MOCHE; A PERUVIAN COASTAL COMMUNITii'— GILLIN 



159 



i| served to select only certain elements for trans- 

 ; mission to the New World. Spain itself rejected 

 much of the newly developing modern culture of 

 the rest of western Europe, and its official policy 

 restrained the flow to the colonies. Thus it is that 

 the European elements absorbed into the Creole cul- 

 ture were on the whole more characteristic of 16th 

 century Spain or medieval Europe than of 20th 

 century western Europe and North America. The 

 free chance to borrow from the latter cultural sources 

 came only with Independence after 1821, and, for 

 Peru, has been effective only during the past 30 years 

 or so, at the beginning of which period the opening 

 of the Panama Canal first provided relatively rapid 

 and frequent import of shipments, travelers, mail, 

 and cultural influences in general to Peru from 

 Europe and North America. Succeeding develop- 

 ment of air communication and radio rcce5)tion has 

 placed the Creoles in even closer touch with 

 "modern" European and North American culture, 

 while the development of good highway communica- 

 tions within the country itself has served to diffuse 

 these innovations throughout the Nation. 



If we consider those aspects of Moche culture 

 which are derived from European sources, we shall 

 find that they are still dominated and outnumbered 

 by the Spanish culture of the Colonial Period. Let 

 us mention only a few^the ox and the ass, the one- 

 handlcd plow, domestic and public architecture of 

 the pueblo, the preference for old Spanish weights 

 and measures, the town plan, broad hat, women's 

 modified costume, the Spanish language itself, basic 

 ceremonial kinship system, the basic orientation and 

 most details of Catholicism, practically all of the non- 

 indigenous features of the witchcraft and curing com- 

 plexes (evil eye, for example), etc. Added to tan- 

 gible traits of culture is a certain trend toward rustic 

 mysticism and animism — a tendency to believe in 

 supernatural experiences (e.g., those involving pacts 

 with the Devil), to see ghosts and spirits in material 

 things, and to discuss on the basis of unverified 

 premises. These tendencies of thought and attitude 

 were, of course, characteristic in some degree of the 

 aboriginal cultures as well, but they are reinforced 

 by the persistence of the Spanish semimedieval 

 Weltanschauung. 



Although traits of modern culture are being rapidly 

 introduced to the Mocheros, few have yet become 

 integrated parts of their culture. The machine, for 

 example, has not yet become an essential part of 

 their life, even though, in the form of autobuses, it is 



regarded as a convenience. The mercantile complex, 

 with bookkeeping, credit, stocks of goods, and all the 

 rest of it, has not yet fastened itself on Moche, despite 

 all the trading activity of the women and the fact that 

 they have become thoroughly familiar with money as 

 a medium of exchange. The constant search for 

 novelty has passed the older Mocheros by. Political 

 democracy, either as a complex of concepts or in 

 practice, is little understood. 



However, it seems that the younger generation is 

 responding to the presentation of modern culture. 

 Literacy and the use of the written and printed word 

 should be all but universal within another generation. 

 The motion pictures and the radio are beginning to 

 exert their appeal in their own right and also as 

 purveyors of new ideas and usages. Modern styles 

 in clothing and hats are affected by the younger 

 generation. Factory-made cloth and artifacts of 

 metal and glass are universally accepted. They are 

 organizing cultural and community societies to 

 promote "progress." The church is losing some of 

 its influence over private lives and even the laymen's 

 organizations are declining {hermandades, mayor- 

 domias). An increasing number of both men and 

 women are seeking advanced education and seeking 

 employment either in the professions or as wage 

 earners. Lima is no longer another world, but an 

 actual city which may be visited in reality and in 

 which one may live and seek a living. Modern 

 ]jolitical arguments are beginning to interest even 

 middle-aged persons. Modern sports (European 

 football and North American basketball) have already 

 become part of the culture of the younger set. The 

 news of the outside world is followed with interest. 



In short, Moche is becoming a part of the modern 

 world, and judging by the progress of events in the 

 past, this is taking place at a fairly rapid rate. Moche 

 is now a rural or peasant exhibit of the Creole cul- 

 ture of Peru, and it demonstrates many features of 

 creolization characteristic of the country as a whole. 



Although Moche is broadening its contacts and 

 "modernizing" its interests, I do not anticipate that 

 it will ever become completely "modern" in terms 

 of North American small-town life, barring a radical 

 upset in the processes of cultural change and reinte- 

 gration. I venture to predict that as the Creole cul- 

 ture approaches greater stability and integration it 

 will still einbody recognizable traces of its indigenous 

 and Spanish Colonial ancestors, interwoven, worked 

 over, and intermingled with contributions from 

 abroad. The time is already at hand when it is prac- 



