MOCHE: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMUNITi'— GILLIN 



25 



Haciendita and other farastcro developments) it is 

 not the general practice to provide sheds or stables 

 for cattle. The animals are kept tethered by horn 

 ropes or neck ropes to stakes set in the fields or 

 pasture grounds and are driven out twice a day to 

 the nearest running ditch for watering, when there 

 is no water on the land. The stakes and the area 

 of grazing of each animal are constantly moved with 

 a view to prevent overgrazing of the pasture. Some 

 owners permit their cattle to run loose, if the field 

 is well closed by tapia fences, but even then children 

 are frequently assigned to watch them. A few owners 

 having houses in town maintain corrals for livestock 

 in the back yard of the house, but this is not a gen- 

 eral custom. Informants agree on a rough estimate 

 of •3.000 cattle maintained by the Mocheros. 



Milk is very little used by adult Mocheros, although 

 in the food survey ( pp. 54-60) it figures as a break-fast 

 drink for about 35 percent of Mochero school chil- 

 dren of both sexes. (In the breakfasts of jorastero 

 girls it appears 60 percent of the time, and of boys 

 64 percent.) The emphasis upon dairying, in other 

 words, is primarily due to the fact that it is a cash- 

 money product. 



In addition to cattle, which, as we have seen, are 

 of importance for milk, meat, and traction for plows, 

 the other most important domestic animals in Moche 

 are donkeys, or burros. These small and patient 

 beasts are by all odds the principal means of trans- 

 portation of cargo, and only recently have been 

 relegated to second place by the development of bus 

 transportation for the transport of persons to Tru- 

 jillo and other outside centers. Riding saddles are 

 not used on burros; the rider is cushioned by one 

 or two gunny sacks thrown over the animal's rear 

 quarters. Pack saddles are of the usual type. Loads 

 are also frequently attached simply to a padding and 

 girth combination. A few peculiar customs involving 

 donkevs may, however, be mentioned. The word 

 "burro" is used in personal insults and, therefore, 

 is not permissible in polite conversation in Moche. 

 The polite word for burro is pieajcno or pieajenito. 

 Even this reference is usually accompanied by an 

 apolog}-. Thus one will say, "Monte mi pieajenito — 

 perdon, compadrc — hasta Trujillo." ("I rode my 

 donkey — pardon, compadrc — as far as Trujillo.") 

 The sense of picajeno is "my other foot," or "substi- 

 tute for feet." When speaking to the animal itself, 

 the word "burro" or a derivative is used, as when 

 a woman, belaboring her donkey, will scream, "Ya, 

 vcte, pucs, burro." On the other hand, to call a 



653348°— 47— 3 



person a "burro" carries a heavier emotional charge 

 than to call one a "donkey" among North Americans. 

 A donkey is often ridden at the same time it is 

 carrying a load in a pack saddle. The rider seats 

 himself astride the rear quarters of the beast ; women 

 frequently curl the left leg up over the back, although 

 sitting or kneeling fully astride is not considered 

 immodest. The animal is usually mounted by hook- 

 ing the great toe over the pack saddle strap which 

 goes around the donkey's rump (this is the explana- 

 tion given for the fact that many Mocheros of both 

 sexes possess great toes widely divergent from the 

 other toes and the main axis of the foot). The 

 aljorja. a double "saddle bag" (also used as a shoulder 

 bag) is constantly present, thrown over the donkey's 

 back. Donkeys, when not working, are kept in the 

 fields, although there are several arrieros (profes- 

 sional donkey drivers) in the town, who maintain 

 corrals and buy feed. Informants estimate that there 

 are 900 to 1,000 donkeys. 



Only a few of the wealthier Mocheros own horses. 

 Most of these animals in the community belong to 

 jorasteros. They are ridden with saddles, with 

 gunny sack cushions, and bareback. A few riding 

 mules are kept in the community. 



It is common for two persons to ride one burro 

 when it is carrying no other load. The heavier of 

 the two is mounted over the hind quarters of the 

 animal. Wooden saddles, lightly covered with leather 

 and many nails, are used for horseback riding, 

 although horses are also ridden simply with pad and 

 girth, or bareback. Except for the most calloused 

 buttocks, a blanket must be thrown over the saddle 

 as protection from the rough corners and nailheads. 

 Donkeys are managed only with a halter and a single 

 tie rope, and they are prodded along with a stick, 

 which is periodically rammed into the hind quarters. 

 Horses are handled with rawhide or woven-leather 

 halters. Bits are very rarely used. The reins are 

 attached to a muzzle consisting of a single strap 

 or line of woven leather, which goes around the 

 horse's nostrils and under its lower jaw. A hard 

 pull compresses the horse's nostrils as well as lifts 

 the head. Usually the traveling gait is a soft trot. 

 The horses belong to the so-called Peruvian breed 

 (not a pedigreed stock as yet), which is characterized 

 by an unusually long pastern, making for an easy 

 trot. 



A donkey is worth from 30 soles up, a horse from 



200 soles up, and a riding saddle from 200 soles up. 



Practicallv everv household, whether in town or in 



