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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY— PUBLICATION NO. 



San Merio. A type of incense powder obtained from the 

 pharmacy, composition unknown to me. In Moche the 

 smoke is used for magical fumigation in various cures, 

 including that of siisto and quehradura. Sr. Llontop tells 

 me that it is taken internally by the crioUo public of 

 Trujillo to cure pneumonia, dissolved in weak alcohol and 

 mi.xed with a small quantity of white kerosene. Also, it 

 is used in the form of plasters on the chest, mixed with 

 boiled onions and lard. 



San Pedro (family of the Cactaceae, according to Camino 

 Calderon, 1942, p. 205). Used in Moche in brujcria 

 seances. It is a fluted cactus stem and must have at least 

 four flutings ; the more flutings. the more power. 



Santa Maria (family of Liliaceae, according to Angulo). 

 In Moche the leaves are heated over the fire, and the 

 whole body is massaged with them in cure of suslo. Also 

 taken internally in infusion for correcting menstruation, 

 according to Angulo. Also, leaves used to make a tea 

 drunk with meals as a beverage. 



Savila (Aloe vera, A. abyssinica). In Moche it is believed 

 that when a brujo enters the house, the savila hanging over 

 the door will turn red and even, in some cases, exude 

 drops of blood. According to Valdizan and Maldonado 

 (1922, vol. 2, p. 199), this i>lant was brought from Spain 

 in the first years of the Conquest. In addition to its power 

 to protect from brujcria, which is general throughout 

 Peru, these authors say that it is in use as a general 

 antidote for poison. 



Sombrerita. A lilylike low-growing ground plant ; an in- 

 fusion is drunk for kidney trouble (dolores de los rinoncs). 



Tamarindo. Fruit used as a purgati\e. 



Tara (Cacsalpinia I'mctoria). In Moche an infusion of the 

 vine is used as a vaginal douche to cure white discharge 

 and uterine hemorrhages. Valdizan and Maldonado (1922, 

 vol. 2, pp. 209-210) indicate that it has a general use in 

 Peru as an astringent. 



Toronjil (MrHssa officinalis). In Moche used as a sto- 

 machic and in heart trouble; also as a pharmaceutical 

 preparation, one of the "waters of silsto." 



Turre. In Moche a cure for scurvy. The root is mashed 

 up and a bit of bicarbonate of soda and some drops of 

 lemon mixed with it, to which is added boiled water. 

 Taken internally. 



Valeriana. Used in susto and as a heart remedy. 



Veneno. A plant used for curing in Moche. The leaves 



are mascerated and mixed with or moistened with agiia 

 de florida. The whole mass is sewn into a cloth scapular 

 and hung around the neck as a protection against sitslo, 

 especially in children. 



Verdolaga, purslane (Fortulaca peruviana, P. oleracea). 

 Infusion of stems as diuretic in Moche. Valdizan and 

 Maldonado (1922, vol. 2, p. 151) report the following 

 uses in various parts of Peru : Applied as a plaster to 

 the abdomen in certain dysenteries, in southern Peru; 

 seeds used as emmenagogues and vermifuges; trunk or 

 stem as infusion for liver trouble in Loreto; decoction 

 given as refreshing enema in burning fevers (Piura); 

 also as cooling agent, sedative, and antiscorbutic (Cuzco). 



Verbena {Verbena liUoralis, according to Angulo; V. 

 bonariensis, according to Valdizan and Maldonado). Root 

 only in infusion used as an antimalarial and emollient in 

 Moche. Elsewhere, according to Valdizan and Maldonado 

 (1922, vol. 2, p. 228) : Decoction for pernicious ulcers in 

 Arequipa ; for malaria in Ayachucho and Loreto ; as a 

 poultice of the leaves to relieve pain and superation in the 

 liver (lea) ; powder drunk in old wine for liver trouble 

 in Arequipa ; decoction taken with salt and lemon as a 

 purgative in the north ; decoction taken as mouth wash 

 for toothache in Cajamarca; poultice of leaves as hemo- 

 static in small wounds ; decoction in enemas during typhoid 

 fever in Loreto; decoction by mouth for colic in Puno; 

 decoction by mouth as a febrifuge in Huaylas. 



Yedra, ivy. Leaves and stems are mascerated and made 

 into an infusion which is used to bathe irritations of the 

 skin. Not mentioned by Valdizan and Maldonado. 



Yerba de gallinazo (Cheuofodium opulifolium; C. murale, 

 according to Angulo). Leaves and stalks in raw form 

 used for massage by curanderas in Moche, in cure of si'slo, 

 especially in adults. 



Yerba mora. A small j'lant witli long white flowers, used 

 in enemas. 



Yerbaliza, yerba Luisa (Andropogon schoenanthtis). Used 

 as a standard beverage in Moche, also beUeved to have 

 stomachic properties. Valdizan and Maldonado (1922, vol. 

 2, p. 113) say that this plant is native to the north and 

 center of India and was unknown in Peru until introduced 

 by the Spanish. They report that it is used as a carmina- 

 tive in Lima, Arequipa, and Loreto. 



Yerba santa. Leaves are boiled and bound onto a wound 

 in a poultice, especially good also for boils and pimples. 



RELIGION 



THE VARIOUS RELIGIONS OF MOCHE 



Strictly speaking, the "religious" parts of a cultural 

 system are those complexes — orientations, trends, and 

 objectives — which invariably involve symbolic pat- 

 terns dealing with the supernatural. In other words, 

 "religion" in cultural anthropology refers to cultural 

 beliefs and practices based upon notions of super- 

 natural or extranntural power and/or beings. In this 

 broad field, Moche culture is a mixture or mosaic as in 

 so many other areas. In the foregoing section on 



Native Medicine and Magical Curing much of the 

 "religion" of Moche has been described. In this sec- 

 tion I shall deal briefly with certain religious beliefs 

 and practices associated with the Roman Catholic 

 Church. Before opening this subject, however, it is 

 worth noting several divergent trends in Moche re- 

 ligious culture and thus in the religious thinking and 

 acting of the typical individual. Underlying all is a 

 common body of rather generalized and amorphous 

 ways of thinking which we might call the substratum 



