The Sierra--Its Climate and Productions--Inhabitants--Trade--Eggs
circulated as money--Mestizos in the Sierra--Their Idleness and Love of
Gaming and Betting--Agriculture--The Quinua Plant, a substitute for
Potatoes--Growth of Vegetables and Fruits in the Sierra--Rural
Festivals at the Seasons of Sowing and Reaping--Skill of the Indians in
various Handicrafts--Excess of Brandy-Drinking--Chicha--Disgusting mode
of making it--Festivals of Saints--Dances and Bull-Fights--Celebration
of Christmas-Day, New-Year's Day, Palm Sunday, and Good
Friday--Contributions levied on the Indians--Tardy and Irregular
Transmission of Letters--Trade in Mules--General Style of Building in
the Towns and Villages of the Sierra--Ceja de la Montana.
The Peruvian highlands, or level heights, described in a previous
chapter under the designation of the Puna, are intersected by numerous
valleys situated several thousand feet lower than the level heights,
from which they totally differ in character and aspect. These valleys
are called the Sierra. The inhabitants of Lima usually comprehend under
the term Sierra, the whole interior of Peru, and every Indian who is not
an inhabitant of the coast, or of the forest regions, is called by them
a _Serrano_. But strictly speaking, the Sierra includes only the valleys
between the Cordillera and the Andes, and I shall here use the term in
its more limited and proper sense.
In the Sierra there are only two seasons throughout the year. The winter
or rainy season commences in October; but the rains are neither so heavy
nor so continuous as in the forest districts. The falls of rain seldom
last longer than two or three days in succession. Storms of thunder and
lightning are very frequent in the Sierra; they are not accompanied by
snow as in the Puna, but often by hail. The thermometer never falls
below +4 deg. R., and during the daytime it is on the average at +11 deg. R. In
April the summer season sets in, bringing with it an uninterrupted
succession of warm bright days. The nights in summer are colder than in
winter. In a summer night the thermometer will sometimes fall below
freezing point, and the cold is often very severe. About noon the heat
is oppressive, though the average heat of the day does not exceed 13, 9 deg.
R. During the summer season the horizon is frequently obscured by heavy
dark clouds, which seldom break over the valleys, but continue frowning
over the hills. The natives call these portentous clouds _Misti
Manchari_ (terror of the whites),[76] because the inhabitants of the
coast always regard them as indicative of stormy weather.
The climate of the Sierra favors the natural fruitfulness of the soil,
which richly repays the labor of the husbandman; but plants, peculiar to
the warm tropical regions, do not thrive well here. Prior to the
European emigration to Peru, only maize, quinua (_Chenopodium Quinoa_,
L.), and a few tuberous roots were grown in the Sierra; but since the
Spanish conquest, the European cereals, lucerne, and various kinds of
vegetables are cultivated with perfect success. But the eye of the
traveller seeks in vain for those stately forests which clothe the
mountainous districts of Europe; the barren acclivities afford nurture
only for the agave-tree, and some very large species of cactus. Groups
of willow trees (_Salix Humboldtii_), which attain the height of about
twenty or twenty-five feet, together with the quinua-tree, form here and
there little thickets on the banks of rivers.
These regions, so favored by nature, have from the earliest period
been the chosen dwelling-places of the Peruvians; and therefore in the
Sierra, which, measured by its superficies, is not of very great
extent, the population has increased more than in any other part of
Peru. The valleys already contain numerous towns, villages, and
hamlets, which would rise in importance, if they had greater facility
of communication one with another. But they are surrounded on all
sides by mountains, which can be crossed only by circuitous and
dangerous routes. The few accessible pathways are alternately up
rugged ascents, and down steep declivities; or winding through narrow
ravines, nearly choked up by broken fragments of rock, they lead to
the dreary and barren level heights.
The Serranos, or inhabitants of the Sierra, especially those who dwell
in the smaller villages, are chiefly Indians. In the towns and larger
villages, the mestizos are numerous. The whites are very thinly
scattered over the Sierra; but many of the mestizos are very anxious to
be thought white Creoles. A rich serrano, who bears in his features the
stamp of his Indian descent, will frequently try to pass himself off to
a foreigner for an old Spaniard. Here, even more than on the coast, the
mestizo is ambitious to rank himself on a level with the white, whilst
he affects to regard the Indian as an inferior being.
