34 



INSTITUTE OF SOOAL ANTHROPOLOGY— PUBLICATION NO. 3 



so that each saiHiig has an element of some un- 

 certainty. 



The boats stay at sea, often well out of sight of 

 land, until dawn of the following morning. The 

 crews carry food and chicha for the voyage and 

 normally sleep several hours, in shifts, during the 

 night. The night is spent in darkness, as a light m a 

 boat attracts sharks and sea-lion which damage the 

 nets. Time is kept by the stars. For example, ac- 

 cording to Felipe Carranza, the Liicero de la Mamna 

 appears in November at about 4 a. m. ; Las CabriUas 

 (Pleiades) about 3 a. m. ; and El Arado sets between 

 3 and 4 a. m., at about the same time that the Cm:: dc 

 Mayo appears. When these astronomical signs show 

 that the hour is between 3 and 4 o'clock in the morn- 

 ing, the boats begin to return to port. Usually the 

 boats are out about 16 to 20 miles and require be- 

 tween 2 and 3 hours to reach Huanchaco in the first 

 gray dawn. Arrived at port, the boats tie up to the 

 lee side of the dock and the fish are carried to the 

 beach on poles as already described, or, in the case of 

 large fish, one man may carry a fish in each hand by 

 the gills. The women, children, and old men are 

 waiting. After the catch has been properly divided, 

 as described above, the women of those who have 

 participated in the djxision proceed immediately to 

 clean the fish on the beach, using the sea water in the 

 process. Livers are collected by three men, who ship 

 them to Lima, but the other viscera are usually 

 thrown into the sea. Although this practice serves 

 to attract some fish and crustaceans to the Huanchaco 

 beach, larger numbers could probably be attracted by 

 collecting the fish viscera and throwing them into 

 the sea at a point of the coast a kilometer or so south- 

 east of the town, since the prevailing current along 

 the shore sets from the southeast. 



In the division of the catch, a few odd-sized fish are 

 usually given to one or the other of a half-dozen town 

 indigents who gather at the beach for this purpose. 

 They are four superannuated fishermen and two wives 

 of fishermen lost at sea. 



By 6 a. ni. the women have usually completed 

 their work and have packed their fish in baskets, 

 ready to take to the market at Trujillo. They usually 

 leave on the truck at 6 o'clock. Transportation is a 

 sore spot with the Huanchaqueros at present, because 

 of what they consider the high fares. Round-trip 

 fare for a person is 1 sol ($0,153) ; the charge for 

 each basket of fish is 80 centavos ; and for a single ' 

 large fish, 20 centavos. Many of the women have no 

 plasa (stall) in the Trujillo market and have to sell 



their fish at a discount to other women {revenda- 

 doras) more fortunate. However, all commercial 

 transactions involved in marketing the fish are in the 

 hands of the women, just as marketing produce is 

 women's prerogative in Moche. 



The men, having cleaned up their boats, carry the 

 nets ashore, using the same pole of Guayaquil cane 

 between two men as was used in unloading the fish. 

 The nets are laid out on the beach to dry. Then the 

 men go to their houses for breakfast and an hour or 

 two of sleep. Between 9 and 10 o'clock they again 

 appear on the beach and set to work mending the 

 nets. By about 1 1 :30 a. m. the nets are mended and 

 dried. They are then folded into neat bundles and, 

 by the more careful owners, put into gunny sacks. 

 Suspended on two-man poles they are carried aboard 

 the boats about noon. By this time the women have 

 returned from the market, and the daily cycle begins 

 again. 



Summer (December to June) is regarded as the 

 best fishing season. During this period the fish run 

 closer to the surface of the sea. In the winter when 

 the fish are deep the nets are frequently submerged 

 with anchors of rock. The winter season is bad ofT 

 Huanchaco, and the boats usually fish off Guafiape, 

 Chao, and as far south as the mouth of the Rio Santa. 

 However, in any season "la biiena pesca dependc dc 

 la buena comcdura" (good fishing depends on good 

 fish food). The comedura consists of schools of 

 anchovy upon which the larger fish feed. Also, it 

 is said, "el bufeo trae la lisa y la lisa la lama, y la 

 lama la cachema," meaning that one type of fish is 

 followed into a given fishing ground by a series of 

 others in succession. "La pcscadilla anuncia la biiciia 

 pcsca." (Small fish announce good fishing.) 



Certain persons are "unlucky" fishermen, as is 

 stated by the common saying, "Fulano no pncdc tocar 

 mi red porquc tiene mala mono." (So-and-so can't 

 touch my net because he has a bad hand.) Another 

 common saying is, "La lima nncve sicmpre trae biicn 

 aire, alborota el percado, y lo hacc amainar." (The 

 new moon always brings good wind, wakes up the 

 fish, and makes them tame.) "Circulo del sol es mal 

 augnrio." (A circle around the sun is a bad sign.) 

 More faith is placed in the stars, however, than in 

 the sun. For e.xample, "Rio Jordan claro, buena 

 pesca." (When the Milky \\'ay is clear, there is 

 good fishing.) 



CAB.^LLITOS DEL MAR 



The use of the "little horses of the sea" is perhaps 

 at once the most romantic and most "primitive" 



