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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1927-12-01, Page 3Ruled by the Spirit of Revolting Reptile Scientists Sojourning in Dutch Guiana Find Djuka Bush­ men Revere Supernatural Elements Attributed to Boa Constritor Alligator and Cottonwood Tree WOMEN APPRECIATED On the edge of the northeastern side . of South America there is a unique civilisation little known to the white men of this continent. We know of the strange life of the Congo, of the fascinating customs and the ever-present danger of the,/ African’ jungles because adventurers and ex­ plorers by the hundreds have brought from the Eastern tropics the entranc­ ing facts of their experience.. But of the bush Negro or Djuka of Dutch Guiana; of them and their craftsmanship, of their customs and their medicine, little has been told, These black men of Surinam are not native to this hemisphere. They are a transplanted people. Brought to South America as slaves in the days of buccaneering ^and traffic in human flesh, they revolted successful­ ly in "the middle eighteenth century and have since retained their free­ dom. The Negroes of the north sloughed off nearly everything that was native and African, completely yielding to the influence of Caucasian civilization and eager to imitate its custom^ and emulate its standards, but the Djukas {af the Dutch Guiana bush hold fast to tho primitive habits of their African ancestors. At the American Museum of Na­ tural History Is a collection consisting mostly of carved wood implements re­ cently brought by Dr. Morton C. Kahn of New York City who, accompanied by Howard A. Baugh, went to Dutch Guiana in the interest of the Ameri­ can Museum the Cornell which latter associated. of Natural History and Medical College, with institution Dr. Kahn Is Are Artists. "The Djukas decorate practically everything," said Dr. Kahn. "Even their paddles for stirring pots are finely shaped and delicately engraved with designs handed down from those known among their African ancestors. They are a very artistic race, and a Djuka artist gets more consideration as a prospective husband than a mem­ ber of the tribe who is a less compet­ ent wood-carver. "Of course, the first consideration Is, can he hunt, fish and provide suc­ cessfully for a family as well as him­ self But having determined that, his prospective bride and her family want to know what kind of a craftsman he is in the.working of wood, for art in that country is coiisidered manly. Women Control Children. "The Djuka woman stands higher in the social scheme than in many sav­ age tribes, as those Negroes have a matriarchal system of descent. She has greater control over hey children , thap. her husband, and her parents . and the maternal uncle of the child­ ren also have a hand in the upbring­ ing of the young. "A man can’t get a wife by show­ ing prowess with the bow and gun and tho carving knife and then lay down oix the job and expect to keep her. He also has to keep up produc­ ing beautiful wood carvings for the use and edification of his wife, and if he gets lazy in providing food and in­ competent in carving he is apt to lose her. She can get a divorce from her indolent partner by proving to the council of the tribe that her husband has deteriorated as a provider and as an artist." . . — <£ Descent Traced Through Mother, While the descent is traced through the mother and the headship of the village passes to the gran-man's sis­ ter’s male child, yet the society does not discriminate against the man who has the capacity to mako the jungle Jand river yield sustenance tor two ' wives, An. exceptionally rapid and compet­ ent craftsman an da successful hunter : may maintain two wives. It seems probable'that , the artistic instinct has been cultivated by the social organi- zation which requires the men to , please the women with the carving of elegant domestic tools and utensils. ’ Spoons and pot-stirrerB may take days ■ of patient carving and accomplish their purpose as household tools no better than a plain stick, but still the men work on and not only carve but inlay some of the things with hard­ wood. ‘ Value Art, “The curious fact about the Djukas," said Dr, Kahn, “is that while they con­ sider an article of utility nearly worth . less without having been submitted to the skill of the wood-carver, they pay little attention to the wooden re- ' presentation of their gods. “This is not accidental or duo tq. , religious indifference, They see a ; spirit in nearly everything that lives or is. Rocks, trees, animals—all have a supernatural element within them, but the Djugas have no fear that the god will be displeased if he is not treated to an elaborate image, They have a firm conviction that religion is a quality that pornos from