22 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY— PUBLICATION NO. 



none are systematically tended as are the domesticated 

 crops. 



Aleli. Small, narrow-leaved tree; flowers arc used tor 



decoration and sold in the market. 

 Algarroba. Wood of the tree used for supports and beams 



m houses; sweetish, large beanlike fruit eaten or sucked. 

 Cactus. \'arious tyi'es are found rarely in the Moche 

 countryside, and mostly near the borders of irrigation. 

 Cultivation is intense enough to keep most of the plants 

 rooted out oi the farming area. The most useful is pana 

 (name of the plant), which is a fleshy, low cactus, produc- 

 ing a fruit called timti. which is gathered and eaten. Cactus 

 plants are not regularly planted as fences or on top of 

 tafia fences as in certain other Latin American countries. 

 e. g., parts of Me.\ico. 

 Caiia brava (cane). Grows wild along the edge of certain 

 irrigation ditches and also in large quantities near the 

 river. Used in making house roofs and quincha walls, etc. 

 Choloque. Tree which has a fruit encased in a green-yellow 

 shell ; the shell, removed from the fruit produces "suds" 

 when rubbed in water and is considered the best "soap" 

 for washing woolen goods ; inside the shell, which is soft 

 and sticky, is the fruit, a hard, dark purple, practically 

 round ball about three-eighths of an inch in diameter, 

 which is used in the marbles games of small boys. 

 Cinamon. Tree used for wood in construction. 

 Higaron. .A large tree, with large rubbery leaves; when 

 twigs are broken, a white, milky, sticky sap oozes out, 

 which is much prized for curing guebradura (umbilical 

 hernia in children). The tree usually grow-s in huertas. 

 although it is also found in field borders. 

 Ingrio bianco (also a variety called Colorado). Plant 

 looks somewhat like castor-bean ; produces seeds covered 

 with a burr, which contain oil ; sometimes planted, but 

 mainly regarded either as a weed or as decoration about 

 the house. 

 Norbo. A climbing \ine, somewhat like a morning-glory, 

 which produces a daisylike flower; usually grows wild in 

 field borders, sometimes planted as cover for outdoor 

 arbors. 

 Pajarito. A small bush, producing a blue flower with a 

 white center ; usually wild, but sometimes transplanted to a 

 hui-rta for decoration. 

 Pegopego. A weed, somewhat like a nettle, which grows 

 along the sides of the irrigation ditches and in field 

 borders. It is said that the wild doves (palonujs) become 

 entangled in it and are easily caught. 

 Uiia de gato (literally cat's claws). Grows alongside of 

 tapias and irrigation ditches and is frequently planted to 

 serve as a fence and to keep livestock from wandering. It 

 is covered with spines. 

 Yerba luiza. A grass, the leaf of which looks much like 

 that of sorghum, but which, when rubbed, is aromatic. It 

 is much used in an infusion to make a beverage, taken 

 either hot or cold. When one speaks of "tea" (ie) in 

 Moche, the reference is practically always to this beverage 

 of yerba lui:a. rather than to India or China tea. 

 Yuyu. A low plant which looks something like ragweed; 

 not usually planted, but leaves are cooked and eaten as 

 greens. 



A partial list of wild plants gathered for their 

 medicinal properties follows, in order to give some 

 idea of the knowledge of nature which a Mochero 



possesses. A man or woman walking through the i 



countr>-side is frequently engaged in casually picking j 



certain herbs as he goes along, to be taken back to ;i 



the house for future use. A more complete list of ( 



medicinal plants will be found in the section dealing ; 



with medicine and curing. Certain families trans- j 



plant some of these plants to their garden orchards i 



in order to have them ready to hand in case of need. 1 



Altamis. When one has bone ache, or cold bones (hticsos i 



fries), the leaves of this plant are heated and bound on to 



the leg or arm in order "to get rid of the cold" {guitar el 



frio). 

 Brocamelia. Flowers are made into an infusion as remedy 



for cough. \ 



Campana (fionbundo). A small tree with lilylike leaves; j 



the flowers are rubbed together in the hands and used as a | 



poultice to relieve inflammation. 

 Chamico. A weed, the dried leaves of which are smoked in 



cigarettes for the cure of asthma. 

 Chilco macho. A tree, the leaves of which are heated and 



bound as a poultice over a broken bone in order "to keep 



out the cold." 

 Flor muerta. A yellow flower; this is cooked into a paste 



and stufTed into an aching tooth. 

 Malva real. .A roadside green plant (not to be confused 



with mah-a de olor) ; stems and leaves used for enemas. 

 Rabo flaire. A plant with an apjcarance like that of bur- 

 dock ; root is mashed up and used in an infusion with 



chworia. verbaia. etc.. for enemas. 

 San Juan. .A creeping vine with a yellow flower ; the body 



of an asustado (literally, "frightened"; a type of illness 



prevalent in Moche) is rubbed with the whole plant. 

 Sombrerita. A lilylike, low, ground plant ; an infusion like 



tea is made from the leaves to cure kidney trouble (dolor 



de los riiiones) ; this infusion is usually made together with 



the leaves of amor seco and grama duhe. 

 Tamarindo. Tree, the fruit of which is used as a purgative. 

 \ erbena. Root only is used in an infusion for the cure of 



malaria and other fevers. 

 Yerba mora. Small vine with long white flowers, used for 



enemas. 

 Yerba santa. Grows wild ; leaves are boiled and bound onto 



boils as a poultice. 



From the point of view of acculturation, it is worth 

 noting that many cultivated plants in Moche bear 

 names, now in common use among the natives, which 

 are native neither to this region nor to Peru. .\s 

 Herrera and others have pointed out,-^ the words 

 aji. caygna icaigiia), guayaba. maiz. mani, papaya, 

 tomatc, tuna, yiua are Haitian in origin : camote and 



=» Herrera, 1942; also Arona, 1938 (see various words in his 

 dictionary) ; Valdizdn and Maldonado, 1922, vol. 2, p. 57 and passim. 



