﻿454 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  [B. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  Such 
  families 
  establish 
  their 
  connections 
  and 
  betroth 
  their 
  marriage- 
  

   able 
  members 
  at 
  an 
  early 
  age. 
  No 
  individual 
  choice 
  comes 
  into 
  play 
  

   (Castro 
  Pozo, 
  1924, 
  pp. 
  128-129). 
  

  

  The 
  period 
  of 
  courtship 
  may 
  last 
  from 
  a 
  few 
  days, 
  or 
  perhaps 
  a 
  few 
  

   hours, 
  to 
  months 
  and 
  years. 
  Frequently, 
  young 
  people 
  are 
  thrown 
  

   together 
  in 
  the 
  pasture 
  grounds 
  while 
  they 
  are 
  herding 
  sheep 
  and 
  

   llamas. 
  This 
  pastoral 
  setting 
  provides 
  opportunities 
  for 
  chatting, 
  

   wooing, 
  drinking, 
  and 
  sex. 
  Couples 
  may 
  meet 
  daily 
  for 
  years 
  without 
  

   being 
  discovered. 
  Often 
  when 
  they 
  have 
  come 
  to 
  a 
  decision, 
  they 
  

   will 
  surprise 
  their 
  families 
  by 
  announcing 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  ready 
  to 
  marry. 
  

   In 
  the 
  district 
  capitals, 
  the 
  Sunday 
  market 
  and 
  Mass 
  are 
  favorite 
  

   trystiug 
  grounds 
  for 
  young 
  couples 
  of 
  the 
  surrounding 
  communities. 
  

   Following 
  a 
  few 
  casual 
  encounters, 
  planned 
  meetings 
  may 
  be 
  arranged 
  

   at 
  which 
  promises 
  and 
  little 
  personal 
  mementos 
  are 
  exchanged. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Ccatcca 
  district, 
  courtship 
  and 
  marriage 
  commonly 
  take 
  

   place 
  at 
  the 
  fiesta 
  of 
  Santiago 
  (last 
  week 
  in 
  July) 
  . 
  Hundreds 
  of 
  cou- 
  

   ples 
  appear 
  in 
  the 
  plaza 
  arrayed 
  in 
  their 
  Sunday 
  best 
  to 
  dance 
  around 
  

   the 
  community 
  altars. 
  During 
  the 
  days 
  of 
  festivity, 
  a 
  majority 
  of 
  

   the 
  young 
  men 
  and 
  girls 
  pledge 
  themselves 
  and 
  return 
  to 
  their 
  villages 
  

   ready 
  to 
  initiate 
  negotiations 
  for 
  marriage. 
  The 
  plaza 
  scene 
  during 
  

   the 
  fiesta 
  is 
  colorful. 
  Endless 
  rows 
  of 
  young 
  men 
  and 
  girls 
  facing 
  each 
  

   other 
  line 
  up 
  at 
  the 
  four 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  plaza, 
  dance 
  for 
  hours 
  at 
  a 
  time, 
  

   and 
  sing 
  the 
  teasing 
  songs 
  of 
  courtship 
  associated 
  with 
  the 
  fiesta. 
  

   The 
  whole 
  scene 
  is 
  reminiscent 
  of 
  Garcilaso's 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  mass 
  

   marriages 
  that 
  occurred 
  in 
  Inca 
  Peru. 
  In 
  some 
  cases, 
  the 
  couples 
  are 
  

   meeting 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time, 
  but 
  apparently 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  couples 
  have 
  

   already 
  pledged 
  themselves 
  and 
  are 
  merely 
  confirming 
  their 
  betroth- 
  

   al 
  publicly. 
  It 
  sometimes 
  happens 
  that 
  couples 
  separate 
  at 
  the 
  fiesta 
  

   and 
  one 
  or 
  the 
  other 
  party 
  chooses 
  a 
  new 
  mate. 
  "Love 
  at 
  first 
  sight" 
  

   is 
  recognized 
  as 
  a 
  proper 
  motive 
  for 
  forming 
  new 
  liaisons. 
  Through- 
  

   out 
  the 
  festivities, 
  couples 
  will 
  disappear 
  for 
  a 
  time 
  to 
  wander 
  off 
  to 
  

   the 
  unfrequented 
  places 
  on 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  town 
  to 
  indulge 
  in 
  sexual 
  

   relations. 
  

  

  Premarital 
  sexual 
  freedom 
  is 
  customary 
  in 
  most 
  Quechua 
  commu- 
  

   nities, 
  though 
  in 
  northern 
  Perti 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  parts 
  of 
  Central 
  Peru, 
  

   where 
  Protestant 
  missionaries 
  have 
  been 
  at 
  work, 
  virginity 
  is 
  a 
  formal 
  

   prerequisite 
  for 
  marriage. 
  Castro 
  Pozo 
  (1924, 
  pp. 
  134-135) 
  states 
  that 
  

   here 
  proof 
  of 
  the 
  virginal 
  state 
  of 
  the 
  newly 
  married 
  girl 
  must 
  be 
  borne 
  

   on 
  a 
  fine 
  white 
  bayeta 
  and 
  be 
  exhibited. 
  Elsewhere, 
  for 
  example 
  in 
  

   Kauri, 
  even 
  girls 
  who 
  are 
  considered 
  loose 
  are 
  merely 
  warned 
  that 
  

   they 
  must 
  select 
  one 
  of 
  their 
  four 
  or 
  five 
  lovers 
  and 
  settle 
  down. 
  

   But 
  the 
  matter 
  is 
  not 
  taken 
  too 
  seriously. 
  Informants 
  agree 
  that 
  

   such 
  girls, 
  called 
  cuchipuric, 
  eventually 
  find 
  husbands 
  and 
  become 
  

   model 
  wives. 
  

  

  Once 
  the 
  period 
  of 
  courtship 
  is 
  terminated 
  and 
  the 
  couple 
  has 
  de- 
  

  

  