within and is not stimulated by exterior objects. “Each village has its god, and they hold as semi-sacrecl the hoa-constrlct- er, the alligator and tho cottonwood tree, which they call' the 'con-con dree? Over and above this world, of spirits they believe in an overruling god of the universe." The Djukas revolted in 1750, They developed military leaders and an un­ canny knowledge”^ the swamps and tracks of the jungle which" trapped and decimated tlxelr white masters. The ’Dutch and their British allies found it impossible to make headway against them because, the jungle swal­ lowed up almost every force which at­ tempted to penetrate the camps of the Djukas, A truce was made and friendly re­ lations established, but the Djukas, 177 years after this colonial war in a hemisphere where the whites overran- subdued and wiped out Iixcas, Aztecs and other Indian tribes, still retain •their independence and occupy some of the main waterways into the in­ terior of the country. Proud of Independence. "The Djukas are very proud of their Independence," says Dr. Kahn. "They have no feeling of inferiority in re­ spect to the whites. The white man lias nothing that they cannot do with­ out and they trade or not, as they chooso. “The bush Negro may use a shot­ gun, buy some trade brass for brace­ lets around'his wife's arms or legs, make an exchange for lengths of cloth and axes, but the white 'man does not control the Negro’s necessi­ ties. He likes a bit o£ candy; and uses tobaeeb by soaking the 'leaves in water, using the liquid for sniffing up the nose, but otherwise he lives on what he grows in the way of crops and the game of the jungle and the rivei’ fish. “In the Surinam jungle the Negro, unlike some of his African brothers, has not succumbed to the white man’s vices. The Djuka is pure black and is proud of his skin and his kinky hair. He tolerates no race admixture and the Negro of the'bush looks down up­ on the black men who live in the Dutch towns. They have an approbri- ous term which they apply to the town black, “buckrashlaft' — buckra meaning white man and shlaff mean­ ing slave. Control Hinterland. “The Negroes still control the high­ er parts of the river roads into the in­ terior, the Uppex’ Surinam, the Sara- macca and the ’Marowyne, and their a pillages are chiefly above the catar- orx+ei Ihaaa cjh’nnnib fe< Three Literary Giants History’s Most Expensive Party Exclusive “Tea-for-Three” Costs Lady Houston $7,500,000 Holiday Games For the Kiddies 0, acts of these three streams. There is no other way to entex' the interior, and those who travel and trade do so because the inhabitants tolerate them.” While the African colored man works under the law of a white mas- ter an dthe unrestricted exploitation* ter and the unrestricted exploitation scandals of Putamayo and Kimberley and current charges of peonage in Kenya, in Surinam the bush Negro trades ox’ works as he wills. “The white man obtains from tho Nogro ' only what he is willing to give," says Dr. Kahn. "There is no conflict between the Dutch and the Djukas The Dutch control is most considerate and tolerant. Each side realizes that the present situation is a satisfactory one and the Dutch make no attempt to impose upon tho Negroes. "Besides the protection given them by nature, the Djukas’ feeling of su­ periority is based upon the word-of- mouth literature of the successful re­ bellions. Maintain Saga of Deeds. ‘They have maintained from genera­ tion to generation a sort of saga in which the names of tho leaders, the stories of tjio big battles, the anec­ dotes of. magic protection against white men's bullets and the incidents of individual heroism and cleverness have been preserved. The history is told in a literary of ceremonial lang­ uage which is compose dlargely t>f modified African words. It is noble speech or “deepee-talkee/ which means what it sounds like—deep-talk. wjxlle the common speech is talkee- talkeo, a mixture of African, Dutch, French and Elnglish, z ■ “One of my guides who was from the toyrn and spoke 'talkee-talkoe could not pnclersHind ‘deepeo-falkee/ ; that tho BIG.1N BODY AS WELL AS MIND “Big Wigs" of letters fail to agree. "Do We Agree?" was the somewhat inappropriate title of a debate between George Bernard Shaw (left) and Gilbert K. Chesterton (right), which took place in London the other night. Hilaire Belloc (centre) acted as chairman, Djukas have coir-oetely forgotten everything about mselves before their transportation to Dutch Giuana. Their history begins with the rebel- • lion and they know nothing of Africa. ; "The Djukas respect themselves and those who visit them. Theix’ pride ' does not spil over into arrogance and they are as courteous as one would ; expect to strangers In whom they have no great curiosity or especial in­ terest. Must Have Good Will. .