MOCHE: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMUNITY— GILLIN 



121 



im'.)ibing of a strong alcoholic mixture through the 

 11 se produces violent eructations and belches from 

 the stomach and causes tears to run. The theon^ of 

 this snuffing is that the assistants vicariously purify 

 the situation by so doing. When they "raise" the 

 iju'sa at the start of the seance, they thereby purify 

 it and protect it from evil influences. When they 

 "raise" the patient, the latter is purified and pro- 

 tected. The procedure is said also to "raise the soul." 

 Great care must be taken during this process that no 

 drop of the liquid is spilled, and the procedure should 

 be followed through smoothly without hesitations or 

 time taken out for lengthy belching and eye wiping. 

 If a drop is spilled, the master has to purify the 

 assistant, patient, and mesa by blowing white corn 

 powder, chewed in his mouth,"- over all, and the 

 "raising" must start all over again. If an assistant 

 gets a nostril stopped up, the master uncorks one 

 of the bottles of segiiro (Nos. 27 and 28) and gives 

 him a whifif to clear it up. 



After the "mesa has been raised," the lights are 

 blown out and the seance proceeds in darkness. The 

 master now begins by snuffing up the same mixture 

 in the same way, one shellful to each side. All the 

 time he is talking rapidly in an undertone, "Now 

 we'll see. Now let's see. Ha, now it's coming," 

 and so on. Next he takes two or three noisy gulps 

 of the jasmine perfume and twice in succession sprays 

 a mouthful over the mesa to make it smell good. This 

 is supposed to keep the maleros away. Next he takes 

 a mouthful or two of agiia de florida and twice in 

 succession sprays the table with this. Next he 

 "sweetens the table" {endulca la mesa) by blowing 

 a mouthful of white granulated sugar over it. None 

 of these perfumes or sugar is swallowed. Swallow- 

 ing a liquid through the mouth during a seance 

 makes the patient weak. Swallowed liquid must al- 

 ways be taken through the nose. 



Now the master begins to call the spirits, which 

 are thought to be represented by the functional arti- 

 cles on the mesa, by beginning to shake his rattle 

 (No. 49) rhythmically, chanting and whistling a 

 special tune the while (each master has a sacred tune 

 composed by himself). At the start of this process 

 he cuts a piece of mislia negra (No. 54) about the 

 size of a quarter-inch cube and puts it in his mouth, 

 chewing it slightly and keeping it in the cheek for 

 a while until he swallows it. Calling the spirits con- 

 tinues for about half an hour, provided no counter 



** Blowing maize meal from the mouth was used by Inca brujos to 

 nullify the power of rivals. See Lastres (1941, pp. 147-148). 



Spirit (shapiugo) appears. If this should happen, 

 the calling is stopped at once. Working in a house, 

 the master has to keep his eyes fixed on the door to 

 see the shadowy shapes. In the open he looks about 

 continuously, for they come from all sides. When a 

 counter spirit puts in an appearance, the proceeding 

 stops suddenly. The audience hears the iron magnet 

 crashing to the ground some distance away, accom- 

 panied by a few fierce curses from the master. It 

 is said that the magnet flies toward the evil shade 

 of its own power, although on a confidential level 

 the master admits that, of course, he throws it. Since 

 this heavy piece of iron may be flying unannounced 

 through the darkness at any minute, it is' advisable 

 for all present to stay quietly in their places during 

 a seance, unless ordered to do otherwise by the 

 master. If the counter spirits do not go away after 

 being attacked by the magnet, one of the assistants, 

 on orders from the master, will seize the long dagger 

 or knife (No. 1) and fight a shadow battle, slashing 

 the air with the knife. If he is unsuccessful, the 

 knife will be seized by the master, who fights the 

 battle himself. It is said that occasionally a brujo 

 is overcome in one of these ghostly contests and falls 

 to the ground in a faint (or possibly from intoxica- 

 tion). This breaks up the seance and is exceedingly 

 dangerous, both for the health of the patient and the 

 reputation of the brujo. 



Once the shapingo has been routed, all present 

 stand up, the master repeats again the phrase of 

 invocation, and then continues with his calling of 

 the spirits of the herbs. At 11 p. m. the counter 

 spirits begin to come in greatest numbers, and there- 

 fore it is advisable to "raise" the patient at this 

 time. This is done by the assistants, each of whom 

 sniffs three shellfuls of liquid in the process, which 

 is divided into three "manos" (beginning with the 

 right hand) as follows : ( 1 ) Up to the waist on each 

 side; (2) up to the neck on each side; and (3) from 

 neck up to top of head, one assistant in front and 

 the other behind. The patient stands up or is held 

 up, and as the assistants raise themselves sniffing 

 the liquid they press closely against the body of the 

 patient. After the third "mano" is finished, each 

 assistant places his shell upside down on the head 

 of the patient and rubs it all over the scalp. Then 

 the patient lies down to rest. 



An even more powerful method and one also pre- 

 scribed for certain conditions of the patient — of 

 which the master must be the judge — is to administer 



653348°- 



7—9 



