MOCHE: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMLrNITi'— GII.I.IX 



99 



11 to be relatively light. Nursing infants are usually 



: near the mother constantly and are given the breast 



whenever they cr}', although between nursing they 



are often carried about and amused by older small 



children. 



Quarrels between man and woman do occur, of 

 course, and even lead to physical violence between the 

 partners. However, both spouses seem on the whole 

 to take a more or less equal part, and violence is most 

 likely after one or both have been drinking. Wife 

 beating is not any more common than husband beat- 

 ing, and I know of several cases of husbands who 

 have been driven out of their homes by their wives. 

 Jealousy and the aggressions released by drink, or 

 both combined, seem to be the most frequent causes of 

 violent outbreaks. Both partners may leave the house 

 if fighting takes place. Women tend to go back to 

 their parents' house, but men tend to hide out with a 

 ceremonial relative or to leave the community tem- 

 porarily, if the matter is serious and especially if the 

 man is embarrassed {ticne vcrgilenza) . Persistent 

 quarreling usually leads to break-up of the household. 



The details of division of labor and function in the 

 household have been previously described. Those 

 families which can do so have at least two sleeping 

 rooms, one for the children and the other for the 

 parents, because the children are very inquisitive 

 about sexual intercourse {los chicos son tniiy curi- 

 osos). 



The immediate family as a social structure shows 

 certain inconsistencies which seem to be the result of 

 the fact that it is a combination of a folk institution, a 

 legal institution, and a religious institution. On the 

 one hand, we may see the Moche family as a primary 

 group composed of father, mother, and children per- 

 forming certain functions, such as economic produc- 

 tion, training of children in crafts, techniques, and 

 attitudes, preferring relaxation and recreation, pro- 

 viding shelter, maintenance, and employment for its 

 members, furnishing some religious training, and of- 

 fering an opportunity and a background for making 

 friends and social contacts. In fact, the family in this 

 sense fulfills all the functions normally expected of a 

 family in a folk society and would show no cultural 

 inconsistencies were it not that the Spanish legal and 

 social system has imposed certain forms upon it, and 

 the Church likewise. Let us try to elucidate this 

 situation as follows. 



A family is established de facto simply by a man 

 and woman living together publicly in the same 

 quarters — setting up housekeeping together, in other 



words. A family is established dc jure by filling out 

 certain forms in a Government office (civil mar- 

 riage). Finally, a family is established de rcliglo 

 by participating in a sacrament of the Church ad- 

 ministered by a qualified priest. We may speak of 

 these, respectively, as the customary, the legal, and 

 the religious family. A specific family group how- 

 ever, may be only customary, without the legal and 

 religious sanctions. Or it may combine the cus- 

 tomary, legal, and religious institutions. (Legal 

 marriage without the church ceremony is practically 

 unknown in Moche. ) 



We should not overlook the distinction between 

 family and household. At any given time a house 

 is usually occupied by a family and this unit forms 

 the household. Households, however, may be broken 

 up by separation or death of the .spouses. Such an 

 event does not break up the family in the legal sense. 

 That is, the members of the former household may 

 still be members of the family in the sense that they 

 may have claims against the persons or property of 

 other members. Thus, although households seem to 

 be characterized by tranquility and lack of disputes, 

 families in the legal and kinship sense are less so. 

 Most of the quarreling over property which occurs 

 between siblings takes place after their common 

 household has been broken up or after they have 

 left it. 



As regards the status of the members of a family, 

 there is no cultural difficulty so long as the customary 

 aspects alone are considered. Complications arise 

 when we (and the Mocheros) begin to consider the 

 legal and religious aspects. 



First, to consider the religious aspect, a union 

 sanctioned by the Church may not for practical 

 purposes in Moche be dissolved in the eyes of the 

 Church. The training behind this attitude and the 

 solemnities of the religious wedding ceremonies are 

 such as to invest the status of religious marriage with 

 a heavy charge of emotionalism. Although such 

 marriages are occasionallj' dissolved by the partners 

 simply breaking up the home and going to live with 

 other partners, the guilt feelings involved and the 

 community pressures brought to bear are disquieting, 

 to say the least, to the individuals. Rather than face 

 the responsibilities which a church wedding lays 

 upon them, man}' a couple elects to dispense with it 

 as well as the preceding legal formalities. The man 

 must take the initiative in arranging a church wed- 

 ding, and some men apparentl)' are reluctant because 

 the lack of this solemn seal upon their family life 