The few Spaniards who reside in the Sierra are men who have served in
the Spanish army, and who, at the close of the war of independence,
settled in that part of Peru. Many of them keep shops in the towns and
villages, and others, by advantageous marriages, have become the
possessors of haciendas. Those who have enriched themselves in this way
are remarkable alike for ignorance and pride, and give themselves the
most ludicrous airs of assumed dignity. The Creoles are the principal
dealers in articles of European commerce. They journey to Lima twice or
thrice a year to make their purchases, which consist in white and
printed calicoes, woollen cloths, hard-wares, leather, soap, wax, and
indigo. In the Sierra, indigo is a very considerable article of traffic:
the Indians use a great quantity of it for dyeing their clothes; blue
being their favorite color. Wax is also in great demand; for in the
religious ceremonies, which are almost of daily occurrence, a vast
quantity of tapers is consumed. The principal articles of traffic
produced by the natives are woollen ponchos and blankets, unspun colored
wool, saddle-cloths, stirrups and horseshoes. The last-named articles
are purchased chiefly by the arrieros of the coast. It may seem strange
that stores of horseshoes should be kept ready made; but so it is; for
though in Europe we make the shoe to fit the hoof, yet in Peru it is the
practice to cut the hoof to fit the shoe. On Yca brandy more money is
expended than on every other article of trade combined. The quantity of
that spirit annually transported to the Sierra exceeds belief. To see
the Indians on Sundays and festival days thronging to the shops of the
spirit dealers, with their jugs and bottles, one might fairly presume
that more brandy is drunk in the Sierra in one day, than in many of the
towns of Europe in a year. In some parts--for example, in the province
of Jauja--hens' eggs are circulated as small coin, forty-eight or fifty
being counted for a dollar. In the market-place and in the shops the
Indians make most of their purchases with this brittle sort of money:
one will give two or three eggs for brandy, another for indigo, and a
third for cigars. These eggs are packed in boxes by the shop-keepers,
and sent to Lima. From Jauja alone, several thousand loads of eggs are
annually forwarded to the capital.
Most of the mestizos possess little estates (_chacras_), the produce of
which, consisting of grain, vegetables and clover, is disposed of in the
towns of the Sierra, or in the mining districts of the Puna. As the
profits arising from the chacras usually suffice to provide their owners
with a comfortable subsistence, the mestizos pass their lives in
idleness and pleasure. They spend the chief portion of the day in the
true Spanish style, gossiping in groups in the streets, and wrapped in
their mantles. When the state of the weather does not admit of this sort
of out-door lounging the time is passed in gaming or cock-fighting. This
latter diversion is no less in favor in the Sierra than in Lima. Such
enormous bets are laid at these cock-fights, that the losses frequently
entail ruin on persons of tolerably good fortune.
The agriculture of the Sierra is wholly consigned to the Indians, who
either cultivate their own lands, or for very poor wages labor for the
mestizos. In September, the ground is ploughed and prepared for sowing,
which operation is performed in October, and the reaping takes place in
April or May. By this means the seed is left in the ground throughout
all the rainy season. In February violent frost frequently comes on
during the night, by which the seed is so much injured that the harvest
fails, and the scarcity occasions severe suffering and even famine. When
the cold clear nights create apprehensions of damage to the seed, the
people form themselves into processions, and go through the villages
and towns imploring the mercy of Heaven. In the dead of the night it is
no unusual thing to be aroused by the ringing of bells. The inhabitants
then get up and hurry to church, where the solemn processions are
formed. Penitents clothed in sackcloth go through the streets, scourging
themselves; and the Indians, in their native language, utter prayers and
offer up vows to Heaven. For the space of some hours an incessant
movement and agitation pervade the streets, and when day begins to dawn
the people return to their homes, trembling between hope and fear. The
fate of the Indians, when their harvest fails them, is indeed truly
miserable, for, abstemious as they are, they can scarcely procure
wherewith to satisfy their hunger. In the year 1840, which was a period
of scarcity, I saw the starving Indian children roaming about the
fields, and eating the grass like cattle.
Maize is the species of grain most extensively cultivated in the Sierra:
it is of excellent quality, though smaller than that grown on the coast.
Wheat, though it thrives well, is cultivated only in a very limited
quantity, and the bread made from it is exceedingly bad. The other
species of European grain, barley excepted, are unknown to the Serranos.
