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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY— PUBLICATION NO. 3 



plant is made into a fine powder and a pinch is 

 administered in wine or otlier drink. The male type 

 is administered to men and the female type to 

 women. If one wishes to excite a lover, the adminis- 

 tration is done by stealth. However, it may also be 

 self-administered to increase one's sexual power and 

 desire. I believe that, in Moche, the latter use is 

 even less common than the former. No chemical 

 analysis of this material is known to me which would 

 show whether it possesses any actual physiological 

 effect, or whether the alleged results claimed for its 

 use are merely psychological. However, overdosage 

 is said to be harmful and even fatal. For this reason 

 the huaiiarpo is also known as '7(7 iiiitcrlc diilcc" 

 (the sweet death). 



Another aphrodisiac mentioned, which I have not 

 seen, is called achttni-Iuilhi,"" also said to be adminis- 

 tered in drink in the form of a powder. 



ABERR.\NT INCEST AND BRUJERIA 



Although it is regarded as incestuous and tabooed 

 to have sexual relations with or to marry a person 

 of the same family name, and certainly one who is a 

 first cousin, the following aberrant case cam.e to my 

 attention. An old lady named J. has a sister named 

 F. who in turn has three daughters by her dead 

 husband, C. J. These daughters we shall call X., 

 Y., and Z. T- had a son named P., now 32 years old, 

 but still a "soltrro." i. e., not officially married. 

 Nevertheless, for a time he lived with and had sex 

 relations with his cousin X. Later he had sex rela- 

 tions for more than a year with her sister Y. Y. is 

 now ill and under treatment by a curing witch. 

 While these intrigues were going on, Z. fell ill of a 

 mysterious ailment and died. F. accuses her sister 

 J. of bewitching her daughters, first because two of 

 them committed incest with their first cousin ; second, 

 because one of those who did so is now sick ; and 

 finally she accuses the sister of having caused the 

 death of the third daughter by witchcraft. J. insists 

 that these accusations are baseless, but admits that 

 the so-called incest took place. It is known as an 

 open scandal in the community and the general 

 public believes that someone was bewitched, other- 

 wise the behavior would not have taken place, but 

 opinion is divided regarding who did the bewitching 

 to whom. 



52 According to Camino CaUleron, 1942. p. 1*^3, adntni is the Am.i- 

 zonian otter or nutria (Nastiu socialis) and hutlu is a corruption of 

 Quechua "tullu," meaning Iwne. Achitni-hullu is, according to this 

 source, the penis bone of the Amazonian otter. 



COURTSHIP 



Young people of opposite sexes become acquainted B 

 in each other's homes when they and their parents i 

 go visiting, especially during drinking sprees, in ( 

 school, in church, during the community religious 'i 

 and patriotic fiestas, and through chance meetings ;< 

 and arranged appointments in the campina and the i 

 village. 



When a couple decides to set up housekeeping 

 together, the boy is supposed to ask the girl's parents 

 for permission. The proper way to do so is as in 

 the following case, which actually occurred during 

 the period of investigation. The brother of one of 

 my friends, M., is regarded as a correct young man 

 in these matters, and his request for his intended's 

 hand followed these lines. The whole process is 

 called "intcncionauncnto." The brother, or novio, 

 came to M. and to M.'s uncle, Tio Pedro, and asked 

 if they would intervene. They arranged to go with 

 him to the girl's house at 5 a. m. one morning, 

 carrying with them a bottle of pisco, si por acaso 

 (just in case). M. says that his brother had pre- 

 viously had nothing but words with the girl, and that 

 he would not sleep with her until they were married, 

 even after the betrothal had been formally announced 

 by exchange of rings. This, if true, is atypical of 

 the majority, but nonetheless is regarded as the ideal 

 pattern. Tio Pedro knocked at the door of the girl's 

 house. After some time, the father came and acted 

 very surprised to see them there and asked what he 

 could do for them. First Tio Pedro told what was 

 on their minds, then M. The novio kept discreetly 

 silent. The father expressed surprise and said he 

 had never heard of such a thing, but he invited them 

 into the outdoor arbor of the house to hear more. 

 He turned to the novio and asked if it were true that 

 the latter had a compromiso with the daughter. The 

 novio replied in the affirmative. The father asked 

 how long this had been going on and accused the 

 novio of being a sly and underhanded character to 

 be able to reach this stage without the father's know- 

 ing anything about it. He, of course, had been 

 aware of the whole business for some months, as the 

 couple had made no secret of their affection and the 

 young man had been at the house and at other 

 houses for chicJia and causa with the girl various 

 times in the presence of her father. The father next 

 called in the girl and in a tone of incredulity asked 

 her if she had a compromiso de amor with this — this 

 mere boy. (The noz'w was 24 years old. ) The girl 

 admitted that it was true and that she wished to 