“You capnot travel far in that coun­ try without their good -will. Alone, a white’ man would be helpless in the jungle; he cannot live without the help of the Djukas and they are so competent to look aftei’ themselves in that environment'that they regard the helpless white man as a weakei’ crea­ ture because of his inability to cope with the coiiditions of life in the jun­ gle. “News of one’s arrival is sent up the river by the beating of the drums. There Is a tom-lom code and this drum | wireless anticipates the arrival of a , visitor. If you have made a bad im-' pression,' this negative report is well known throughout the community and you will find1 that they do not care to trade with you or assist you. “In the Upper Surinam Rivex* I did not find them anxious to trade any­ way. . I had th© assistance of E. W. Rogalli, chief forester; Alexandei’ Wolff and W. M. Strang, men of much experience in the country, and the whole-hearted co-operation of the Dutch authorities, and the natives only sold me stuff as a favor and be­ cause my guide explained that I had come a long way and greatly admired the products,of their handicraft. They like candy, but will not accept it in trade, feeling that it should be thrown in as a bonus.” ( The collection of household articles, phddles, implements, drums, etc., which Dr. Kahn brought here is one of the first of its kill'd in the country. I-Ie paid for it mostly in tobacco leaves and candy. < ’ Follow African Fashion. “The woihen and some of the beautifjr themselves by raising tissue on the body and face," he said. “This fashion of embossing the body is done by cutting the flesh in pat­ terns of short straight lines and then rubbing’ charcoal into the cuts. These become raised like welts and few wo­ men without a pattern of this kind somewhere on theii' face or body have any claims to beautyt." Therapy Developed. The occasional traveler coming out of Surinam has reported that the medicine men of the Djukas have de­ veloped a remarkable system of ther­ apy and that they know how to com­ bat the jungle fevers an dthe venom of snakes. The anti-snake concoction is said to be so powerful that a per­ son who has rubbed it into a cut on the skin oi' takext it internally turns away the snakes in his vicinity. How­ ever, Dr. Kahn says that there is lit­ tle real proof of thls.- “This snake xnedicine," said Dr. Kahn, "is made by arranging a dead snake’s head with its tail thrust into its mouth. This is slowly baked over a fire and the remains ground into a block gowder.. I did not get an op­ portunity to investigate their system of therapy, but found Upon inquiring in the town that the snake euro is well thought of by some of tho peo­ ple. "I also learned that the Djukas have a medical center up the river, and sick men and women aro often taken up to this town, spelled Da­ homey but pronounced Daumay. “As the bush Is very thick, the Ne­ groes live along the river. They have trails through which they hunt the peccary, the tapir and the ogoiti with shotguns and sometimes they crash for some distance through the under­ growth, but the villages are all on or near the waterways. The clearings are one or more miles apart and each village Is governed by a captain or gran-man. "Far up’ in the Interior lives the king of the river—-the gran-gran man —and he is the lord and nxler of tho captains of the villages. Tho Djukas plant quite some cassava, peahuts and tho like, and this, with huhting^and fishing, provides for most of their needs. “ Premier Reviews Canada’s History Right Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King at Women’s Cana­ dian Club mon scar Captain R. H. McIntosh *Who, out to establish English long distance record In flight to India, is! poum uql auuursvuiiu usepi tow reported lost | "it is an Interesting fact A NEW MOTHER GOOSE GAME For thia game ask Mother or some­ one whp remembers Mother Gooee to write the first line of a number of rhymes on separate slips of paper and . t<^ number the uUpe. Betty, pleaeo hand one to every child and we shall begin. The child who baa Number Ona ■ must stand up and call out hie, line, j holding hie slip of paper above hlsj head. The child or children who can | finish it must jump up quickly repeat- f ing the remainder of tho rhyme. The • one who finishes first and says tt cor­ rectly takes the slip of paper from thehflnd of Number One. Many __„„ times several children are .finishing After the third’ cup of tea Lafiy!tho Thyme and trying to grasp the Houston wrote the Chancellor of the | paPer at the same time, find thi» Exchequei’ a cheque for seven and a; makes It very exciting. Of course, half million. The Chancellor put it WG eba11 remember • to be yery polite In his pocket and ordered another an<^ good-natured if someone else gets • cup