house where this cemi Corocote was. At that time they relate that he rose up and went away a cross-bowshot from that place to near a water. And they say that when he was above the house by night he came down and lay with the women, and that then Guamorete died, and that this cemi came into the hands of another cacique and that he continued to lie with the women. And they say, besides, that two crowns grew on his head. Wherefore they said: (of some one) "Since he has two crowns, certainly he is the son of Corocote." This they believed very positively. This cemi came into the possession later of another cacique named Guatabanex and his place was named Giacaba.

CHAPTER XXII.

Of another cemi whose name was Opigielguouiran,† and a principal man had him whose name was Cauauaniouaua, and he had many subjects. This cemi Opigielguouiran, they say, had four feet like a dog's, and he was of wood, and that oftentimes by night he went out of the house into the woods whither they went to seek him, and when he was brought back to the house they bound him with cords; but he went away again to the woods.

And when the Christians came to this island of Española they say that he broke away and went into a swamp and that they followed his tracks but never saw him nor do they know anything about him. I deliver this just as I received it.

*Las Casas, LXVI, 471, gives this name as Vaybrama. His version of the story is clearer than the Italian text of Ramon Pane.

Epileguanita in Peter Martyr. Accepted by Bachiller y Morales as undoubtedly the proper form, the name in the text being obviously corrupted.