MOCHE; A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMAfUMTV— GILLIX 



139 



GEXERAL REMEDIES USED IX CURING 



Below, I have itemized a selection of the plants, 

 remedies, and apparatus used in curing in Moche. 

 Xot being a botanist, I do not vouch for the scientific 

 names, which I give only so that readers unfamiliar 

 w ith tne local terminology may have some clew for 

 identifying the plants or substances mentioned. The 

 scientific names have been determined by comparing 

 tlie common Moche names with common names 

 ■ven by Valdizan and Maldonado (1922, vol. 2), by 

 lollowing a similar process in certain other literature, 

 and by consulting with Dr. Xicolas Angulo, who, in 

 addition to an extensive medical practice, teaches 

 one course of botany in the University of Trujillo. 

 Dr. Angulo is the favorite medico of the Mocheros. 

 He will come at any time of day or night in response 

 to a call, his charges are reasonable, and he does not 

 press for collections. All this, in addition to his 

 skill as a physician and his geniality as a man, has 

 made him the most trusted of the scientific medical 

 men with whom the Mocheros are in contact. Dr. 

 Angulo is also a scientist of wide interests in anthro- 

 pology and botany, in both of which fields he has 

 published a number of papers. Up to the moment, 

 however, he has not had sufficient time to complete 

 his studies in "popular medicine," a project in which 

 he is much interested. I hereby express my appreci- 

 ation to Dr. Angulo for his many kindnesses, includ- 

 ing his placing at my disposal such information as he 

 possessed concerning botanical identifications of 

 plants used in native curing. 



I also wish to express my appreciation to Sefior 

 Juan Llontop, proprietor of one of Trujillo's leading 

 drug stores, who furnished the information incor- 

 porated in the following notes concerning the 

 pharmaceutical preparation of certain items habitu- 

 ally obtained by the Mocheros from the drug stores 

 of Trujillo. Seiior Llontop, although he received his 

 professional training in Lima, was reared in the 

 northern "Mochica" community of Monsefu, and his 

 family name is one of the oldest and most dis- 

 tinguished among the genuine natives of that com- 

 munity. 



Except when otherwise noted, scientific botanical 

 names in the list given below are those given by 

 Valdizan and Maldonado (1922, vol. 2). 



The bulk of the articles used in the mesa de brii- 

 jer'ia are listed and explained in the section with that 

 title. 



In every market in the Sierra there are several 

 stalls or places on the pavement occupied by sellers 



of herbs and simples, with the various products set 

 out before them in small cloth sacks with their tops 

 open and rolled down. In the Sierra these medicine- 

 sellers are called callahuayas and in Arcquipa. arro- 

 ceros. There are no such vendors in the Moche 

 market. In the Trujillo market some of these 

 products can often be obtained, but the variety and 

 selection is not as wide as in a typical Sierra market 

 or in the market at Chiclayo. The supplies used by 

 the curers and brujos of Moche are mostly obtained 

 in Trujillo, in Chiclayo, and from itinerant peddlers, 

 called medicos bolivianos, who visit Moche about 

 once or twice a year. 



The following list of remedies can only be con- 

 sidered a set of notes which, haply, may serve to 

 round out the picture of folk medicine in Moche until 

 such time as the material at hand can be more fully 

 studied and until further investigations can take 

 place. It would be very helpful to have a thorough- 

 going pharmaceutical study of the materia medica. 



Aceite de alcanfor. Camphor oil, used for massage. Ob- 

 tained in pharmacies. 



Aceite de camine. Obtained in pharmacies and used in 

 treatment of sores, particularly venereal lesions. 



Agua de azahar. A pharmacy preparation, orange-flower 

 water, one of the "waters of siisto." 



Agua de espanto. .\ pharmacy preparation, distilled water 

 of rosemary (romero). One of the "waters of ji<j/o." 



Agua de la Reina de Hungria. A pharmacy preparation, 

 one of the "waters of siesta." Distilled water of lavender. 



Agua de melisa. .'\ pharmacy preparation, "water ot 

 balm," (distilled water of toronjil) which is one of the 

 aguas de sttslo (waters of susto). 



Agua florida. .-V patent preparation obtainable in the phar- 

 macies ; something like cau de cologne, alcoholic and 

 heavily scented. One of the "waters of sitsto" and also 

 essential in the brujeria seance. Original is manufactured 

 in the United States. A Peruvian imitation is now on the 

 market ; brujos and curandcros claim that the national 

 product does not have the power of the original. 



Agua oxigenada. Hydrogen peroxide, obtained in phar- 

 macies. 



Ajenjo. Apparently a species of wormwood {Artemisia 

 sp.). Some persons grow it in huerias for curing purposes. 

 Dried stalks may also be purchased in the pharmacies. 



Albahaca. Grown in gardens and used as a pain killer in 

 childbirth. 



Angelote, peje perro. .A large fish egg, sometimes about 

 the si^e of a goose egg. Consists of a mass looking hke 

 egg yolk enclosed in a tough membranelike covering. Small 

 quantities are given with food. Eacli specimen sells for 

 3 to 4 soles, depending on size. 



Altamis. When one has "cold bones," leaves of this pl.mt 

 are heated and hound onto the leg or arm where com- 

 plaint is. 



Algodon pardo (Gossypium sp. ?; not definitely identified 

 in literature). In Moche this variety of cotton is erown 