of tea around. Shortly thereafter; th rough first. You’ll need a referee the party broke up with Mr. Churchill 1 ee^e who first finishes correctly. • giving Lady Houston a paternal pat I .V10 other children should follow on the back. jwith theix* lines and the one holding 1 — - • the most slips at the end wins the ' i game.J --------o—,--__ ■ A New Dish for Late Supper* | An excellent dish for the late sup­ per on cold winter evenings when something hearty is not unwelcome la recommended by a writer in th© Homo Institute of the December J “Delineator." The diah Is cold pork DEATH DUTIES Chancellor Maintained * Right to Tax Estate of Late Husband London—-The most expensive -tea- for-three in history—with Lady Hous­ ton, widow of Sir Robert Houston, multi-millionaire shipbuilder; Cha^ eellor of the Exchequer Churchill, and Sir Douglas Hogg, chief legal officer for the Crown, discussing high fina­ nce over the cups—has enriched the Government by $7,500,000, the Ince®. Some time later they were again united, and they were the whole of Canada, with an arrangement wherelby the capital moved arqund’ from one town to another, it ..was on-; ,ly alter the Parliament Bulldins tad I „Pat , , re’r“«lt',d„a been burned In Montreal that .the % Capital was established in Qttawa.Thia remained so until tho 6'0’s * when, after several’ rapid changes of j government had disorganized the political situation, the proposal was brought forward, that instead of leav­ ing the Maritime provinces to negoti­ ate a little union between ,themd&lves they should be invited to Join forces with Quebec and Ontario in forming a solid, united Dominion of Canada. The famous conference at Quebec was called, the Dominion of Canada was formed, and was formally born on July 1, 1867. Canada was then a Dominion of four provinces, for Prince Edward Is­ land did not come into the union and the other Maritimes had to deal with much interior opposition to the deal. These communities at this time were still only Bmall colonies. They were united by the St. Lawrence river only as a means of transportation. Few people realized how recent mod­ ern means of transportation were. When the first partiament met, one of the first businesses dealt with was tho repurchase of lands given previ­ ously to the Hudson's Bay Company. Thus in 1870 the province of Mani­ toba was formed. Now, on the west of coast of North America was a British community only to be reached by sailing round Cape^Horn, and they opened negotia­ tions to get into union with the Can­ ada of the east. All they wanted in the way of transportation was a waggon road, but tho Government de­ cided to give them a railroad. The first effort at a railroad attempted by the Government itself was not very successful but it was followed by the great development of the Canadian Pacific Railway. That brought Canada’s history down to 1871. . Rapid Settlement Then there was still a small com­ munity outside of the - Dominion, Prince Edward Island and in the nearer west there was a wide unset­ tled territory on which Indians and buffalo shared the land. After the i as Nova! building of the railway, came rapid and Prince settlement and Alberta and Saskat- IMPORTANT ROLE A rapid review of Canada's history, as a land of mystery first, sought by explorers and adventures, as a French colony later, then a British colony, and finally a confederated1 Dominion playing an important role in the community of British nations, constituted the main part of the ad­ dress delivered by Right Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King, Premier of Canada, before the 'Women’s Canadian Club at Montreal recently. History of Yesterday Tho history of yesterday was al­ ways bo recent that no one every knew much about it, Mr. King said, and this was particularly true of the history of Canada. Only during the Confederation celebrations had most Oanadians become fully aware of the greatness and rapidity of Canada’s development. Every nation likes to have a his­ toric background, and-people natural lly dig back to remote days in search !of their national origin People some­ times said Canada’s history went back 400 years to the discoveries of Jean Cabot. It was not until a cen­ tury later, however, with the settle­ ment of Champlain in 1608, that authority began to be established in Canada and Canadian history began. Evei* since then, the story of Can­ ada had been that of the develop-’ rnent o£ immigration., and. govern­ ment. b Then, 150 years change of national government from French to British opening of another era. And 60 years ago when Confederation came to be, Canada had advanced to be a group of smallcolonies. To-day that grouping was so preserved that it was possible to visualize the origin of Canada’s civization and the development to­ ward