MOCHE: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMUNITi'— GILLIN 



17 



Although each landholder cleans and keeps in re- 

 pair his own ditches, the upkeep of the main com- 

 munal ditches of the system of distribution is done on 

 a communal unpaid basis. Periodically the call goes 

 out for the destajos (task work), and gangs of men 

 assemble with spades. Each man is obliged to work 

 a length of time proportional to his amount of ir- 

 rigated land. Often he is merely assigned to certain 

 proportional length of the communal ditch to clean. 

 The work consists in digging out the vegetation, mud, 

 stones, and other accumulations in the channel. For- 

 merly, it is said that this task was performed in festive 

 mood to the accompaniment of food and drink after 

 the manner of a ininga (reciprocal work parties), but 

 at the present time one sees none of this. It is a job 

 to be done, and that is all. 



The principal heads of the main communal ditches 

 are provided with cement sluices and steel gates, but 

 water is diverted into small side ditches by earth 

 dams bolstered by a couple of horizontal sticks or 

 boards held in place with wooden stakes, as illustrated 

 in plate 5, lower (left). Men may water small house 

 plots by ladling water out of the communal ditch with 

 buckets. This is not considered stealing the water if 

 it is done on a small scale. 



The distribution of the water on the field itself fol- 

 lows several patterns, depending upon the crop and 

 its stage of growth. Although I know of the follow- 

 ing three types, there may be more. (1) A thin 

 sheet of water is spread over the ground before plow- 

 ing if it is very hard and dry ; young plots of alfalfa 

 and newly planted gardens are frequently given a 

 similar treatment. Fields are divided into rectangular 

 plots, melgarcs; the system is called de posas. This 

 is accomplished usually by simply opening the ditch 

 in one or more places alongside the field and allowing 

 the water to spread out over the ground. (2) In the 

 second method a series of small parallel straight 

 ditches {regaderas or reventeros) run off the feeder 

 ditch (regadero) from one side of the field to the 

 other. Corn and beans are usually irrigated this way, 

 as well as yuca. (3) Winding irrigation channels 

 {de caracal) are sometimes used to irrigate yuca; the 

 channel nms down one side of the row, turns back 

 to run down the other side of the row, and so on, ir- 

 rigating the entire field from a single outlet of the 

 feeder ditch. 



IMPLEMENTS 



Fields are prepared for planting by plowing. A 

 yoke of oxen is used for traction, but the implement 



itself is a single-handled one-way walking plow, all 

 of iron, and manufactured in the United States. No 

 wooden plows are to be found in the Moche country- 

 side at present. The technique of handling the plow 

 is, however, apparently much as it was when the 

 Spanish wooden plow with iron point was used (pi. 

 6, loiver (left) ). This type of plow, although it has 

 a curved moldboard of iron, cuts a furrow only about 

 4 inches deep and often less. The depth of the fur- 

 row depends upon the skill of the driver. The driver 

 is accompanied bv an assistant who breaks the clods, 

 either with his feet or, more often, with a wooden 

 stick or iron crowbar which he carries for the purpose. 

 No harrow is used. The driver guides the oxen by 

 voice and with a whip which has a wooden handle 

 about 2 feet long and a leather thong 5 to 6 feet long. 

 Oxen have individual names to which the}^ respond 

 and they also are taught to obey commands of a 

 limited range. Oxen are usually castrated between 

 the ages of 1 and 2 years. However, bulls are fre- 

 quently used under the yoke. Both are called 

 "bueycs." When a distinction is made, the gelded 

 animal is simply called iin buey castrado. A team of 

 oxen is called a yunta (yoke). The actual yokes are 

 made of wood obtained in the campifia and fastened 

 to the horns with rawhide straps or thongs. Willow 

 wood is said to be most commonly used, although oak 

 (roble), if it can be obtained, is preferred. Almost 

 any farmer can make a yoke himself, although certain 

 ones are considered specialists and are employed to 

 make yokes for others. The yoke is attached to the 

 plow by an iron chain, not by a shaft. 



Many farmers do not possess ox teams or plows 

 and are required to hire their plowing done on a cus- 

 tom basis. In 1944 the standard rate was 8 soles per 

 day for team, plow, driver, and his assistant. The 

 hours are carefully watched, and work is supposed to 

 continue without interruption from 8 to 11 a. m. and 

 from 1 to 5 p. m. The acreage which can be plowed 

 in a day depends upon a great many factors — driver, 

 oxen, condition of the soil — but yuntas are usually 

 hired by the day only. If the work is finished before 

 the end of the day, no rebate is made. To be sure, 

 as in all Moche deals, payment may be made in pro- 

 duce rather than in cash money, but there is little 

 sharing of work which involves oxen. Even brothers 

 enter plowing deals with each other which involve 

 payment in terms of money. 



The plow is used for preparing the ground, as just 

 described. It is also used, after the ground has been 

 plowed once, to produce furrows in which various 



