MOCHE: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMLiNITi— GILLIX 



(!3 



from the drug stores in Trujillo. The rockets, 

 known as colictcs and also as savillanas, consist of 

 the following parts. The noise-making or bomb part 

 is a ball of explosive wrapped in leaves, with a fuse 

 protruding. The rocket charge consists of explosive 

 powder. Both bomb and charge are stuffed into a 

 cylinder consisting of a leaf-wrapped section of cane 

 in such a way that the fuse of the bomb protrudes 

 backward into the rocket charge. The rear end of 

 the cylinder is stopped with leaves through which a 

 fuse projects. The cylinder in turn is bound to a 

 handle of split cane or bamboo. When the con- 

 traption is shot off, one holds the handle in the left 

 hand, pointing upward, and touches a light to the 

 fuse, which starts the rocket charge. The whole 

 thing, handle and all, shoots up SO to 100 feet into 

 the air. By the time it reaches the top of its flight, 

 the fuse of the bomb is supposed to have burned 

 through and the bomb bursts high in the air, shatter- 

 ing the bamboo or cane cylinder. The light handle 

 falls to the ground. It is said to require considerable 

 skill and experience to be able to mix and place the 

 charges correctly so that all this happens as planned. 

 Ordinary rockets of this sort sell for 3 soles a dozen. 



In connection with this chemical industry, mention 

 may be made of a fire-making custom. It Is said that 

 when matches are not available in the caiiif'irm. the 

 people go to the mountains and obtain a certain white 

 stone : there is a good deal of this on the Cerro 

 Blanco back of the Huacas. One rubs this against 

 his pants until it glows, then holds it against a piece 

 of manure and blows on it until the manure is glow- 

 ing. I have not seen this procedure. 



Basketry is made in several households lor sale. 

 There are at least a dozen households regarded as 

 specialists in this industry. The material is carrizo, 

 which grows wild and is also planted as cuttings in 

 some fields. The stems are split and smoothed down 

 with a wooden-handled kitchen or butcher knife 

 (pi. 17, i(/'/>('r (left)) into thin strips. All baskets 

 made in Moche are ovaloid or globular in shape. 

 often with stiff loop handles over the top, but without 

 lids. Trays, rectangular or cubical baskets, either 

 simple, or the telescoping type, are not made. Sizes 

 range from small arm baskets about the size of a 

 gallon container to large storage baskets 4 feet high 

 by Syi feet in diameter. All baskets have fiat bases 

 of a discoid pattern. In making a basket, either 

 three or four sets of stiffening elements ("warps") 

 are crossed at a single central point, as shown in 

 plate 17, upper (riglit). to give the effect of six or 



eight radiations from the central base point. Each 

 stiffening element consists of a group of four split 

 canes, somewhat thicker than the strips which are 

 used for weaving the wickerwork. The base is then 

 started by weaving the crosswise element over and 

 under the stiffening elements, around the central 

 crossing point in simple spiral fashion. The wea\ing 

 is done with the hands while one stands on the 

 stiffening elements with his bare feet to hold them in 

 position. After a base a foot or so in diameter has 

 been woven, the ends of the stiffening elements are 

 tied upright to a cord passing about them, as show-n 

 in plate 17, middle (left), to give the approximate 

 shape of the finished basket, after which the spiral 

 weaving continues. The rim is made by a continuous 

 strip of thin material bound in spiral fasliion round 

 and round the two uppermost weaving elements and 

 tucked in on itself when the rim is finished. 



It seems that textile weaving has fairly recently 

 disappeared in Moche, although it has not been gen- 

 erally practiced during the past 43 years. One old 

 lady living in the caiupina has a belt loom, but she 

 says that she seldom weaves any more. Most women 

 fonnerly wove havcta for the old costume; it is said 

 that, since the old trade pattern with the Sierra vil- 

 lages has disappeared (p. SO), it is difTficult to obtain 

 wool and dyes, and it is more economical to buy 

 readv-woven material in the markets. Quite a num- 

 ber of the older women still spin, however. The pur- 

 pose is to make the yarn of brown cotton which is 

 used in the Mocheras' hairdress, as described above. 

 The spindles I have seen have whorls of calabash and 

 a pointed, but bookless, end. They are spun with the 

 fingers and hang free when spinning. 



The two types of mats, esteras and petatcs. previ- 

 ously mentioned as being extensively used in house 

 constniction and furnishing are also made for sale. 

 The pctatc is a simple checkertoard or twilled (two- 

 jump) mat made of split canes or carrizos; the ele- 

 ments are stiffer than the totora reeds used for 

 making esteras. The latter consist of reeds laid side 

 by side and tied together by crosswise running double 

 cords into small bundles of four to six reeds each. 

 The crosswise binder may be of cotton cord or of 

 thinly split toiora itself. Two methods of binding are 

 used. One is the continuous double cord which is 

 twined and often knotted on itself between each 

 bundle ; the other method is the single tie, as follows : 

 Bundles of reeds lie side by side. A, B. C, D, etc. ; 

 first a tie is made around A and B, and the cord is 

 knotted and cut oft' : then another cord is used to make 



