﻿448 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  [B. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  outlay 
  of 
  money, 
  food, 
  and 
  property 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  fiesta 
  

   require 
  that 
  he 
  be 
  a 
  man 
  of 
  some 
  wealth. 
  

  

  Other 
  officers 
  whose 
  functions 
  are 
  not 
  clear 
  are 
  the 
  Khorpos 
  and 
  the 
  

   chak'oce, 
  or 
  hunters. 
  These 
  latter 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  responsible 
  for 
  keeping 
  

   the 
  community 
  from 
  being 
  harmed 
  by 
  pumas, 
  condors, 
  foxes, 
  and 
  the 
  

   wild 
  vicuna 
  herds. 
  

  

  The 
  council 
  of 
  old 
  men 
  has 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  of 
  power. 
  The 
  six 
  mem- 
  

   bers 
  meet 
  usually 
  in 
  the 
  house 
  of 
  the 
  alcalde 
  to 
  decide 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  

   matters 
  brought 
  to 
  their 
  attention. 
  When 
  the 
  new 
  alcalde 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  

   elected, 
  the 
  old 
  alcalde, 
  surrounded 
  by 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  council, 
  

   suggests 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  his 
  successor. 
  Each 
  member 
  then 
  speaks 
  on 
  

   the 
  suggestion, 
  emphasizing 
  the 
  good 
  and 
  bad 
  points 
  of 
  the 
  candi- 
  

   date. 
  A 
  divination 
  ceremony 
  follows 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  will 
  of 
  the 
  Aukis 
  

   (the 
  mountain 
  spirits) 
  is 
  consulted. 
  If 
  the 
  sign 
  is 
  satisfactory, 
  the 
  old 
  

   alcalde 
  and 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  his 
  council 
  drink 
  chicha 
  to 
  the 
  continued 
  

   well-being 
  of 
  the 
  community 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  success 
  of 
  the 
  new 
  alcalde. 
  

   Meanwhile, 
  alguaciles 
  and 
  regidores 
  blow 
  the 
  panpipes 
  to 
  announce 
  

   that 
  the 
  new 
  alcalde 
  has 
  been 
  elected 
  (Yabar 
  Palacios, 
  1922, 
  pp. 
  7-12). 
  

  

  This 
  summary 
  of 
  Qqueros 
  community 
  organization 
  reveals 
  at 
  once 
  

   that 
  much 
  of 
  an 
  early 
  structure 
  has 
  survived 
  into 
  the 
  present. 
  Some 
  

   of 
  the 
  offices 
  may 
  be 
  entirely 
  free 
  of 
  post-Columbian 
  influence. 
  In 
  

   any 
  case, 
  by 
  reason 
  of 
  isolation 
  and 
  inaccessibility, 
  Qqueros' 
  political 
  

   organization 
  retains 
  certain 
  vitality 
  and 
  is 
  allowed 
  to 
  function 
  undis- 
  

   turbed 
  by 
  state 
  or 
  church. 
  

  

  There 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  absent 
  among 
  the 
  Quechua 
  of 
  today 
  any 
  strong 
  

   intercommunity 
  feeling. 
  Certainly, 
  no 
  current 
  of 
  a 
  national 
  con- 
  

   sciousness 
  exists. 
  Each 
  community 
  fives, 
  primarily, 
  in 
  its 
  own 
  world 
  

   with 
  little 
  concern 
  for 
  the 
  other. 
  Occasionally, 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  one 
  

   community 
  will 
  visit 
  another 
  to 
  help 
  in 
  plowing 
  or 
  harvesting. 
  But 
  

   this 
  is 
  a 
  product 
  of 
  kinship 
  obligations 
  usually, 
  and 
  belongs 
  to 
  the 
  

   category 
  of 
  mutual 
  assistance 
  given 
  by 
  relatives. 
  At 
  fiestas, 
  intercom- 
  

   munity 
  relations 
  are 
  cultivated 
  with 
  some 
  care. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  

   the 
  political 
  uprisings 
  that 
  occur 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  time 
  show 
  relatively 
  

   little 
  sense 
  of 
  united 
  action. 
  Each 
  social 
  eruption 
  is 
  local 
  and 
  spon- 
  

   taneous 
  and 
  the 
  majority 
  are 
  manifestations 
  of 
  specific, 
  local 
  issues. 
  

   There 
  is 
  reason 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  with 
  the 
  recent 
  improvement 
  of 
  com- 
  

   munication 
  the 
  Peruvian 
  Quechua 
  are 
  experiencing 
  wider 
  social 
  con- 
  

   tact, 
  and 
  a 
  conception 
  of 
  Quechua 
  unity 
  is 
  growing. 
  

  

  The 
  family. 
  — 
  The 
  Quechua 
  family 
  has 
  few 
  primitive 
  characteristics. 
  

   Perhaps 
  it 
  might 
  be 
  termed 
  bilateral, 
  in 
  the 
  sense 
  that 
  the 
  modern 
  

   Western 
  family 
  is 
  bilateral, 
  with 
  some 
  patrilineal 
  emphasis. 
  The 
  

   family 
  functions, 
  to 
  some 
  extent, 
  as 
  an 
  economic 
  and 
  social 
  unit. 
  

   In 
  matters 
  of 
  authority, 
  it 
  enjoys 
  certain 
  well-defined 
  rights 
  and 
  pre- 
  

   rogatives; 
  it 
  operates 
  in 
  the 
  religious 
  field 
  as 
  well. 
  

  

  