To compensate for the want of them, they have the quinua (_Chenopodium
Quinoa_, L.), which is at once a nutritious, wholesome, and pleasant
article of food. The leaves of this plant, before it attains full
maturity, are eaten like spinach; but it is the seeds which are most
generally used as food. They are prepared in a variety of ways, but most
frequently boiled in milk or in broth, and sometimes cooked with cheese
and Spanish pepper. The dried stems of the quinua are used as fuel.
Experiments in the cultivation of this plant have been tried in some
parts of Germany, and with considerable success. It would appear,
however, that its flavor is not much liked; a circumstance rather
surprising to the traveller who has tasted it in Peru, where it is
regarded in the light of a delicacy. It were to be wished that the
general cultivation of the quinua could be introduced throughout Europe;
for during the prevalence of the potatoe disease this plant would be
found of the greatest utility. It is a well-known fact that potatoes and
tea, two articles now in such universal use, were not liked on their
first introduction into Europe. The quinua plant, which yields a
wholesome article of food, would thrive perfectly in our hemisphere,
and, though in its hitherto limited trial it has not found favor, there
is no reason to conclude that it may not at a future time become an
object of general consumption.
Four kinds of tuberous plants are successfully cultivated in the Sierra;
viz., the potatoe, the ulluco, the oca, and the mashua. Of potatoes
there are several varieties, and all grow in perfection. The ulluco
(_Tropaeolum tuberosum_) is smaller than the potatoe, and is very various
in its form, being either round, oblong, straight, or curved. The skin
is thin, and of a reddish-yellow color, and the inside is green. When
simply boiled in water it is insipid, but is very savory when cooked as
a _picante_. The oca (_Oxalis tuberosa_) is an oval-shaped root; the
skin pale red, and the inside white. It is watery, and has a sweetish
taste; for which reason it is much liked by the Peruvians. The mashua is
the root of a plant as yet unknown to botanists. It is cultivated and
cooked in the same manner as those already described. In form, however,
it differs from them all. It is of a flat pyramidal shape, and the lower
end terminates in a fibrous point. It is watery, and insipid to the
taste; but is nevertheless much eaten by the Serranos. As the mashua
roots will not keep, they are not transported from the places in which
they are grown, and, therefore, are not known in Lima. The Indians use
the mashua as a medicine: they consider it an efficacious remedy in
cases of dropsy, indigestion, and dysentery.
The vegetables and fruits of Europe thrive luxuriantly in the warm
Sierra valleys; yet but few of them have been transplanted thither, and
those few are but little esteemed. Some of the cabbage and salad
species, together with onions, garlic, and several kinds of pulse, are
all that are cultivated. It is remarkable that in these regions no
indigenous fruit-trees are to be seen. The only fruit really belonging
to the Sierra is the Tuna. In some of the sheltered ravines, or, as they
are called, Quebradas, oranges, lemons, and granadillas flourish at the
height of 10,000 feet above sea level. The fruits which have been
transplanted from Europe are for the most part indifferent, as not the
least care is bestowed on their cultivation. The effect of this neglect
is particularly obvious in apples, pears, and damson-plums. Cherries and
chestnuts are unknown in these parts; but on the other hand, peaches and
apricots (_duraznos_) grow in amazing abundance, and many very fine
species are found, especially in the southern provinces. Excursions to
the _duraznales_ (apricot gardens), in the months of April and May, to
eat the ripe fruit fresh plucked from the trees, are among the most
favorite recreations of the Serranos. Some of the Sierra districts are
celebrated throughout Peru for their abundance of fruit. This luxuriance
is particularly remarkable in several of the deep valleys, for instance,
in Huanta; but, strictly speaking, these deep valleys partake less of
the character of the Sierra than of the higher forest regions.
The periods of sowing and reaping are celebrated by the Indians with
merry-making, a custom which has descended from the time of the Incas,
when those periods corresponded with the two great divisions of the
year. Even a scanty harvest, an event of frequent occurrence, occasions
no interruption to these rustic festivals. Bands of music, consisting of
trumpets, fiddles, and flutes, play whilst the corn is cut down, and
during their work, the laborers freely regale themselves with chicha,
huge barrels of which are placed for their unrestrained use. The
consequence is, that they are almost continually intoxicated; and yet
whilst in this state it is no unusual thing to see them dancing with
heavy loads of sheaves on their heads. Their dinner is cooked in the
fields, in large pots and kettles, and to partake of it they all sit
down on the ground in rows, one behind another. The wheat and barley
when cut are spread out in little heaps on the ground, and, instead of
thrashing, the grain is pressed out of the ears by the tramping of
horses, the animals being driven round and round in a circle. As soon as
this process is ended, the agents of the Government and the priests make
their appearance to claim the tithes.