Confederation. While one thought of Quebec as the oldest part of Canada, there were, on the Atlantic shores, three British 1 communities, now known as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince secnemenc auu ^uuen-a uuu uaoiun- Edward Island1. At one time these ' chewan grew up and were constituted provinces thought it a good thing to. provinces in 1905 which completed the get together and form themselves; building of the Dominionas it is into a province. Mr. King thought it would not be a bad idea if they would carry that scheme out to-day. But then, there was on© large province known as Canada, and1 these three settlements, which decided to become one. In 1776 the whole of Ontario had been part of Quebec under one 1 government With it And as a mat­ ter of fact it was largely due to the French settlement In Quebec that Canada was to-day a British Domin­ ion, for when the United States broke aWaj^f^hn the Empire, if the French community had been hostile to Britain, the British settlements would undoubtedly have gone with the rest. Separate Provinces After the revolution the United again, with the rule, came the I I I! i Empire Loyalists really founded Ott'I nos4bi6. eiMar Rnmn vpft.r« Ontario *tario, and after some years ’Ontario and Quebec were made separate prov- PURSEWorkmon in ancient Britain said to have been paid, in salt, those dhys a man had to be literally Worth his salt to hold his job. HARD ON THE . “My, but the filrl^bU travel with Is easy on th© eyes." ‘ “Very—but hard on tho purse.” 000)000 which the Government said Sir Robert’s $35,000,000 estate owed In inheritance tax, and whatever re- I duction Lady Houston could negoti­ ate. Sir Robert, who left his entire for­ tune to the wife he married late in life; had one great hobby,—to escape j the inheritance tax. A few years pie. , ago he made his legal residence in Jersey, Channel Islands, where there as follows: is no inheritance tax. But the Gov­ ernment maintained he was a resident' he, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 onion, chopped, of England, 7 x-vt—.-— 2. I It was a posthumous Btroke of [ water, % teaspoon pepper, % tew The recipe for this English dish i» 8 lbs. lean pork, % teaspoon cayen- X tablespoon chopped parsley, % pint irony, therefore, which gave the Gov­ ernment $7,500,050. “The idea of negotiating with Mr. Churchill my own settlement of the tax came to me spontaneously,” Lady Houston, said. It might be added, in this1 connec­ tion, that the. Government Impounded her $2,000,000 yacht in which she likes to ride the seven seas. “I sent a telegram to Mr. Churchill saying that I wished to present to the I Government my share of the tax as ■an act of grace. “The Chancellor invited me to at the Treasury in Whitehall.' Douglas was there," she added. “We discussed settlement of the between sips of good tea. “Finally I -borrowed Mr. Churchill's pen and signed a cheque for one and a half million pounds—without miss­ ing a sip. “Absolutely, signing of the cheque did not spoil my tea. We parted hap-1 tt W1-exgn UUiiU uuu uuuravu pily, Sir Douglas, with his books, J hQ stiffr or< at fOTmai. Churchill with my cheque and I with 1 his pat on my back." spoon sage. Cut the pork in very small pieces Add seasoning and water. Line a deop dish with short pastry, pour in the meat, cover with pastry and bake in a moderately hot oven two hours. When cold, this becomes nicely jel-* > lied. Any bones from the meat may be covered with water and allowed, to simmer slowly to make a stock to use in place of the water. tea Sir tax known now. In that sense this year was only really the 22nd birthday of Canada, for it was only 22 years ago that the Canada of to-day came to be. And this year for the first time in the history of any Dominion Canada- had seen the representatives of the ! British Parliament and of the British Crown coming to Canada injffie per­ son of the prime minister "and the Prince of Wales, to congratulate Can­ ada on her jubilee. All this should Inspire Canadians, with a great lasting pride in the vast development and Wonderful progress Canada had made In so short a time. It should also inspire a great respect for the unity of the great British Em­ pire or Commonwealth of nations, which had made the progress and de­ velopment of the British Dominions . That unity was something that would endure and. something of which Canadians could well be proud. —------c-------- - . A little girl was travelling in a tramcar with her mother, a woman of very slight build. Presently on ex­ tremely stout woman boarded the car, and sat down opposite the little girl. Tho train started off with a jerk, and the child contemplated the woman op­ posite her for some minutes, then, turning to her mother, inquired in a loud voice:; “Mother, is that all one