MOCHE: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMUNITY— GILLIN 



39 



Most frequently there are three horizontals in the 

 middle series, and two in the upper series. In the 

 "primitive" type of qu'mcha, stability is given to the 

 construction by tying some or all of the upright mem- 

 bers to the horizontal members with rawhide strips 

 of cattle hide. In the "sophisticated" type, stability is 

 provided by upright posts of sawed lumber, rectan- 

 gular in cross section and about the size of a "2 by 

 4." These upright posts have holes bored in them 

 into which the horizontal canes are inserted, thus pro- 

 viding stability and support. In this type of quiiicha 

 the uprights and horizontals are seldom tied to- 

 gether. In a well-made quincha the projecting upper 

 ends of the canes are cut off on a horizontal 

 level to produce a clean-cut top, but this is not 

 universally practiced. After the construction of 

 the cane wall, as described, the inside and outside 

 are plastered with mud in a very moist state, just 

 short of liquid (much more maleable than is necessary 

 in making adobes or tapias) . A well-made job will 

 have several layers of mud which completely elimi- 

 nate any trace of the cane and which are smoothed 

 down on the surface with the edge of a board and 

 often plastered or whitewashed. In this case the wall 

 is distinguishable from plastered adobe only by care- 

 ful inspection. However, many quincha walls are only 

 half-finished, even when incorporated in dwellings. 

 Also, the quincha construction is used in conjunction 

 with almost all dwellings as a form of windbreak for 

 the outdoor arbor, in which case the canes are often 

 only partially covered with mud and their tops are 

 allowed to protrude in an irregular line toward the 

 sky. 



Shelters made of tofora have no particular plan 

 or shape. Only occasionally are complete dwellings 

 made of this material (pi. 11, lower (lejt)) and 

 usually only by families who are waiting to con- 

 struct a more permanent house. Occasionally shel- 

 ters of totora are erected for guests, and lean-to 

 sheds, made of totora mats leaned against a house 

 wall, are not uncommon. Totora mats are also used 

 for partitions, as windbreaks for kitchens, very oc- 

 casionally as shades for outdoor arbors, and in other 

 ways as adjuncts to architecture. 



Wooden rafters and uprights occur in all houses, 

 except those of the totora type, in which a frame- 

 work of saplings is used. In the more elegant houses 

 in the pueblo, the rafters are made of sawn lumber, 

 obtained in Trujillo, about the size and shape of "2 

 by 6's," and the roof framework is fastened to them 

 with nails. In the campina it is more common to 



construct the rafters of small logs of wood, usually 

 willow, which grows along the banks of the acequias 

 (irrigation ditches). These are cut and trimmed 

 with steel axes of the usual European model. Not 

 a few houses in the pueblo use this type of rafters 

 as well. 



In the pueblo all houses have doors of wood. 

 Sawn lumber roof frames, doors, and door frames 

 are usually fitted and made by professional car- 

 penters, of which there are 19 in the community. A 

 door may cost from 20 to 60 .soles ($3.06 to $9.18), 

 or even more, with hinges and lock, depending upon 

 its elaboration. Doors frequently have barred, glass- 

 less openings in the upper panel. Except in houses 

 built by jorasteros in the "Peruvian coastal" style, 

 windows are practically unknown in Moche houses. 

 Light for the inner rooms is provided by a square 

 or rectangular hole in the roof, which may be com- 

 pletely open, or may be covered by a hinged trap 

 door which opens upward. In the most elaborate 

 constructions a small square lantern or cupola with 

 or without glass windows on all four sides covers 

 the hole in the roof. 



No roofs in Moche are watertight, and cracks of 

 light are usually visible from within, even in the 

 more permanent types. Since it "never rains" ex- 

 cept at intcn'als of a generation, the roof serves 

 mainly as protection against the sun and the wind. 

 Whichever type of rafters is used, they are laid in 

 parallel fashion, horizontally set into the adobe or 

 tapia walls usually within 3 to 6 inches of the top 

 of the walls, in some cases in mere notches in the 

 top of the wall. In the house with quincha walls 

 the rafters are supported on stringers which are in 

 turn supported by upright forked logs, set in the 

 ground, and irregularly placed, although tending to- 

 ward two in each of the four corners. The frame- 

 work is tied together with split reed used in basket 

 making. The few houses having nothing but quincha 

 walls, however, are, with one or two exceptions, all 

 roofed with pctatcs (reed mats), so that the sup- 

 porting rafters and uprights do not have to be large. 

 The petates are simply laid on and tied to a light 

 framework of saplings, canes, or very thin logs. 



In the "permanent" type of roof the rafters are 

 crossed by a series of canes, laid side by side at right 

 angles, and over this series lies another series of 

 canes at an acute angle to the direction of the rafters 

 (pi. 12, lower {center)). Over this second layer 

 of canes is placed a layer of petates. The two layers 

 are nailed to the rafters when the latter are sawed. 



