Note 12 — Chapter V · EL RIO META
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One of the peculiarities of some savages is the decided objection they manifest to having their photographs or portraits taken. They imagine that they lose somewhat of their own life by having their likeness transferred to paper or other material. And the more perfect their likeness the greater, they fancy, is the loss which they personally sustain. Having had some experience with the Indians of North America regarding this matter, I was not surprised to find that there are in South America certain Indians who entertain similar notions regarding the danger of having their pictures taken. Some, to avoid having their photographs taken, will at once avert their faces; others will run away to escape the impending danger. Cf. On the Origin of Civilization and the Primitive Condition of Man, by Lord Avebury, London, 1902, and The Indians of North America, Letter 15, by George Catlin, Edinburgh, 1903. ↑