MOCHE: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMUNITY— GILLIN 



garded as forming parts of the "Mochica group": 

 Moche, Eten (between Chiclayo and the sea), 

 Monsefii (between Eten and Chiclayo), San Jose 

 (fishing village on the coast north of Pimentel), 

 Santa Rosa (fishing town on the coast southeast of 

 Puerto Eten), Reque (inland from Etenj, Morrupe, 

 Motupe, Jayanca, Salas (all in the drainage of the 

 Rio de la Leche), Magdalena de Cao (near the 

 coast a short distance north of the mouth of the Rio 

 Chicama), Santiago de Cao (near the coast, just 

 southeast of the mouth of the Rio Chicama), Hua- 

 man (a small caserio about 5 km. northwest of 

 Moche on the other side of the Rio Moche), Simbal 

 (inland from Trujillo), Guanape (a small fishing 

 village and port near the mouth of the Rio Vini), 

 Chao (at the mouth of the river of the same name), 

 and Huanchaco (a fishing village some 17 km. north- 

 east from the Moche play a along the coast). 



In 1644, according to Fernando de la Carrera, 

 priest of San Martin de Reque, the Mochica or 

 "Yunga" language was spoken in the following 

 places by a total of some 40,000 persons : Santiago, 

 Magdalena de Cao. Chocope, Valle de Chicama, 

 Paijan (in the Corregimiento de Trujillo), San 

 Pedro de LIoc, Chepen. Jequetepeque, Guadalupe, 

 Pueblo Nuevo, Eten, Chiclaiep, San Miguel, Santa 

 Lucia de Moche, Parroquia de Sana, Lambayeque 

 Reque, Omensefec, Firrunap, Tticume, Illimo, 

 Pacora, Morrope, Jayanca (in the Corregimiento de 

 Sana), Motupe, Salas (in the Corregimiento de 

 Piura), Santa Cruz, San Miguel de Sierra, Nopos, 

 San Pablo, la doctrina de las Balsas del Marafion, 

 una parcialidad de Cajamarca, Cachen, Gamboa, 

 various other parts of the Sierra around Cajamarca, 

 such as the \'alley of Condebamba (in the Corregi- 

 miento de Cajamarca). The presence of IMochica 

 speakers in the Sierra region of Cajamarca in 1644 

 is explained as due to previous deportation of the 

 natives from the coast by the Inca conquerors.® 



LANGUAGE 



At the present time no one in Moche knows any- 

 thing of the ancient language, and only Spanish is 

 spoken. In fact, the only one of the Mochica villages 

 where survivals of the language have been found in 

 recent times seems to be Eten, where Larco Hoyle 



(1938-39, vol. 2, pp. 77-82) and his agents col- 

 lected 174 words during the 1930's.' 



RECENT LITERARY MENTION OF MOCHE 



Although there is an abundant literature on the 

 ancient Mochica culture in general, as well as 

 scientific reports of archeological excavations on the 

 Moche ruins themselves, literary treatment of the 

 living population of the District, during either 

 colonial or modern times, is scarce and confined in 

 the main to passing references or impressionistic 

 accounts. Perhaps the two most ambitious modern 

 treatments are those of Jimenez Borja (1937, pp. 

 unnumbered) and Larco Hoyle (1938-39, vol. 2, 

 pp. 28-38). Jimenez Borja's "Moche" is an impres- 

 sionistic attempt to connect the ancient archeological 

 culture with the present day in Moche and Huan- 

 chaco, and endeavors to suggest such a cultural con- 

 tinuity by a search for parallels between the decora- 

 tive motifs of ancient Mochica art and present-day 

 features of the natural environment, rather than by 

 a close analysis of the customs and organization of 

 modern Mocheros. From the ethnological point 

 of view, the chapter entitled "La Campina" is doubt- 

 less the best. Larco Hoyle is much more precise in 

 the few pages that he gives to modern Moche 

 ethnology- : his collecting of material was, however, 

 incidental to his main work as a means of enlivening 

 and enlightening his very valuable archeological con- 

 tributions. A few other writers have described the 

 Moche campina in terms of "local color" or have 

 alluded to the alleged joys of drinking chicha in the 

 shadow of the Huaca del Sol. Among these writers 

 we mav mention Alayza Paz Soldan * and Miro 

 Ouesada.' 



DETAILED DISTRIBUTION OF 

 POPULATION 



According to the National Census of 1940, the 

 total population of the District, amounted to Z,77i, of 

 which 1,857 were males and 1,916 were females. 

 The population was classified by the census from 



'Carrera, 1644 (I have seen only the corrected and amplified 

 version of Villarcal, 1921). According to Camino Caldcron (1942, 

 p. 41) remnants of the Mocliica deported to the Sierra by the Inca 

 still exist in Santa Cruz, San Miguel, and Niepos (Napos). 



' Prof. Hans Horkheimer, of the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, 

 has compiled a definitive as yet unpublished vocabulary from all the 

 published sources. With duplications ruled out, this amounts to a 

 total of about 1,200 words. Sources are Bastian, 1878; Brflning, 

 1922; Calancha, 1638; Juan and Ulloa, 1751; Middendorf, 1892; 

 Ore. 1607; Carrera, 1644; Villareal, 1921; Larco Hoyle, 1938-39; 

 Zevallos Quinones, 1941; Romero, 1909. 



' 1939, pp. 359-361, a short popular account of Moche archeology 

 and present scene in the manner of a newspaper feature article: 

 1940, pp. 403-405, an impressionistic account of 3 visit to the Huacas. 



'1938, pp. 27-30; impressionistic reference to an afternoon spent 

 visiting the ruins and drinking chicha in tlie campina. 



