An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (2 of 3)

A detailed ethnographic portrait of the Abipones of Paraguay, drawn from extended firsthand observation, surveys their territory, physical traits, and origin myths; covers social organization, government, marriage and rites, daily economy, clothing and material culture, language and linguistics, religious beliefs, healers and medical practices, funerary customs, natural history (notably snakes and insects) and remedies, and military institutions including arms, scouts, campaigns, and battle conduct. The account combines anatomical and climatic conjectures with descriptions of games, ceremonies, and causes of population decline, aiming to document both practical lifeways and symbolic cosmology.