_Catacoas_, on the upper Rio Piura.
_Chancos_, on the coast south of the Mochicas.
_Chimus_, near Truxillo.
_Chinchas_, see _Mochicas_.
_Colanes_, on Rio Chiura, north of Payta.
_Etenes_, in the valleys south of Lambayeque.
_Mochicas_, at Mochi, near Truxillo.
_Morropes_, north of Lambayeque.
_Sechuras_, on Rio Piura.
_5. The Atacameños and Changos._
In the valley of the river Loa, about 20°-23° south latitude, and in
the vicinity of Atacama, there still survive remnants of a tribe called
Atacameños by the Spaniards, but by themselves _Lican-Antais_, people
of the villages. Their language appears to be of an independent stock,
equally remote from that of the Kechuas and the Aymaras. Vocabularies
of it have been preserved by various travelers, and the outlines of its
grammar have been recently published by San-Roman.[329] From two of its
numerals and some other indications Dr. Darapsky has connected it with
the Aymara, which is also spoken in that vicinity.[330] The relationship,
however, cannot be considered established, and the latest researches tend
to sharpen the contrast between the _Cunza_, as it is sometimes called,
and the Aymara.
The Lican-antais are fishermen and live in a condition of destitution.
The aridity of the climate is unfavorable to agriculture. In physical
habitus they are short, with dark complexions, flat broad noses and low
foreheads.
D’Orbigny identifies the Lican-Antais with the Olipes, Lipes or Llipis
of the older writers[331] (Garcilasso, etc). This, however, is open
to doubt. Von Tschudi hazarded the opinion that the Atacameños were a
remnant of the Calchaquis of Tucuman, who had sought refuge from the
Spaniards in this remote oasis on the coast.[332] I can find no positive
support for this view, as we have no specimens of the language of the
Calchaquis.
Immediately to the south of the Atacameños, bordering upon the sterile
sands of the desert of Atacama, between south latitude 22° and 24°, are
the _Changos_. In their country it never rains, and for food they depend
entirely on the yield of the sea, fish, crustacea and edible algae. Like
the Bushmen of the Kalihari desert, and doubtless for the same reason
of insufficient nutrition, they are undersized, as a tribe perhaps of
the shortest stature of any on the continent. The average of the males
is four feet nine inches, and very few reach five feet.[333] They are,
however, solidly built and vigorous. The color is dark, the nose straight
and the eyes horizontal.
Nothing satisfactory is reported about their language, which is asserted
to be different from the Aymara or any other stock. The tribe has been
confounded by some writers with the Atacameños, and the Spaniards
apparently included both under the term _Changos_; which is at present
used as a term of depreciation. But both in location and appearance they
are diverse. Whether this extends also to language, as is alleged, I have
not the material to determine, and probably the tongue is extinct.[334]