JIBARO
405
JIBARO
Joram, Iving of Juila, the same evil influence was ex-
tended even to the Soutliern Ivingdom. At last the
Di\'ine vengeance came upon Jczabel, and the predic-
tions of Elias and Eliseus were literally fulfilled at the
beginning of the reign of Jehu, as related in IV Kings,
ix, 30-37.
See Lesetre in Vigouroux, Dirfionnaire de la Bible, s. v.: Selbie in Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, s. v. Jezebel.
James F. Driscoll.
Jibaxo Indians. — Jibaro (Spanish orthography), "forest man", i. e. native, an important tribal group of Ecuador, comprising a great number of small sul> tribes speaking a common language with dialectic variants, and together constituting a distinct linguis- tic stock, holding the extensive forests between the Santiago and Pastaza rivers and southward to the Amazon. Owing to similarity of name — also WTitten X6baro, Zibaro — they have been frequently con- founded with their eastern neighbours, the Zaparo, and the confusion is increased by the fact that in earlier times the name Jibaro was often loosely used to designate any of the wild Indians of eastern Ecuador. More than any other tribe of the upper Amazon region, the Jibaro are notable for their determined and suc- cessful resistance to all efforts at conquest or Chris- tianization, and notwithstanding more than three centuries of more or less intimate Spanish contact they still retain their primitive maimers to a remarkable degree. They have no \'illages, the houses of each small community being scattered about in the forest within easy communicating distance, and always close to a stream. The houses are communal, from fifty to eight}' feet in length, with a door at each end, one exclusively for the men and the other for the women. Near the women's door are the fire-places for cooking, one for each family, while outside the men's door is the tunduli, or great wooden drum, made from a hollow- log, the sound of which can be heard for a distance of ten miles through the forest, and by means of which, according to a well-understood code, the Jibaro can signal to his farthest acquaintance.
War is their normal condition, the favourite weap- ons being the lance, the javelin with throwing stick, the blow-gun with poisoned arrows, and the shield for defence. The heads of enemies are smoked by an ingenious process which in a measure preserves the fea- tures. The women are expert potters. The Jibaro are agricultural, cultivating corn, beans, bananas, yuca, and cotton. Besides dogs, parrots, and monkej's, they have chickens and hogs, which were introduced among them by the whites. They use no salt, but like many other tribes of the Amazon and Orinoco are addicted to eating a certain saltpetrous clay. Their favourite drink is chicha, a mild intoxicant fermented from the yuca, banana or some other native plant. They wear a cotton dress below the waist, flowing hair, paint, feather ornaments, ear pendants, and — among women — labrets. They are robust and comparatively hand- some, although not tall. They are very fond of music, \'isiting, and ceremonial dances. Polygamy exists, as also, according to some travellers, the curious custom of the cimvade. The dead are usually laid away in small shelter structures in the woods or in hollow tree- trunks placed in the house where the death occurs, the house being then abandoned. There is apparently no tribal organization or chiefly authority, the only bond among families being their habitual attendance at com- mon festivals. In each family group one man has the duty of reciting a long historical and didactic discourse each morning wliile the women are preparing break- fast. Very little is known of their religious or mytho- logic beliefs, but witchcraft flourishes, and almost every death is attributed to this cause.
Sheltered by their forests, the Jibaro successfully withstood the efforts of the Peru\-ian Incas to subju- gate them. The first Spanish entrance into their
country was made by Vergara in 1541, and in 1559,
under order from Governor Salinas, five towns were
established in the Jibaro country, first and chief of
which was Logrono. Under enforced labour in the
mines, and other oppressions, at the hands of their
Spanish taskmasters, the Indians rapidly withered
away or saved themselves by retreating cieepcr into
the forests. In 1599 a fresh tribute goaded the Jibaro
into rebellion, and under the leadership of Anirula a
force estimated by many at 20,000 warriors stormed
Logrono in a night attack, killing every inhabitant to
the mmiber of 12,000, excepting the young women,
and burning the city to the ground. The governor
was killed by pouring molten gold down his throat
" in order that he might have his fill of gold ". The
inhabitants of the other towns took refuge in Sevilla
del Oro, which was next attacked, but resisted so
stoutly that the Indians finally retired after ha\-ing
killed nearly 14,000 of the besieged. The young wom-
en were carried off as wives to the savages, and it is
said that the admixture of blood is still evident in the
clearer skin and more abundant beard of many of
the tribe. Successive expeditions failed to reduce the
Jilaaro, until it was resolved to call in the help of the
missionaries. In 1645 two Franciscan fathers, Lau-
reano de la Cruz and Andres Fernandez, with a small
military escort, entered the territory from the west,
and in 1656 Commander Agureo with a detachment of
troops and a company of mission Indians under the
Jesuit Father Raimundo Santa Cruz, attempted a set-
tlement at the mouth of the Pastaza, but the attempt
was a failure through the bad conduct of the soldiers.
Other unsuccessful missionary attempts were made in
1690, and in 1692 a combined force of Spanish troops
and mission Indians, the latter under the superior of
the Jesuit missions. Father A'iva, began a series of
manhunts in the Jibaro country, but with so little
result that in five months only three hundred and
seventy-two Indians were captured, most of whom
escaped later. In the.se raids the Indian mothers fre-
quently slew their children with their own hands
to prevent their falling into the hands of the Spaniards.
In 1767 the Jesuit Father Antlres Camacho made another effort, with some fair promise of success, when the decree of expulsion banished the Jesuits from their missions, which were then turned over to Fran- ciscans and secular priests and speedily fell into decay. This may be considered the end of any systematic attempt at Christianizing the Jibaro. As far back as 1581 the Dominicans of Quito had undertaken a simi- lar work at Camelos on the Pindo, but after more than two centuries the only result was three small villages containing two hundred and forty baptized Indians, and about half that number in 1S14. Several Fran- ciscans also entered the territory from time to time, notably Father Antonio Prieto in 1816, who discov- ered some important pre-Columbian ruins. In 1869, the restored Jesuits began work again at three sta- tions, but were driven out a few years later by an Indian rising. In 1886 the Dominicans and in 1S93 the Franciscans re-entered the field and have now mission .stations at Macas (D) Canelos (D) and Zamora (F). while the Jesuits are at work on the Napo. In 1 893 the Salesians were authorized to enter the ter- ritory, which had been newly erected into the Vicar- iate .\postolic of Mendez and Gualaquiza. Intestine feuds, smallpox ^^sitations, alcohol, and other causes have steadily reduced the number of the Jibaro until, for the 20,000 warriors who sacked Logrono tliree centuries ago, the whole nation to-day does not count more than as many souls, and experienced mis- sionaries tliink they do not exceed 10,000 or 12.000, of whom onlv about 1400 are rated as Christians.
Rivet, Le^ I'ndiens Jibaros in L'Anthropologie. XVIII-XIX (1907-S), has valuable bibliographic notes; .M.irkham, Tribes of the Amazon: Herndon, The Amazon; Reclcs, South America: The Ajides Regions. See Indians, American, biblio^aphy.
James Moonet.
