MOCHH: A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMUNIT*'— GII.LIN 



15;') 



iiiano (grinding stones) and also uses the mortar 

 and pestle of stone. Although the baton is now a 

 simple, flat-topped grinding stone (without the rim 

 of Mochica times), the persistence of the custom is 

 worth noting. Although the common adobe stove is 

 probably a later elaboration, faggots and manure (in 

 Mochica times, presumably llama manure) are still 

 used for fuel in place of newfangled possibilities, such 

 as kerosene. Likewise, the fireplace of three or four 

 stones on the ground is not uncommon (pi. 14, lower 

 (Icjt) ), although such arrangements were found also 

 in the Sierra. 



Fish as a prominent article of diet in Moche seems 

 to be derived from the Mochica ancestors. Although 

 seviche (raw fish prepared witii lemon or lime juice) 

 in its present form could not have been a Mochica 

 preparation (for lack of limes and lemons), it is 

 entirely probable that raw fish was eaten in some 

 form anciently and that its present prominence is a 

 carry-over. (At present, in the absence of citrus 

 juices, seviche is prepared with cliicha vinegar.) 

 All deep-sea fish seemingly caught by the Mochicas 

 are fished today and eaten. Of special notice is the 

 still prominent use of shrimps and crabs, by no 

 means common to all fish-eating peoples, even on this 

 coast. The practice of sucking the meat out of the 

 shell of the muy-muy, or sea shrimp, seems to be 

 illustrated in several Mochica ceramic paintings. 

 Likewise, the use of this shrimp as bait on hooks 

 may well be a Mochica survival. 



Although nothing definite is known of the nets 

 used for fishing by the Mochicas, it is probable that 

 the chinchorro type of net was used for sea fishing. 

 Something very similar seems to have been used on 

 land for hunting deer, as illustrated in painting on 

 specimen No. 2054 in the Museo Arqueologico 

 "Rafael Larco Herrera." The use of a globular- 

 shaped gourd as float on the espinel (setline) and 

 also as floats on the chinchorro, seems to have been 

 a definite Mochica trait (Larco Hoyle, ms. c, ch. 10), 

 likewise the use of large hooks without barbs,^^ al- 

 though in modern times they are made of iron and 

 imported. The Museo Arqueologico "Rafael Larco 

 Herrera" possesses a large collection of Mochica 

 wooden objects very similar to the netting needles 

 now in use, although without the "eye" and "hook." 

 The eating of lizards and iguanas seems also to 

 have been a Mochica trait (Larco Hoyle, ms. c, ch. 

 10) , as well as the totora-roW trap still used. 



The use of gourds (potos), not only for drinking 

 and serving citicha, but as dishes (mates) and bottles, 

 seems to be a well-established Mochica trait. Lven 

 younger persons at present claim lliat the chiclia 

 tastes better when drunk from a poto. The decora- 

 tion of gourd containers by incisions and fire is 

 practically lost in Moche at present, but is main- 

 tained in Monsefu, although new techniques in- 

 volving acids and inks have also been introduced. 



The Mochero prefers to sleep on a mat of totoni 

 (est era) ; and he uses mats of carrho (petatcs) for 

 sitting on the dirt floor, as roofing for his arbor and 

 even for the houses, and as temporary partitions. 

 The use of these materials, the techniques of manu- 

 facture, and the customary uses of the finished 

 article all go back to the Mochicas. 



In the field of dress and ornament the Mochero 

 preserves little from his Mochica ancestors. The 

 preference, often shown and put into practice, for 

 going barefoot may well be a survival from the 

 barefoot Mochica culture. The piercing of women's 

 ears and the wearing of long earrings "- were present 

 among the Mochicas, but the earrings themselves 

 show little influence in detail on the designs current 

 in Moche today. 



Spinning of cotton and weaving of coarse cotton 

 cloth (bayeta) are almost extinct in Moche today, but 

 were fairly common until recently. Older women still 

 spin the yarn of algodon pardo (brown cotton) 

 which they work into their hairdress, and one doubt- 

 ful case of full-scale weaving is reported, although I 

 have not seen the loom. The northern village of 

 Monsefu maintains weaving in a well-developed 

 state. The belt loom and the calabash-whorled 

 spindle could be derived, in form, either from Mo- 

 chica or Sierra cultures. 



The binding of babies' amis to their sides may be 

 a Mochica trait, although in the ancient culture it 

 was combined with a cradle of carrizo."'^ The scene 

 involving a baby sitting upright on its mother's lap 

 and nursing from her breast hanging over the upper 

 border of her blouse or dress, as illustrated in 

 specimen No. 1054 of the Museo Arqueologico "Ra- 

 fael Larco Herrera," for example, is frequently seen 

 in present-day Moche. 



" A large collection, unnumbered, exists in the Museo ArqueoI6gico 

 ''Rafael Larco Herrera." 



"2 Illustrated, for example, is specimen No. 2,0717 in the Museo 

 Arqueol6gico "Rafael Larco Herrera": the piercing of women's ears 

 and the use of earrings were not customary among the Inca, according 

 to Rowe (1946). 



■^ Actual cradles and clay models (e. g.. No. R-4400) of children 

 bound onto cradleboards exist in the Museo Arqueologico "Rafael 

 Larco Herrera." 



