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friend; he is like the hill which shelters from the hurricane[1] the trunk of the strong hardy Ubiratan, pierced by the Copim.[2]
The Camoçim received the corpse of Iraçéma, which, steeped in aromatic spices and sweet herbs, was buried at the foot of the palm tree on the river-banks. Martim broke a branch of myrtle, the leaf of sadness, and laid it on the last resting-place of his wife.
The Jandáia, perched at the top of the palm tree, sadly repeated—
"Iraçéma !"
From that time the Pytiguára warriors who passed by the deserted Wigwam, and who heard the plaintive voice of the devoted bird incessantly calling for its mistress, withdrew with their souls full of sadness from the palm-tree where sang the Jandáia.
And thus it happened that one day, the river where the palm-tree grew, and the prairies through which the river winds, came to be called Ceará.[3]
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Cajueiro flowered four times since Martim had left the shores of Ceará, bearing with him in the fragile bark his little son and the faithful dog. The Jandáia would not leave the land where rested its friend and mistress.
- ↑ In the original Vendaval, which is the wind that brings ships home from the West Indies. It is not constant, as the trade-wind, yet it generally ranges between the south and north- west.
- ↑ Copim, a white ant, composed of co, a hole, and pim, a sting.
- ↑ Ceará is composed of cemo, to sing loud, and ará, a parroqueet. The above is the legend which gave the province its name.