lady?" Slips That Cost Mankind is growing less sure-foot­ ed .In spite c£ better pavements, side­ walks, floors and stairways the per­ centage of accidents due to slipping, stumbling, tripping or loss of balance is steadily going up. Thoughtlessness on the part of the victim is the ex­ planation given by the State Indus-, trial Commissioner. Employers in i New York State paid $6,500,000 in the last twelve months in compensating 18,000 workers who fell. Only half oi that number were injured In like manner in 1923. On stairs the causes for falling might have been elimin­ ated with a little more care. Catch­ ing the heel of the shoe and misjudg­ ing the step are prominent In the ex­ planations. Ladders that slipped, boxes, chairs, tables or other makeshifts Used in trying to reach something account for hundreds of accidents. Wet floors were charged with 700 slips on level surfaces sustained by restaurant •workers and cleaners who should have been on guard against that con­ dition. Many others fel while carry­ ing trays, dishes or packages. Per­ sons who fell while walking on level'' surfaces outnumbered those inpured by falls from elevations, but their falls were not so serious. As a mat­ ter of economy the employer is now trying to make ..his premises safe, but the worker seems still to entertain the idea that accident chooses its vic­ tims according to their luck. “Meet the Wife” A delicious1 bit of exalted writing by the “enraptured reporter", is found int th® world’s account, 'recently, of Dwight Morrow’s reply to the Mexi­ can Consul’s speech of greeting at Laredo: “Now it might have been expected —it would have been natural enough —that a man, a banker by profession, unaccustomed to speech on public oc­ casions, in a foreign land, speaking to a foreign mind and character, would _ ___ _ , , . And in . Mr. Morrow's case there was his self- imposed resolution not to commit him­ self about Mexico until he had talked with President Calles. Se he h?J;l to choose his words. He chose them to' perfection: “Tt was very kind of you to take the trouble to come here to. welcome me,’ he said. -T think you very much. May I present you to Mrs. Morrow?’" In other words, the Ambassador, summoning every mental resource of the banker and diplomat, said to the Mexican official. New “Meet the wife." York Evening Post. A Flashlight Trick new use for an ordinary flash is. to make cut-out paper men I A light dance upon the wall in a dark room.’ Mother or sister can easily cut out a dancing man. Next, get Daddy’s flash light and turn out the lights In the room. Now hold the dancing man. by his hat in one hand and the flash light, turned on the wall in the other. In­ side the circle -of light on the wall the dancing man will appear, enlarged or not, according to how near you stand to the wall. Now, by keeping the hand holding the dancing man per­ fectly still, and moving the flash light up and down, the man will dance in a lively manner on the wall. A Christmas Salad Hollow out tiny rosebud beets, leaving a cup—fill with finely chop­ ped -celery, previously marinated in a highly seasoned dressing. Arrange a few capers over tho top. Fold drain* ed horseradish into mayonnaise oi Looking from her drawing-room Window> & lady saw, as she thought, a poor wretch of a man shivering un­ der a lamp-post. In a moment of pity sho sent him a ten-shilling note wrap­ ped in paper, on which she wrote the words, “Nover say diol"1 The next night tlxero came a knock at her dpor, The man who knocked was tho one “'she had seen under the lamp-post, and in handing five pounds ten shill­ ings to the lady he remarked, “Hora's your money, lady, bfovor Say Lie won at ton to one, and you wore the only one who backed It, Happy to oblige any time, remember I “ r , "Absolutely chic and Obsoletely thick are less alike to the? eyes than th.® «.«£»?’ . . ...... . - . . boiled dressing (about one tablespoon ito a cup). Arrange two or more . beets to a serving depending on their sie and poui* the mayonnaise around and between them. ' "Severe punishment in school makes a permanent Impression on the child mind," says a psychologist Tho Brand of Cane, as it Were. p “Mother goes lb the Methodist Church," said a little girl to the now neighbor. “And isn’t your father cf the same denomination,, dear?” "I don’t know zackly what (teddy is; ha ^don’t go to chttrch with mother’. "Uncle Robert said daddy must Boven Day Absentist.” Theatrical agents sometimes have to bo rather cruel One day a some* what faded woman called to apply for tho position of chorus girl “Sorry/* said the agent, tactfully, “you're toe late,” Tho applicant, knowing this was not true, bui*st into a volume of abuse, ending with, “I don’t believe Pm too Into at All.” “Oh, yes, you are,” said the agent. “About $8 jfMUta,” be A i 1 J