In the larger villages and towns of the Sierra, the Indians frequently
employ themselves in handicrafts, in some of which they attain a high
degree of perfection, for they are not wanting either in talent or in
mechanical dexterity. As goldsmiths they are remarkably skilful, and in
this branch of industry they produce work which, for taste and
exquisite finish, cannot be excelled in the capitals of Europe. The
various kinds of vessels and figures of silver wire (_filigranas_), made
by the cholos in Ayacucho, have always been favorite articles of
ornament in Spain. The Indians of Jauja are very skilful in working
iron, and the objects of their workmanship are much esteemed throughout
Peru. Of leather also they make various things in very beautiful style;
and saddle-cloths, bridles, &c., of their manufacture are much more
elegant and infinitely cheaper than those made in Lima. In Cuzco and the
adjacent provinces many of the Indians evince considerable talent in
oil-painting. Their productions in this way are, of course, far from
being master-pieces; but when we look on the paintings which decorate
their churches, and reflect that the artists have been shut out from the
advantages of education and study; and moreover, when we consider the
coarse materials with which the pictures have been painted, it must be
acknowledged that they indicate a degree of talent, which, if duly
cultivated, would soar far above mediocrity. In Tarma and its
neighborhood the natives weave an exquisitely fine description of
woollen cloth. They make ponchos of vicuna wool, which sell for 100 or
120 dollars each, and which are equal to the finest European cloth.
The beauty of these Indian textures is truly wonderful, considering
the rude process of weaving practised by the natives. They work
various colors, figures, and inscriptions in the cloth, and do all
this with a rapidity which equals the operations of ordinary looms.
The most valuable textures they weave are those produced from the wool
of the vicuna and the alpaco. They likewise make very fine textures of
cotton and silk. It is curious that the Indians of each province have
some particular branch of industry to which they exclusively apply
themselves, to the neglect of all others.
The Serranos are a very sociable people. In the towns they keep up a
continual round of evening parties, in which singing and dancing are
favorite amusements; but on these occasions they indulge in
brandy-drinking to a terrible excess. As soon as a party is assembled,
bottles and glasses are introduced, and each individual, ladies as well
as gentlemen, drinks to the health of the company. For a party of thirty
or more persons, not more than three or four glasses are brought in, so
that one glass is passed repeatedly from hand to hand, and from mouth to
mouth. The quantity of brandy drunk at one of the evening parties called
in the Sierra _Jaranas_, is almost incredible. According to my
observation, I should say that a bottle to each individual, ladies
included, is a fair average estimate, the bottles being of the size of
those used in Europe for claret. In the year 1839, whilst I was residing
for a time in one of the largest towns of the Sierra, a ball was given
in honor of the Chilian General Bulnes; on that occasion the brandy
flowed in such quantities, that, when morning came, some members of the
company were found lying on the floor of the ball-room in a state of
intoxication. These facts naturally create an impression very
unfavorable to the inhabitants of the Sierra; but a due allowance must
be made for the want of education and the force of habit on the part of
those who fall into these excesses. These people possess so many
excellent moral qualities, that it would be unjust to condemn them
solely on account of these orgies. The Serrano is far from being
addicted to habitual drunkenness, notwithstanding his intemperate use of
strong drinks amidst the excitement of company.
But if the vice of excessive drinking be occasionally indulged in among
the better class of people of the Sierra, it is much more frequent among
the Indian inhabitants. Every one of their often-recurring festivals is
celebrated by a drinking bout, at which enormous quantities of brandy
and chicha are consumed. In some districts of the Sierra the chicha is
prepared in a peculiar and very disgusting manner by the Indians.
Instead of crushing the _jora_ (dried maize-grain) between two stones,
which is the usual method, the Indians bruise it with their teeth. For
this purpose a group of men and women range themselves in a circle round
a heap of _jora_; each gathers up a handful, chews it, and then ejects
it from the mouth into a vessel allotted for its reception. This mass,
after being boiled in water, and left to ferment, is the much admired
_chicha mascada_ (that is to say, _chewed chicha_), the flavor of which
is said to surpass that of the same beverage made in any other way. But
they who have been eye-witnesses of the disgusting process, and who bear
in mind various other preparations of Indian cookery in which the teeth
perform a part, require some fortitude ere they yield to the pressing
invitation of the hospitable Serrano, and taste the proffered nectar.
