HIGHLAND COMMUNITIES OF CENTRAL PERU—TSCHOPIK 45 
small scale. The domestic animals, which in the 
town are kept in small numbers, are driven to 
pasture in the fallow fields of the secarrén by the 
women and children. Some Sicainos own exten- 
sive herds of sheep, which are pastured in the 
upland meadows. 
Although Sicaya is not primarily a market town, 
a small market—usually attended by few out- 
siders—is held in the principal plaza on Thurs- 
days, and a smaller assemblage of vendors sell 
their wares on Sundays. As in Huancayo, Chu- 
paca, Muqutyauyo, and elsewhere, cash sales 
have largely replaced barter. 
The great majority of the stores of Sicaya are 
owned and operated by local residents. As in 
Chupaca, however, most of the tradesmen— 
shoemakers, weavers, carpenters, etc.—are out- 
siders. The townspeople have not, with the 
exception of dressmaking, specialized to any great 
degree in handicrafts and manufactures. ‘The 
sewing of cheap machine-made garments has, 
however, grown into a sizable industry in recent 
years, and there are over 60 costureras, or seam- 
stresses, in the town (pl. 13, d); so profitable has 
the business become, that, although the occupation 
was originally confined to the women, men of the 
town are beginning to take up sewing as well as 
the sale of garments in the markets of Huancayo, 
Chupaca, and elsewhere. 
The Sicainos are proud of their reputation as 
travelers and traders and boast that fellow towns- 
men may be encountered in most cities of Peru. 
That this claim is not entirely unwarranted is 
indicated by the fact that over 200 Sicainos reside 
in Lima, and almost an equal number are reported 
to live permanently in Cafiete and neighboring 
Coastal valleys. Others are to be found in Cuzco, 
Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Cerro de Pasco, La 
Oroya, Hudénuco, and in a number of other High- 
land cities. Most of those who leave Sicaya are 
young people, men and women, who have not 
sufficient land to farm profitably, who desire to 
better themselves economically (and at the same 
time to enhance their social statuses within the 
town), and who are attracted by the more exciting 
and glamorous life which the larger cities offer. 
In Lima, while some Sicainos take up professions 
and others are employed as household servants, 
most work as butchers and as market vendors, 
and receive Highland produce from relatives who 
continue to live in Sicaya. In order that ties 
with the home town may be strengthened, the 
Sicainos of Lima have organized a club known as 
the Centro Sicaya; in addition, most return to 
Sicaya at least twice a year to renew acquaintances 
with relatives and friends. 
Although few Sicainos work in mines or make 
trips to the Montafia, approximately 120 residents 
of the town are employed seasonally on the cotton 
plantations of Canete Valley under terms identical 
with those described for the migratory laborers 
of Chupaca. 
The religious fiestas of Sicaya fall into two prin- 
cipal categories, those of the town as a whole— 
when Mass is said free—and those which are 
celebrated by congregations, in which case the ex- 
penses of the Mass are born by the prioste mayor, 
who heads the congregation. National Independ- 
ence Day, or Fiestas Patrias, is the only impor- 
tant secular fiesta. In religious festivals of the 
first order there is no dancing, feasting, or public 
celebration. Although those fiestas celebrated by 
congregations range considerably in degree of 
complexity, most involve public processions dur- 
ing which images of the saints are carried around 
the plaza (pl. 13, a), and in all there is music, 
dancing, feasting, and drinking. In more elab- 
orate fiestas there may be, in addition, fireworks, a 
special market, and bull baiting (corrida de toros).*° 
The congregation is a group of men and women 
who are united by common devotion to the par- 
ticular saint whose fiesta they celebrate. The 
leader of the congregation, who is elected for a 
term of 1 year (or in some cases 2), is the prioste 
mayor, while the other men of the group are called 
mayordomos and the women priostas. In his 
capacity of prioste mayor, the leader must pay the 
expenses of one rosario (rosary), of the Mass 
(the fees of the priest, sacristan, and cantor, 
or chanter, as well as for candles, flowers, and 
incense), of the fireworks, part of the cost of the 
orchestra, and must in addition entertain members 
of the congregation, relatives, and friends at a 
banquet during which there is music and dancing.” 
Since the products of the saint’s lands no longer 
8’ Although a single individual wears a mask in the Christmas fiesta, 
masked dances are no longer held in Sicaya and dances with special costumes 
are performed but twice a year, during the fiestas of San Sebastian and Navi- 
dad. Elsewhere in the Jauja Valley, dances with costumes and masks take 
place infrequently in Chupaca, San Gerénimo, and Orcotuna. The cos- 
tumes and masks are purely for entertainment and have no esoteric signifi- 
cance. Everywhere they are Spanish rather than Indian. 
% The fiestas of Santiago and Navidad lack publie processions, but small 
images of the appropriate saints are exhibited in the homes of those who 
own them. 
87 The typical orchestra of the Jauja Valley consists of harp, violin, and 
drum (pl. 13, c); occasionally, these are combined with European-type wind 
instruments and guitars. 
