But by employing four men who had rough hands from a
disease like the itch, these four strange beings were caught.
8. Finding those beings wanted the parts of women, they caught certain
birds named turiri cahuvaial, resembling woodpeckers, and by their means
fashioned them to their purpose.
9. There was once a man named Giaia, who had a son named Giaiael, which
signifies the son of Giaia; and who, intending to kill his father was
banished and afterwards killed by his father, and his bones hung up in a
calabash. Afterwards going to examine the bones, he found them all changed
into a vast number of great and small fishes.
10. There were four brothers, the sons of a woman named Itiba Tahuvava,
all born at one birth, for the woman dying in labour they cut her open.
The first they cut out was named Diminan, and was a caracaracol, or
afflicted with a disease like the itch, the others had no names. One day
while Giaia was at his conichi or lands, these brothers came to his house
and took down the calabash to eat the fish; but not hanging it up properly,
there ran out so much water as drowned the whole country, and with it
great quantities of fish: And in this manner they believe the sea had its
original.
11. After a long story of a live tortoise being cut out from the shoulder
of Diminan Caracaracol, quite away from the purpose, F. Roman proceeds to
say that the sun and moon came out of a grotto called Giovovava, in the
country of a cacique named Maucia Tiuvel. This grotto is much venerated,
and is all painted over with the representation of leaves and other things.
It contained two cemis made of stone, about a quarter of a yard long,
having their hands bound, and which looked as if they sweated. These were
called Boinaiel and Maroio, and were much visited and honoured, especially
when they wanted rain.
12. They say the dead go to a place called Coaibai, which is in a part of
the island named Soraia; and that one Machetaurie Guaiava, who was lord or
cacique of Coaibi, the dwelling-place of the dead, was the first who went
there.
13. They say that the dead are shut up during the day, and walk abroad in
the night, when they feed on a certain fruit called guabazza, which is
something else during the day and changes to that fruit at night for the
use of the dead. The dead go about and feast with the living, who
sometimes think they have a woman of Coaibi in their arms who vanishes
suddenly; and they allege that those dead inhabitants of Coaibi may be
known by the want of navels.
