MOCHE: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMUNITi'— GILLIN 



133 



patient. (Pis. 22, lozirr (center and right), and 23 

 show various stages in the process of the cure.) 



In case the patient has lost his soul at some viistant 

 place, e.g., in the field, the curing ceremony just 

 described must be <,'one through at the site of the 

 fright. Some curers walk through the streets and 

 the lanes, carrying the patient's clothing in hand 

 and calling loudly for the return of the soul. The 

 curing woman with whom T worked disapproves of 

 this, because it may attract the attention of evil 

 brujos and shapiiigos (evil spirits or devils). 



After a treatment, the patient must be kept in bed 

 for a day. He is not to take milk, cow meat, plantain 

 or banana, or oranges. The patient can lake sheep 

 broth or chicken broth and can eat pldtano de la isla, 

 sancochado. Tea made from the gratings from the 

 stem of the Valeriana should be given frequently. 

 Otherwise he should eat only rice, noodles, and 

 "cold" foods, but plenty of them. 



It should be noted that no internal medication is 

 given during the curing session itself. 



Some curanderos use a cock's comb instead of the 

 herb-stuffed escapularios mentioned in step No. 3 

 of the above-described treatment. The comb is cut 

 ofT the living bird, and a cross with the blood is 

 made on the forehead and on the base of the neck 

 of the patient with a verbal invocation. Then the 

 patient is rubbed with agua de florida sprinkled on 

 brown cotton, after which the comb is strung on a 

 string with a needle and suspended around the neck, 

 hanging down on the chest. This is supposed to be 

 especially good in the treatment of women. 



If the patient recovers his normal personality and 

 health, it is believed that the spirit has returned to 

 his body. However, it is sometimes impossible to 

 call back the spirit and the patient dies, for it is be- 

 lieved that it is impossible to live with a permanent 

 susto (i. e., to live without one's soul). While I 

 was working in Rloche, a young man named H., 

 about 32 years of age, died. It was widely believed 

 that the basis of his trouble was an uncured susto. 

 About 4 years previously, he had fallen down and 

 hurt his hand, and in the process had sustained a 

 violent susto. Although he received treatment, it 

 was impossible to secure the return of his soul, and 

 he continued to decline until he contracted tubercu- 

 losis, which killed him. This case, incidentally, is 

 complicated with brujeria. Many persons agreed 

 on the following version. He became enamored of 

 a certain girl, who was said to be very determined 

 (bicn gitapa; giiapa here does not mean "good look- 



ing" as in some other parts of Latin America, e. g., 

 Guatemala). She became pregnant by him and was 

 resolved that he would marry her. He was working 

 as a collector on a bus, but she persuaded him to 

 give up this job so that he could be with her more. 

 Although other work was offered, such as road 

 work, she would not allow him to take it because he 

 would have to be away from Moche part of the time. 

 He became restless, would not marry her or care for 

 the child she bore him, and had affairs with other 

 women. Therefore she bewitched him or had him 

 bewitched. After this he became much attracted to 

 her and settled down with her, but shortly thereafter 

 fell ill of susto. He left her with three small children 

 at his death. It is believed that the bewitchment 

 prevented the return of his soul, which had been 

 captured by his cnamorada or the brujo she had 

 employed. I cannot vouch for this series of events, 

 of course. The story is only "what people say." 



Another case was told me of a woman who fell ill 

 with susto and died within a year, "because she did 

 not believe in curaudismo and would not take the 

 cure." 



Susto in children seems to occur most often at 

 about the time the child is beginning to walk and 

 to be weaned, about 1 year of age. The locally recog- 

 nized symptoms are fretfulness, low fever, "colic," 

 diarrhea, pale shriveled armpit, and bloodless ear 

 lobe. It is of much more frequent occurrence than 

 susto in adults. One cannot pass over the sugges- 

 tion that the difficulty, whatever it may be from the 

 medical standpoint, seems to occur at a period of 

 crisis in the infant's life, i. e., when it is making a 

 readjustment from the complete dependency of its 

 mother's arms to the increased necessity for self-re- 

 liance of the toddler. There is no forcible weaning 

 among the Mocheros, but one child is frequently 

 supplanted by a younger one at his mother's breast, 

 so that sibling rivalry may be one of the factors in 

 infantile susto as well as dietary readjustment. The 

 treatment session follows exactly the same steps as 

 those outlined above for the adult, including the 

 calling of the spirit, except that the child is usually 

 held in its mother's arms. Plate 24 shows a series 

 of scenes in the treatment of infant susto. The 

 condition may also befall older children as well, in 

 which case its onset coincides with a specific 

 "fright." 



PHYSIOLOGICAL WEAKNESS 



It is believed that the physiological system is at its 

 lowest ebb about midnight, and this is the time when 