When it is wished to make the chicha particularly strong and well
flavored, it is poured into an earthen jar along with several pounds of
beef. This jar is made perfectly air-tight, and buried several feet deep
in the ground, where it is left for the space of several years. On the
birth of a child it is customary to bury a _botija_ full of chicha,
which, on the marriage of the same child, is opened and drunk. This
chicha has a very agreeable flavor, but is so exceedingly potent, that a
single glass of it is sufficient to intoxicate a practised
chicha-drinker, or, as they say in the country, a _chichero_.
Every village in the Sierra has its own tutelary saint, whose festival
is celebrated with great solemnity. Bull-fights and dances constitute
the principal diversions on these occasions. These dances are relics of
the _Raymi_ or monthly dances, by which the Incas used to mark the
divisions of time; and they are among the most interesting customs
peculiar to these parts of Peru. The dancers wear dresses similar to
those worn by the ancient Peruvians when they took part in the _Raymi_.
Their faces and arms are painted in various colors, and they wear
feather caps and feather ponchos. They have bracelets and anklets, and
they are armed with clubs, wooden swords, and bows and arrows. Their
music, too, is also similar to that of their forefathers. Their
instruments consist of a sort of pipe or flute made of reed, and a drum
composed simply of a hoop with a skin stretched upon it. To the
inharmonious sound of these instruments, accompanying monotonous Quichua
songs, the dances commence with those solemn movements with which the
Incas used to worship the sun: they then suddenly assume a more joyous
character, and at last change to the wild war-dance, in which the mimic
contest, stimulated by copious libations of chicha, frequently ends in a
real fight. In the larger towns, where the Mestizo portion of the
population predominates, these dances are discouraged, and in course of
time they will probably be entirely discontinued, though they are
scrupulously adhered to by the Indians.
On festival days, bull-fights constitute the most favorite popular
diversion. In the Sierra this barbarous sport is conducted with even
more recklessness and cruelty than in the _Corridas_ of Lima. Every
occasion on which an entertainment of this sort takes place is attended
with loss of life, and sometimes the sacrifice both of men and horses is
very considerable. During my residence in Jauja, fourteen Indians and
nineteen horses were killed or seriously wounded in a bull-fight; yet
catastrophes of this kind appear to make no impression on the people.
Some of the church festivals are celebrated by the Indians of the
Sierra, in a manner which imparts a peculiar coloring to the religious
solemnities. In the midnight mass on Christmas Eve, they imitate in the
churches the sounds made by various animals. The singing of birds, the
crowing of cocks, the braying of asses, the bleating of sheep, &c., are
simulated so perfectly, that a stranger is inclined to believe that the
animals have assembled in the temple to participate in the solemnity. At
the termination of the mass, troops of women perambulate the streets,
during the remainder of the night. Their long black hair flows loosely
over their bare shoulders; and in their hands they carry poles with
long fluttering strips of paper fixed to the ends of them. They
occasionally dance and sing peculiarly beautiful melodies, accompanied
by a harp, a fiddle, and a flute; and they mark the measure of the
music by the movement of their poles.
The celebration of Christmas-day is marked by the appearance of what are
termed the _Negritos_. These are Indians, with their faces concealed by
hideous negro masks. Their dress consists of a loose red robe, richly
wrought with gold and silver thread, white pantaloons, and their hats
are adorned with waving black feathers. In their hands they carry gourd
bottles, painted in various gay colors, and containing dried seeds.
Whilst they sing, the _Negritos_ shake these gourds, and mark the time
by the rattling of the dried seeds. They perform the dances of the
Guinea negroes, and imitate the attitudes and language of a race which
they hold in abhorrence and contempt. For the space of three days and
nights these negritos parade the streets, entering the houses and
demanding chicha and brandy, with which the inhabitants are glad to
supply them, to avoid violence and insult.
