THIRTY FAMILIES IN ONE HOME

Manawatu Times, Volume XLXI, Issue 3480, 14 December 1926, Page 12

THIRTY FAMILIES IN ONE HOME

The community house Is one of the unusual institutions of the Indian natives of Guiana. They usually arc about seventy feet in diameter and provide housing accomodation for more than thirty Indian families, says A. Hyatt Terrill in the “Wide World.” The families sharing the dwelling are friendly and each respects the rights of his neighbours, keeping strictly within the limits of the space allotted to them. In the centre of the structure, which is cone-shaped and covered with a grass roof, a Are is kept smouldering, and about this fire the women and a few men may bo found working at their various occupations at almost anytime during the daylight hours. Some of the women are weavers who make the gaily : co!oured hammocks in which the natives sleep, while others are occupied in doing bead work Or cooking. The work o t the men consists largely of making bows and arrows or doing featherwork. The feather crowns of the Waiwoi tribesmen are enormous affairs and often are topped off with great plumes. These elaborate crowns, however, are worn only at ceremonials and dances.