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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY— PUBLICATION NO. 3 



the generalized "Inca" culture present in this region 

 at the time of the Spanish Conquest, and several 

 elements seem to have been current in the Sierra 

 during the Empire. The practice of brujeria itself, 

 both in "good" and "bad" forms, was well established 

 in the Empire. With the exception of articles pre- 

 viously noted as having been used by the Mochicas, 

 the bulk of the curative herbs and objects seems to 

 have been derived from the Sierra. All non-Spanish 

 names for such articles are Quechua, which would 

 possibly indicate that, whatever their ultimate source, 

 they had been taken into the Inca system. Many 

 individual items used are also to be found in Inca 

 practices, c. g., white maize and white maize meal 

 for purifying, numerous herbal remedies and terms, 

 sacred stones from the huacas, etc. Certain forms 

 of sickness seem to have been similarly recognized in 

 the Inca configuration, especially susfo and rnal 

 airc.''^ The concept of soul loss involved in susto is 

 probably aboriginal. The practice of evil witchcraft 

 through the tni])loyment of homeopathic magic on 

 dolls antl images of the victim was current hi Europe, 

 hut was also definitely practiced among the Inca. 

 The use of amulets for protection against evil influ- 

 ences seems to derive more from the native pattern 

 than from Europe. 



Relatively few, if any, specifically identifiable Inca 

 traits are to be found in Moche Catholicism. How- 

 ever, it is probably no accident that the oflicial re- 

 ligion now, as in Inca times, combines worship with 

 features of social relaxation and merrymaking. It 

 appears that about the middle of the 17th century, 

 the church took a more tolerant attitude toward such 

 features as well as to the parallel persistence of 

 "native superstitions," provided they did not violate 

 the doctrinal definition of heresy (Kubler, 1946). 



Several remnants of Inca belief seem to survive in 

 the notions of death. For example, the owl was a 

 harbinger of death among the Inca as it is among the 

 Mocheros, and the presence or songs of a number 

 of other birds were regarded as evil omens among 

 the Inca, as in Moche today (Rowe. 1946). The 

 alcoholic and gustatory features of the wake {ve- 

 lorio) in Moche remind one of similar practices 

 among the Inca. The wake in the cemetery on the 

 eve of All Souls' Day recalls the interest in the dead 

 manifested in Inca times and nearly coincides with 

 a special ceremony for the dead said by some authori- 



" The belief tliat sickness is caused by "bad air"' was, of course, 

 also present in European culture, and can be traced back at least to 

 the time of the Greeks. 



ties to have occurred at this time in the Inca calen- 

 dar. The hazy beliefs in ghosts and spirits of the 

 dead may be influenced by the Inca tradition, or, on 

 the other hand, may also derive from European folk 

 belief. 



Many of the "Inca" elements also had their par- 

 allels in the Spanish culture of the Conquest, and 

 their presence in Moche may indicate a Creole con- 

 solidation of these parallel traits. 



EUROPEAN ELEMENTS 



A complete recapitulation of the European ele- 

 ments in Moche culture will not be attempted in this 

 place, because a reading of the descriptive material of 

 the text will make these sufficiently clear to the 

 modern reader. 



However, one point is to be borne in mind in con- 

 sidering the European components of Creole cultures. 

 These components have come from two European or 

 Western contexts, generally speaking : Spain of the 

 Colonial Period and modern Western Civilization. 

 The first type of European cultural element is usu- 

 ally numerous and has an important influence in the 

 coloration and orientation of Creole culture, especially 

 in its rural or peasant phases. Much of the im- 

 pression of "quaintness" which a modern North 

 American or North European receives from the 

 Creole culture is, I believe, to be explained by the 

 presence of these Colonial Spanish aspects of be- 

 havior and belief, with which such an observer is 

 usually quite unfamiliar. 



It must be remembered that the Renaissance and 

 the Enlightenment reached Spain much later than 

 other nations of western Europe, and that their 

 Spanish forms were somewhat attenuated when they 

 finally appeared. The Reformation, of course, made 

 no headway in Spain, and modern mercantilism and 

 capitalism have not become dominant influences in 

 Spanish culture even today. In short, the medieval, 

 feudal. Catholic cast of European culture persisted 

 in Spain during most of the Colonial Period in Peru. 

 Furthermore, the monopolistic and restrictive policy 

 followed by the Crown with respect to the Vice- 

 royalty of Peru prohibited the export to the colony 

 of many of the innovations and "modernisms" which 

 finally did take root in the culture of the "mother 

 country." The result is that for nearly 300 vears the 

 emerging Creole cultures of the colonies were on the 

 receiving end of a steady inflow of European culture 

 patterns funneled out of .Spain, but the funnel, we 

 might say, was equipped with several strainers which 