On New Year's Day other groups of mummers, called _Corcobados_,
perambulate the streets. They are enveloped in cloaks of coarse grey
woollen cloth, their head-gear consists of an old vicuna hat, with a
horse's tail dangling behind. Their features are disguised by ludicrous
masks with long beards; and, bestriding long sticks or poles, they move
about accompanied by burlesque music. Every remarkable incident that has
occurred in the families of the town during the course of the year, is
made the subject of a song in the Quichua language; and these songs are
sung in the streets by the _Corcobados_. Matrimonial quarrels are
favorite subjects, and are always painted with high comic effect in
these satirical songs. The Corcobados go about for two days; and they
usually wind up their performances by drinking and fighting. When two
groups of these Corcobados meet together, and the one party assails with
ridicule anything which the other is disposed to defend, a terrible
affray usually ensues, and the sticks which have served as hobby-horses,
are converted into weapons of attack.
In order to facilitate the conversion of the idolatrous Indians, the
Spanish monks who accompanied Pizarro's army, sought to render the
Christian religion as attractive as possible in the eyes of the heathen
aborigines of Peru. With this view they conceived the idea of
dramatizing certain scenes in the life of Christ, and having them
represented in the churches. In the larger towns these performances have
long since been discontinued, but they are still kept up in most of the
villages of the Sierra; indeed the efforts made by enlightened
ecclesiastics for their suppression, have been met with violent
opposition on the part of the Indians.
On Palm Sunday, an image of the Saviour seated on an ass is paraded
about the principal streets of the town or village. The Indians strew
twigs of palm over the animal, and contend one with another for the
honor of throwing their ponchos down on the ground, in order that the
ass may walk over them. The animal employed in this ceremony is, when
very young, singled out for the purpose, and is never suffered to carry
any burthen save the holy image. He is fed by the people, and at every
door at which he stops, the inmates of the house pamper him up with the
best fodder they can procure. The ass is looked upon as something almost
sacred, and is never named by any other appellation than the _Burro de
Nuestro Senor_ (our Lord's ass). In some villages I have seen these
animals so fat that they were scarcely able to walk.
Good Friday is solemnized in a manner the effect of which, to the
unprejudiced foreigner, is partly burlesque and partly seriously
impressive. From the early dawn of morning the church is thronged with
Indians, who spend the day in fasting and prayer. At two in the
afternoon a large image of the Saviour is brought from the sacristy and
laid down in front of the altar. Immediately all the persons in the
church rush forward with pieces of cotton to touch the wounds. This
gives rise to a struggle, in which angry words and blows are
interchanged; in short, there ensues a disgraceful scene of uproar,
which is only checked by the interposition of one of the priests. Order
being restored, the sacred image is fixed on the cross by three very
large silver nails, and the head is encircled by a rich silver crown. On
each side are the crosses of the two thieves. Having gaped at this
spectacle to their hearts' content, the cholos retire from the church.
At eight in the evening they reassemble to witness the solemn ceremony
of taking down the Saviour from the cross. The church is then
brilliantly lighted up. At the foot of the cross stand four white-robed
priests, called _los Santos Varones_ (the holy men), whose office it is
to take down the image. At a little distance from them, on a sort of
stage or platform, stands a figure representing the Virgin Mary. This
figure is dressed in black, with a white cap on its head. A priest, in a
long discourse, explains the scene to the assembled people, and at the
close of the address, turning to the Santos Varones, he says, "Ye holy
men, ascend the ladders of the cross, and bring down the body of the
Redeemer!" Two of the Santos Varones mount with hammers in their hands,
and the priest then says, "Ye holy man, on the right of the Saviour,
strike the first blow on the nail of the hand, and take it out!" The
command is obeyed, and no sooner is the stroke of the hammer heard, than
deep groans and sounds of anguish resound through the church; whilst the
cry of "_Misericordia! misericordia!_" repeated by a thousand imploring
voices, produces an indescribable sensation of awe and melancholy. The
nail is handed to one of the priests standing at the foot of the altar,
who transfers it to another, and this one in his turn presents it to the
figure of the Virgin. To that figure the priest then turns and addresses
himself, saying: "Thou afflicted mother, approach and receive the nail
which pierced the right hand of thy holy Son!" The priest steps forward
a few paces, and the figure, by some concealed mechanism, advances to
meet him, receives the nail with both hands, lays it on a silver plate,
dries its eyes, and then returns to its place in the middle of the
platform. The same ceremony is repeated when the two other nails are
taken out. Throughout the whole performance of these solemnities, an
uninterrupted groaning and howling is kept up by the Indians, who at
every stroke of the hammer raise their cries of _Misericordia!_ These
sounds of anguish reach their climax when the priest consigns the body
of the Saviour to the charge of the Virgin. The image is laid in a
coffin tastefully adorned with flowers, which, together with the figure
of the Virgin Mary, is paraded through the streets. Whilst this
nocturnal procession, lighted by thousands of wax tapers, is making the
circuit of the town, a party of Indians busy themselves in erecting
before the church door twelve arches decorated with flowers. Between
every two of the arches they lay flowers on the ground, arranging them
in various figures and designs. These flower-carpets are singularly
ingenious and pretty. Each one is the work of two cholos, neither of
whom seems to bestow any attention to what his comrade is doing; and
yet, with a wonderful harmony of operation, they create the most
tasteful designs--arabesques, animals, and landscapes, which grow, as it
were by magic, under their hands. Whilst I was in Tarma, I was at once
interested and astonished to observe on one of these flower-carpets the
figure of the Austrian double eagle. On inquiry I learned from an Indian
that it had been copied from the quicksilver jars, exported from Idria
to Peru. On the return of the procession to the church, a hymn, with
harp accompaniment, is sung to the Virgin, as the figure is carried
under the arches of flowers. The bier of the Saviour is then deposited
in the church, where it is watched throughout the night.
