﻿Vol.2] 
  TRIBES 
  OF 
  ECUADOR 
  — 
  MURRA 
  795 
  

  

  Snakes 
  played 
  an 
  important 
  role 
  in 
  Cara 
  mythology. 
  One 
  was 
  

   believed 
  to 
  have 
  very 
  large 
  eyes 
  and 
  a 
  " 
  tonsure"; 
  another 
  was 
  as 
  thin 
  

   as 
  a 
  thread 
  and 
  so 
  long 
  that 
  it 
  took 
  all 
  day 
  passing 
  you. 
  The 
  sight 
  

   of 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  bad 
  and 
  even 
  fatal 
  omen. 
  In 
  post-Conquest 
  days, 
  a 
  priest 
  

   reported 
  that 
  20 
  persons 
  in 
  one 
  community 
  died 
  from 
  seeing 
  this 
  

   snake. 
  The 
  only 
  way 
  to 
  prevent 
  death 
  was 
  to 
  retreat 
  to 
  the 
  hills 
  and 
  

   purify 
  one's 
  self 
  through 
  fasting 
  for 
  7 
  or 
  8 
  days, 
  eating 
  only 
  salt 
  and 
  

   coca, 
  foods 
  with 
  ritual 
  value. 
  The 
  man's 
  relatives 
  went 
  up 
  to 
  get 
  

   him 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  week, 
  readmitting 
  him 
  into 
  the 
  community. 
  

  

  THE 
  PANZALEO 
  

  

  Tribal 
  Divisions. 
  — 
  The 
  Panzaleo 
  (Kito, 
  Quito) 
  lived 
  in 
  Pichincha, 
  

   Cotopaxi, 
  and 
  Tungurahua 
  Provinces. 
  The 
  Sigcho 
  were 
  a 
  subgroup 
  

   living 
  at 
  the 
  western 
  periphery 
  of 
  the 
  territory. 
  The 
  Latacunga 
  are 
  

   frequently 
  mentioned 
  as 
  a 
  local 
  division. 
  Some 
  Panzaleo 
  settle- 
  

   ments 
  mentioned 
  by 
  chroniclers 
  were: 
  Alangasi, 
  Machachi, 
  Pillaro, 
  

   (La) 
  Tacunga, 
  Mulalillo, 
  Patate, 
  Banos, 
  Sangolqui, 
  Saquisli, 
  Pelileo, 
  

   Tizaleo, 
  Anbato, 
  and 
  Mocha. 
  

  

  The 
  Panzaleo 
  were 
  in 
  close 
  contact 
  with 
  the 
  Quijo, 
  to 
  the 
  east. 
  The 
  

   Latacunga 
  chief 
  is 
  reported 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  related 
  to 
  a 
  Quijo 
  leader. 
  

  

  Language. 
  — 
  The 
  Panzaleo 
  language 
  was 
  apparently 
  the 
  first 
  to 
  die 
  

   out 
  in 
  the 
  Highlands. 
  This 
  is 
  not 
  strange, 
  as 
  in 
  both 
  Inca 
  and 
  Colo- 
  

   nial 
  times 
  this 
  area 
  was 
  the 
  administrative 
  center 
  of 
  alien 
  invaders 
  

   who 
  preferred 
  the 
  "general" 
  language, 
  Quechua. 
  On 
  the 
  basis 
  of 
  

   place 
  names 
  and 
  patronymics, 
  various 
  deductions 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  as 
  

   to 
  the 
  possible 
  linguistic 
  affiliation 
  of 
  Panzaleo. 
  It 
  seems 
  quite 
  dif- 
  

   ferent 
  from 
  its 
  neighbors, 
  and 
  none 
  of 
  the 
  suggested 
  affiliations 
  seems 
  

   authoritative 
  enough. 
  

  

  Subsistence 
  activities. 
  — 
  The 
  Panzaleo 
  lived 
  in 
  fertile 
  farming 
  coun- 
  

   try, 
  and 
  grew 
  the 
  crops 
  common 
  to 
  the 
  area: 
  maize, 
  potatoes, 
  beans, 
  

   quinoa, 
  ajf, 
  cabuya, 
  and 
  cotton. 
  The 
  women 
  worked 
  the 
  fields, 
  

   breaking 
  the 
  ground 
  with 
  a 
  stick, 
  which 
  was 
  notched 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  to 
  

   provide 
  leverage. 
  There 
  was 
  much 
  game, 
  and 
  hunting 
  was 
  an 
  import- 
  

   ant 
  source 
  of 
  food. 
  Land 
  was 
  privately 
  owned; 
  clearing 
  and 
  culti- 
  

   vating 
  it 
  insured 
  title 
  to 
  it. 
  We 
  are 
  told 
  that 
  land 
  could 
  be 
  inherited 
  

   and 
  sold, 
  though 
  such 
  sales 
  are 
  probably 
  post-Columbian. 
  Markets 
  

   were 
  held 
  frequently, 
  with 
  commodities 
  bartered 
  in 
  a 
  friendly 
  

   atmosphere. 
  

  

  Houses 
  and 
  villages. 
  — 
  The 
  people 
  lived 
  spread 
  out 
  in 
  the 
  hills 
  and 
  

   valleys, 
  the 
  houses 
  forming 
  small 
  settlements. 
  Houses 
  were 
  built 
  of 
  

   mud-covered 
  posts 
  with 
  thatched 
  roofs, 
  40 
  to 
  50 
  feet 
  (about 
  12 
  to 
  

   16 
  m.) 
  long 
  and 
  up 
  to 
  18 
  feet 
  (6 
  m.) 
  wide. 
  In 
  the 
  cold, 
  high 
  country, 
  

   houses 
  were 
  smaller 
  and 
  round 
  with 
  walls 
  constructed 
  of 
  posts 
  and 
  

   thatch 
  roofs 
  which 
  reached 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  ground, 
  the 
  whole 
  man-size 
  

   in 
  height. 
  It 
  took 
  only 
  2 
  or 
  3 
  days 
  to 
  erect 
  such 
  a 
  house. 
  These 
  

  

  