Digitale Ausgabe

Download
TEI-XML (Ansicht)
Text (Ansicht)
Text normalisiert (Ansicht)
Ansicht
Textgröße
Originalzeilenfall ein/aus
Zeichen original/normiert
Zitierempfehlung

Alexander von Humboldt: „An Account of the Ottomacs, who eat clay“, in: ders., Sämtliche Schriften digital, herausgegeben von Oliver Lubrich und Thomas Nehrlich, Universität Bern 2021. URL: <https://humboldt.unibe.ch/text/1807-Ueber_die_erdefressenden-15-neu> [abgerufen am 28.03.2024].

URL und Versionierung
Permalink:
https://humboldt.unibe.ch/text/1807-Ueber_die_erdefressenden-15-neu
Die Versionsgeschichte zu diesem Text finden Sie auf github.
Titel An Account of the Ottomacs, who eat clay
Jahr 1810
Ort London
Nachweis
in: La Belle Assemblée. Biographical Sketches of Illustrious Ladies 2:10 (September 1810), S. 149.
Sprache Englisch
Typografischer Befund Antiqua; Spaltensatz; Auszeichnung: Kursivierung; Schmuck: Kapitälchen.
Identifikation
Textnummer Druckausgabe: II.58
Dateiname: 1807-Ueber_die_erdefressenden-15-neu
Statistiken
Seitenanzahl: 1
Spaltenanzahl: 2
Zeichenanzahl: 3263

Weitere Fassungen
Ueber die erdefressenden Otomaken (Stuttgart; Tübingen, 1807, Deutsch)
Ueber die erdefressenden Otomaken (München, 1807, Deutsch)
Sur les peuples qui mangent de la terre (Paris, 1808, Französisch)
Dei Popoli che mangiano terra (Mailand, 1808, Italienisch)
Berigt Aangaande Zekere Volken, die Aarde Eten (Haarlem, 1808, Niederländisch)
Sur les Peuples qui mangent de la Terre (London, 1808, Französisch)
Sur les peuples qui mangent de la terre (Brüssel, 1808, Französisch)
Die Gewohnheit der Indianer Erde zu essen (Hamburg, 1808, Deutsch)
Die Gewohnheit der Indianer, Erde zu essen (Berlin, 1808, Deutsch)
Gummi und Erde genießende Völker (Basel, 1809, Deutsch)
Sur les peuples qui mangent de la terre (Paris, 1809, Französisch)
Account of the Ottomacs, a People who eat Clay (Edinburgh, 1810, Englisch)
Sur les peuples qui mangent de la terre (Köln, 1810, Französisch)
An Account of The Ottomans, who eat clay (Lancaster, 1810, Englisch)
An Account of the Ottomacs, who eat clay (London, 1810, Englisch)
Отрывокъ изъ Обозрѣнiя степей, соч. славнаго Путешественника Гумбольдта [Otryvok iz Obozrěnija stepej, soč. slavnago Putešestvennika Gumbolʹdta] (Moskau, 1818, Russisch)
Die Otomaken oder Erde fressenden Menschen in Cumana und Caraccas (Brünn, 1818, Deutsch)
Die Otomaken oder erdefressenden Menschen in Cumana und Caraccas (Wien, 1818, Deutsch)
M. de Humboldt (Paris, 1823, Französisch)
Отомаки, питающiеся землею и камедью [Otomaki, pitajuščiesja zemleju i kamedʹju] (Sankt Petersburg, 1834, Russisch)
Feeding upon Earth (Manchester, 1849, Englisch)
Aard-Eters (Amsterdam, 1849, Niederländisch)
Das Erdessen der Indianer (Stuttgart, 1852, Deutsch)
Aard-eters (Zierikzee, 1850, Niederländisch)
Earth-eating Indians (Ennis, 1850, Englisch)
Earth-eating Indians (Hereford, 1850, Englisch)
Des populations se nourrissant de terre glaise (Paris, 1851, Französisch)
Clay-Eaters of South America (Boston, Massachusetts, 1851, Englisch)
Delle genti che si nutriscono d’argilla (Mailand, 1851, Italienisch)
Erdeessende Menschen (Hildburghausen; New York City, New York, 1853, Deutsch)
|149|

AN ACCOUNT OF THE OTTAMACS, WHO EAT CLAY. from humboldt’s “tableux de la nature.”


|Spaltenumbruch| On the coasts of Cumana, of New Bar-celona, and of Caraccas, visited by the Fran-ciscan monks of Guyana in returning fromtheir missions, there was a tradition prevalent,that tribes inhabiting the banks of the Oro-noco eat earth. On the 6th of June 1800, we spent a day ina mission in a village inhabited by the Otta-macs who eat earth. The village called LaConception of Uruana is situated in a verypicturesque manner, upon the declivity of arock of granite. Its latitude I determined tobe seven degrees north, and its longitude fourdegrees west of Paris. The earth which theOttamacs eat is fat and unctuous clay, a realpotter’s earth, of a greyish yellow tint, co-loured by a little oxide of iron. They selectit with much care, and gather it on particularbanks on the sides of the Orinoco and of theMeta. They distingujsh by the taste one kindof earth from another, for all kinds of clay arenot equally agreeable to their palates. Theyknead this earth into balls, of from four to sixinches in diameter, and bake it at a slow fire,till its outer surface becomes reddish. Beforethey eat these balls they moisten them anew.These Ottamacs are for the most part a verysavage race, and have an aversion to improve-ment. The nations on the Oronoco that arefarthest from that canton, say proverbially,when they wish to speak of any thing veryfilthy, “It is disgusting for an Ottamac toeat.” When the waters of the Oronoco andMeta are low, the Ottamacs support them-selves on fish and tortoises. When the fishappear at the surface of the water, they kill |Spaltenumbruch| them by means of darts, with a dexterity whichwe have often admired. When the rivers ex-perience their periodical overflow the fishingceases, for it is as difficult to fish in riversbecome too deep, as in the open sea. Duringthis inundation, which lasts two or threemonths, the Ottamacs swallow prodigiousquantities of earth. We have found in theirhuts immense stores of it, heaped up in pyra-mids. Each individual consumes daily three-fourths or four-fifths of a pound of earth, ac-cording to the account which Fray RomonBueno, a very intelligent monk who has livedtwelve years among these Indians, gave us.The Ottamacs themselves say, that in therainy season this earth is their principal food;in addition, they eat little fishes, lizards, andfern roots. They are so fond of this earth,that every day they eat a little of it after theirrepast, to regale themselves, even in the dryseasons, and when they have abundance offish. These people are of a very dark coppercolour; their features are as ugly as those ofthe Tartars. The missionary who residesamong them assured us, that he has remarkedno difference in the health of these savagesduring the time that they eat this earth. Such is the simple narration of facts.—Itmay be asserted, that in all the regions of thetorrid zone, this desire for earth has been ob-served; in Guinea, the negroes eat a yellowishearth which they call caouac. The slaveswhich are brought into America endeavour toprocure a similar gratification, but it is al-ways to the detriment of their health.