On the following morning, at four o'clock, the ceremony of hanging Judas
takes place in front of the church. A figure of Judas, the size of
life, is filled with squibs and crackers, and is frequently made to bear
a resemblance to some obnoxious inhabitant of the place. After the match
is applied to the combustible figure, the cholos dance around it, and
exult in the blowing up of their enemy.
In the Sierra, as well as on the coast, the priests are usually the
tyrants rather than the guardians of their flocks; and they would
frequently be the objects of hatred and vengeance but for the
deep-rooted and almost idolatrous reverence which the Indians cherish
for priestcraft. It is disgusting to see the Peruvian priests, who
usually treat the Indians like brutes, behaving with the most degrading
servility when they want to get money from them. The love of the Indians
for strong drinks is a vice which the priests turn to their own
advantage. For the sake of the fees they frequently order religious
festivals, which are joyfully hailed by the Indians, because they never
fail to end in drinking bouts.
Added to the ill treatment of the priests, the Indians are most unjustly
oppressed by the civil authorities. In the frequent movements of troops
from one place to another, they are exposed to great losses and
vexations. They are compelled to perform the hardest duties without
payment, and often the produce of their fields is laid under
contribution, or their horses and mules are pressed into the service of
the military. When intelligence is received of the march of a battalion,
the natives convey their cattle to some remote place of concealment in
the mountains, for they seldom recover possession of them if once they
fall into the hands of the soldiery.
Every fortnight a mail is despatched with letters from Lima to Tarma,
Jauja, Huancavelica, Ayacucha, Cuzco, and into Bolivia; another
proceeds to the northern provinces; a third to Arequipa and the
southern provinces; and every week one is despatched to Cerro de
Pasco. In Lima, the letter-bag is consigned to the charge of an
Indian, who conveys it on the back of a mule to the next station,[77]
where it is received by another Indian; and in this manner, handed
from cholo to cholo, the letter-bag traverses the whole of its
destined route, unaccompanied by an official courier. As soon as the
mail arrives at a station, a flag is displayed at the house of the
post-master, to intimate to those who expect letters that they may
receive them; for they are not sent round to the persons to whom they
are addressed, and it is sometimes even a favor to get them three or
four days after their arrival. The Peruvian post is as tardy as it is
ill-regulated. On one of my journeys, I started from Lima two days
after the departure of the mail. On the road I overtook and passed the
Indian who had charge of the letters, and, without hurrying myself, I
arrived in Tarma a day and a half before him. Ascending the
Cordillera, I once met an Indian very leisurely driving his ass before
him with the mail-bag fastened to its back. Between the towns which do
not lie in the regular line of route, there is no post-office
communication; for example, between Pasco and Caxamarca, or between
Pasco and Tarma, or Jauja; and when it is wished to despatch letters
from one to another of these towns, private messengers must be
employed. The consequence is, that business, which in Europe would be
conducted through the medium of correspondence, can be arranged only
by personal communication in Peru. Travelling is difficult, but not
very expensive, as every one possesses horses or mules.
