152 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 133 



and might occur at any time (cf. pp. 62-63). Today it is performed 

 at the qillatun, rarely otherwise, and is an expression of sincere good 

 will between people of two localities. "We had a konchitun at the De- 

 cember ijillatun for invited families from Pucura," said a Coiiaripe 

 informant ; "these people now owe us a sheep and [laughing] we must 

 hold a rjillatun in April to give them an opportunity to pay us back." 

 The following rather complete account of the manner of conducting 

 the i]illatun in Alepue area was given by a 66-year-old man with a 

 47-year-old man collaborating. The diagram in figure 3 was drawn 

 by them. Both were active participants in the ceremonial. 



The cacique of Mehuin leads the qillatun in our area, that is for Alepue, Chan 

 Chan, Pelluco, and Maiquillahue. Our cacique (Alepue) holds second position; 

 the cacique of Chan Chan, third ; and a cacique from the other side of the Mehuin 

 River, the fourth. Each brings with him a captain and a sergeant, the captain 

 taking precedence over the sergeant. The two duties of the captain and sergeant 

 are, first, to inform the people in their respective localities that a ijillatun will be 

 held and second, to assist in the performance of the ceremonies. The holy pampa 

 is in Maiquillahue — it is a hundred meters square. [The interpreter thought it 

 to be much larger. The informant continued somewhat vindictively:! Every 

 year the owner of the holy pampa extends his fences a little farther into it and 

 thereby lessens the extent of the holy pampa. 



The complete qillatun consists of two separate gatherings. The first lasts one 

 day. Its purpose is to tell why a qillatun should be held and to set the date for 

 the second meeting which is usually held two months later. The second gather- 

 ing lasts at least two days — it begins early in the morning of one day and ends 

 in the late afternoon the following day. If there is moonlight, the sacred dancing 

 will be continued through the night between the days ; if there is no moon, the 

 caciques will not permit dancing at night. 



A qillatun is held either because the leading cacique decides that there shall be 

 one or because one of the other three caciques asks him to hold one, or because 

 people in a locality jointly go to their cacique and petition for one. Other rea- 

 sons, in recent years, for holding a qillatun were continuous unfavorable weather, 

 or because our grain was not maturing as it should, or to avert the catastrophe 

 of an earthquake. One can be held for any other reason for which the people 

 may want one. The last qillatun we had— the one in October [1946] — was for 

 favorable weather. 



The first gathering is held in the open, but the qillatun itself is conducted in 

 an enclosure made of saplings, with branches and leaves retained. The saplings 

 are planted so as to slant toward the inside of the enclosure. In the center of the 

 enclosure a maqui about 5 feet high is erected. Anyone who has the good will 

 to do so may erect it. I recall one qillatun at which the maqui was forgotten. 

 On that occasion the qillatun opened and there was no maqui. The man who 

 had volunteered to get it, hurried out and got one. 



After the maqui has been planted, the four lambs that have been brought for 

 sacrifice are brought into the enclosure. These must be white female lambs ; 

 they are voluntary offerings by anyone who wishes to offer one; black lambs 

 cannot be sacrificed. White or yellow hens, about mature enough to be eaten, 

 may also be sacrificed. If anyone brings a hen of any other color, he is told that 

 he may take it home again. 



