MOCHE: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMUNITi-^GlLI.IN 



43 



wealth or expenditure, which are readily recog- 

 nizable, at least in house furnishings. A rough esti- 

 mate, on which the informants are in substantial 

 agreement, would indicate that about 70 percent of 

 the families of the community use "poor-type" fur- 

 nishings ; about 25 percent live in "middle-type" 

 surroundings ; and probably not more than 5 percent 

 live in houses furnished according to the "rich type." 

 It is, however, improper to speak of "upper, middle, 

 and lower classes" in Moche at the present time, 

 at least when considering the true Mocheros alone. 

 Many of the more respected older residents live in 

 houses furnished in the poorest style. The three types 

 of hou.se furnishings among the true Mocheros are as 

 follows : 



List of House Furnishings 



Poor-iyfc house: 



Two small tables, three benches. 



Five enamelware plates. 



Four mates (large flat gourds) for eating. 



Five earthenware pots. 



Five tablespoons of brass ; seven hand-carved spoons of 



wood. 

 Seven or eight potitos (small gourds) for drinking. 

 Five esteras (mats) used on ground as beds. 

 One enamelware chamber pot. 

 Three blankets, and some rags of discarded clothing used 



as bed covering. 

 Fireplace on the ground, consisting of lumps of adobe 



and a few stones ; burns manure. 

 Dirt floor. 

 Hand broom of brush. 



Middle-type house: 



• 



Six modern chairs, one dining table. 



One old, hand-propelled sewing machine. 



One trimk. 



Two kitchen tables with one bench of wood. 



Two wooden beds with bedclothes, including sheets and 

 pillows. 



Two enamelware chamber pots. 



Eight plates, mixed, part of enamelware, part of granite- 

 ware. 



Seven tablespoons of brass (laton), and three kitchen 

 knives of same. 



Six earthenware kitchen pots of different sizes. 



One iron frying pan. 



Two botijas for chicha. 



Tablecloth. 



Adobe stove burning wood. 



One large dishpan of enamelware. 



Five glasses. 



Eight small spoons of laton. 



Dirt floor. 



Hand broom and full-sized broom. 



Rich-type house: 



One sideboard {aparador) with sets of glasses, cups, 

 copita azapale, large and small napkins, garraja of 

 crystal, one of earthenware (barro), tablecloth. 



One dozen chairs (jiV/oj americanas) and others. 



One dining table. 



Four trunks. 



One clothes rack. 



One Singer sewing machine. 



Three bedsteads with bedclothes, sheets and pillows; one 

 bedstead of brass. 



Five enamelware chamber pots, two of children's size. 



Two iron pots. 



Ten earthenware nacional pots. 



One frj'ing pan {sarten), plates, cups, graniteware pots 

 (about five visible), five iron plates, enamelware; a 

 collection of tablespoons, forks, knives of imitation 

 "alpaca" silverware with wooden case. 



Two large kitchen tables of wood for service. 



Four benches, six mats, one skimming ladle with holes. 



Two botijas of barro for chicha. 



One stove of adobe and stone adapted for wood. 



Two bateas for washing clothes. 



Wooden or tile floor. 



Some curtains and textile hangings in the sala (parlor). 



Two hand brooms and two full-sized brooms. 



The foregoing lists include the essential furnishings 

 of houses of the three classes considered. The 

 Mocheros are not self-sufficient in furnishing their 

 houses and must buy the majority of the articles in 

 the markets or stores of Trujillo or other towns. All 

 items of cloth, metal, glass, and pottery are either 

 bought ready-made or are made of materials obtained 

 from outside the community. The local carpenters 

 make tables, benches, and chairs of the types used in 

 lower- and middle-type houses. Finer finished 

 wooden furniture is obtained elsewhere. A table 

 capable of seating eight persons costs at present about 

 30 soles ($4.62). A small bench costs about 6 soles 

 ($0.92). Adobe fireplaces are made in Moclie as 

 well as wooden spoons and containers, although the 

 last two items are also purchased in outside markets. 



THE TOWN 



This section on habitations may be concluded by 

 quoting, for comparison, Squier's description of 

 Moche, published in 1877. 



... A ride of another league, over a flat country and a dusty 

 road, brought us to the Indian pueblo, a considerable town, 

 regularly laid out, of low cane huts, their roofs of reed- 

 matting supported by crooked algarroba posts, and covered 

 witli a thin layer of mud to keep them from blowing away. 

 There were a few houses of crude adobes, roofed in like 

 manner, the whole presenting an aspect of squalid monotony. 

 We rode directly to the house of the gobcrnador, a full- 