The best mules employed in the Sierra are obtained from the province
of Tucuman in Buenos Ayres. Formerly the arrieros used annually to
bring droves of several thousand mules through Bolivia and the
Peruvian Sierra, selling as many as they could on the way, and taking
to Cerro de Pasco those that remained unsold. During the Spanish
domination, the mule trade was in the hands of the Government, to
whose agents it afforded ample opportunity for the exercise of
injustice and extortion. It was one of the most oppressive of the
_repartimientos_.[78] Every Indian was compelled to purchase a mule,
and was not allowed even the privilege of choosing the animal. The
mules were distributed by the authorities, and were tied to the doors
of the houses for whose occupants they were destined. After the
distribution of the mules, a collector went round to receive the
payment. During the war in Buenos Ayres the traffic in mules suffered
very considerably. For the space of twelve years not a mule had been
brought from that part of South America to Peru, when in 1840 the
Tucumanians revisited the Sierra with their droves of mules. They were
joyfully welcomed by the Serranos, who gave good prices for the
animals, and since then the traffic has begun to revive.
In tracing the characteristic features of the Sierra, I have as far as
possible confined myself to generalities, and I will not now weary the
reader by entering upon a minute description of particular towns and
villages. All are built pretty nearly after one model. The large
quadrangular Plaza is closed on three of its sides with buildings, among
which there is always the Government house (_cabildo_), and the public
jail; the fourth side is occupied by a church. From this Plaza run in
straight lines eight streets, more or less broad, and these streets are
crossed at right angles by others; all presenting the same uniformity as
in Lima. The houses are roomy, surrounded by court-yards, and consist of
a ground-floor and a story above, but very frequently of the
ground-floor only. The walls are of brick, and the roofs are tiled.
The churches are in very bad taste, with the exception of a few in the
larger towns, which have a good appearance externally, and are richly
decorated within. The smaller Indian villages are poor and dirty, and
are built with little attention to regularity. But even in them the
quadrangular Plaza is never wanting, and at least four straight
streets issue from it.
The Sierra is by far the most populous part of Peru. The banks of the
rivers flowing through the fertile valleys are thickly clustered with
villages, which give a peculiar charm to the landscape, doubly pleasing
to the eye of the traveller who comes from the barren parts of the
country. The cultivated lands afford evidence of progressive
improvement, and it is easy to imagine the flourishing condition to
which this country might arrive with increased population.
From the Sierra two separate roads lead to the eastern declivity of the
Andes. One lies along the banks of the mountain rivers, and the other
passes over the ridges of the mountains. The first way is very
difficult, and scarcely practicable, for in some parts the streams flow
through narrow ravines, bordered on each side by perpendicular rocks,
and occasionally their course is hidden amidst impenetrable forests. The
other way, across the mountains, leads again into the Puna region, and
from thence over the steep ridges of the Andes to their barren summits.
Descending from these summits, we arrive on the sharp ridges of one of
the many side branches of the Puna Cordillera, which run eastward. The
Peruvians call these sharp mountain ridges _Cuchillas_ (knives). After
crossing the Andes, and descending a few hundred feet lower, in the
direction of the east, the traveller beholds a country totally different
from that which he left on the western declivity of the mountains. On
the eastern side the soil is richly covered with vegetation. From the
cuchillas the road ascends to some higher ridges, crowned with stunted
trees and brushwood, which, gradually spreading upward, blend with the
high forests. These wooded ridges are called by the natives _Ceja de la
Montana_ (the mist of the mountains). In these regions the climate is
generally more mild than in the Sierra, for the mercury never falls to
freezing point, and in the middle part of the day it never rises so
high as in the warm Sierra valleys. Throughout the whole year the
_Ceja de la Montana_ is overshadowed by thick mists, rising from the
rivers in the valleys. In the dry season these mists are absorbed by
the sun's rays, but in winter they float in thick clouds over the
hills, and discharge themselves in endless torrents of rain. The damp
vapors have an injurious effect on the health of the inhabitants of
these districts, which are, however, very thinly populated, as the
constant moisture unfits the soil for the cultivation of anything
except potatoes. The pure alpine air of the Puna is preferred by the
Indians to the vapory atmosphere of the Ceja.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 76: The Indians apply the designation _Misti_, meaning
_Mestizo_, to all persons except Indians or Negroes, whether they be
Europeans or White Creoles.]
[Footnote 77: The distance from one station to another varies from six
to twelve miles.]
[Footnote 78: _Repartimientos_ (literally, distributions) were the
compulsory sale of articles by the provincial authorities.]