MOCHE: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMUNITi'— GILLIN 



113 



said that at the present time there is no Chinese 

 laborer on any of the haciendas of the north coast. 

 Practically all of the Chinese have gone into shop- 

 keeping and into other types of business, and 

 throughout the region most of them have reached at 

 least the level of a lower middle-class standard of 

 living, and some are comparatively wealthy. This 

 seems to be an interesting demonstration of what 

 persistence, thrift, and hard work will do, even under 

 conditions which many a local Peruvian claims offer 

 no opportunities for advancement. For the Chinese 

 had neither wealth nor influence behind them in their 

 rise, and their economic situation at the start was 

 about as hopeless as could be imagined. 



One of the Japanese, who has lived in Moche some 

 years, is married to a Peruvian woman and is said 

 to have become an ardent Catholic. This man has 

 ceremonial kinship relationships with several of the 

 Mocheros. 



If all the forasteros together as a group are con- 

 sidered, with a few exceptions, it must be concluded 

 that they do not form a functioning element of the 

 society. They are an element of the population, and 

 that is all. Many of the families are actually Tru- 

 jillo suburbanites and their social position ^nd func- 

 tion are to be found in the circle of Trujillo society 

 rather than in that of Moche, and in the city they 

 belong to varying social levels and interest groups, 

 a fact which robs the Moche jorastcro population of 

 functional cohesiveness. The forasteros as a group 

 have not attempted to define a position for them- 

 selves within the Moche social scheme. There is no 

 prestige in being a jorastero, which is recognized by 

 both forasteros and Mocheros. Although certain 

 forastero individuals may consider themselves "bet- 

 ter" than iSIocheros, there is no general claim made 

 out to this effect. Thus one cannot view the fora- 

 steros as a castelike group with generally recognized 

 rights and obligations vis-a-vis the "Indian" group 

 in the community, as is the case in some parts of 

 Guatemala, for example (Gillin, 1943). Also, 

 within the group the interests of individuals are too 

 varied to permit us to consider the total agcjregation 

 as a social class within Aloche society. In short, the 

 forasteros are physically present ^^ and are tolerated, 

 but under present conditions, they are a rather un- 

 defined, although disturbing, element in the society. 



"The black dots on the plan of the pueblo (map I) show the loca- 

 tion of forastero dwellings, which will be seen fairly well ' scattered 

 throughout the town without evidencing a pattern of concentration 

 of or choice of location of social significance. 



The patterns of relationship between the forasteros 

 and the Mocheros are characterized by avoidance and 

 their effect is to maintain maximum social distance 

 on the "horizontal" plane. It is for this reason that 

 the forasteros are not as effective in the acculturation 

 of the Mocheros as they might be expected to be 

 from a superficial consideration of their numbers and 

 physical proximity. 



CLASS 



There is no evidence of true social classes in 

 Moche at the present time. The following bases of 

 differentiation exist on which class distinctions and 

 structures might be reared in the future : ( 1 ) Dif- 

 ferences of wealth: (2) differences of residence, e. 

 g., town, campina, and playa; also the three neighbor- 

 hoods of the campina; (3) differences between 

 forasteros and Mocheros; (4) differences in educa- 

 tion. 



I have already pointed out the bases of my view 

 that the forasteros do not compose a class or caste in 

 the community at present. So far as the other 

 differences are concerned, there are no symbols, 

 privileges, obligations, or internal cohesiveness which 

 set off individuals who might otherwise be .-ronsidered 

 members of one class from possible members of 

 another. The anthropologist or sociologist can 

 classify the population of the community according to 

 the differences mentioned above, but the society itself 

 has not reached agreement on the matter. 



PRESTIGE 



In the present situation, which may be one of 

 transition, such prestige as is generally recognized 

 in Moche attaches to individuals rather than to 

 groups, and is based upon what is considered valu- 

 able in individuals. Although one Azabache family, 

 as previously mentioned, vaguely promotes the idea 

 that they are descendants of the former curacas or 

 chiefs of the area, no visible or practical benefits to 

 their social position accrue thereby. One does not 

 achieve prestige, in general, because he belongs to a 

 certain family. 



A man may achieve prestige and honor among his 

 fellows by his work in mayordoinias and other reli- 

 gious functions, by the successful management of 

 his lands (thereby acquiring a respected position as 

 a good farmer), by having wealth (provided this is 

 combined with agreeable personal characteristics), 

 by being a generous entertainer (frequently inviting 



