HOSE who have journeyed across the highlands of , Tsouth of Lake Titicaca, can never forget the strange "villages" that loom over the horizon along their road, either perched on mountainous slopes or scattered along barren plains. The modern Indians avoid these places, and, if forced by necessity to approach them, they never fail to re- cite a prayer or to present as an offer- ing their acullico, a quid of coca leaves taken from their mouth. Seen from a distance, the structures are not terrifying. They are small, square towers with low doors, invari- ably turned to face the rising sun, and their construction shows the care of men who have worked long and hard. ' Age has left the towers intact, and though made of adobe, they appear neat and clean. Were they not so geo- metrical, a casual observer might con- fuse them with huge termite hills. The industrious, stern-faced people who built these structures are still there, wrapped in heavy woolen gar- ments and huddled in the grim cham- bers, as if driven there by a sudden storm. But they are silent, for they are only chullpas—the dried mummi- fied remains of the folk who once owned the land. A A CORNER of a "ghost" village. Modern * A HUT, home of Bo- Indians try to avoid these towers, because livia's people of the past. Mod- they contain the dried, mummified re- ern Indians call these people mains of the people who once owned the "the leftovers of the mummies" land

• THIS CHIPAYA BOY'S woolen bonnet and woolen tunic are typical of garments worn in pre-Hispanic times

It

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< EVEN the J remain unci Before she the womar part of the i of the cup ground in li the gods

426 NATURAL HISTORY, NOVEMBER, 1945 These people were the ancient Col- dered them to bring every year to the shall put the doors of our houses in las or Aymaras, whose descendants Cuzco, tubes filled with their own the east.' As soon as they had uttered form the bulk of Bolivia's population. lice. They lived mainly around Titi- this wish, the sun altered its course Modern Indians, however, deny any caca, subsisting on fishing and build- and rose in the east. All the men, relationship with the "gentiles" clus- ing the reed balsas on rafts which women, and children died in the huts. tered in these burial places, for they have become so famous. They are the present-day chullpas. believe the chullpas were heathens Today, the last Uro are a handful But one man and one woman escaped who were banished from life by a di- in the village of Ancoaqui, near the by diving into a river. They went vine curse. Strange legends circulate mouth of the Desaguadero. The Chip- downstream walking under water. about them. It is rumored that the aya are another group of Uro that Finally they arrived at a barren and "antiguos" (the ancient ones) had had remained unknown until Max desolate plain, where they built a vil- fabulous treasure hidden somewhere in Uhle mentioned their existence to- lage. They labored at night as other the crevices of the mountains. But few ward the end of the last century. The people work by day. At length they are those who succeed in gaining access first scientist to visit them was Dr. were discovered by an Aymara In- to it. The dead "gentiles" are danger- Posnansky of La Paz. He brought dian, who summoned a priest. The ously vindictive and always ready to back from this trip a short vocabulary latter came and sprinkled the village inflict misfortune on the poor Indians. which proved beyond doubt that the with holy water. The spell was shat- To the Aymara Indians of the re- Chipaya were closely related to the tered and the children of darkness gion of Carangas and of the Poopo, Uro of Ancoaqui. Dr. Rivet of Paris once more could enjoy the beauty of the race of the "gentiles" is not en- attempted to demonstrate that their light and the warmth of the sun. Now tirely extinct. They know that in the language was related to the Arawakan these people live as everybody does, south of the Department, near the dialects of the tropical lowlands and but being the children of the dead, Salinas of Coipasa, there is still a vil- that the Uro were perhaps the rem- they wear the costume of the chullpas lage inhabited by their descendants. nants of an old population that had and still put the doors of their huts They call them chullpa puchu, "the come from the eastern forest and oc- toward the east. The language they leftovers of the mummies." These liv- cupied the valleys and plateaus of the speak is the same as the one used by ing mummies are not a mythical peo- . the 'gentiles.' " ple ; they are the isolated Uro-Chip- The poor Chipaya themselves ad- "The barren and desolate plain on aya whom I studied during two mit that they occupy a strange position which we live ..." I still remember anthropological expeditions in 1932 in the world. They readily recognize the bitterness with which this phrase and 1939. They are the last repre- the differences between themselves was uttered by one of my informants. sentatives of a primitive people who and the Aymara Indians of the region, I know of no other region that causes occupied large areas of the Bolivian and they comprehend that they share such an overwhelming impression of Highland in remote ages, but who some common heritage with the grin- isolation and emptiness. A flat im- were already on the decline when the ning "mummies" they have glimpsed mensity, patched by white saline de- Spaniards arrived. The conquistadores in the darkness of the adobe chullpas. posits, is dominated by unnamed heard strange stories about them: They explain their presence in the mountains towering over the 12,000- they were reputed to be so primitive deserts by a myth, which I shall sum- foot plateau. Life here is brutally and so filthy that the Inca, unable to marize: "Long ago, the sun would harsh. One awakens in the morning obtain any tribute from them, had or- rise in the west. Man said: 'We with limbs numbed by cold and heart

V AN ARTIFICIAL FLOOD is created by the people during the rainy season when the river is high. This fertilizes the barren and desolate F LLAMAS pasturing near Chipaya village, plain and enables the people to maintain their meagre pastures The people also raise sheep and pigs 4 "NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION." A BUILDING THE HOUSE. The In- A. THE SOD WALLS of the houses There is not a single tree, not even a cactus, from dians heap the sods to form round sometimes have thatched roofs which to construct a house, and the soil is unsuit- huts somewhat like Eskimo snow- made of arched bundles of tola, a able for making sun-dried brick, so the Chipaya houses though structurally different shrub that grows on the highlands make huts of sods cut from the marshy ground

• CHIPAYA RELIGION is a blend of old * THE CHIPAYA worship a host of * CONSECRATION of a llama before sacrif Andean beliefs and rites with some spirits, or mallkus, represented by cones The animal is decorated with woolen tu Catholic practices. The tower of their of sod built on low platforms in isolated exposed to the smoke of incense, sprink church is worshipped as a powerful fetish spots about ten miles from the village with alcohol, and covered with coca lea

428 NATURAL HISTORY, NOVEMBER, 1945 oppressed by the thin atmosphere. had exhumed just a few days earlier What has been called Inca com- Only at noon, when the sun burns in- in some chullpas of the region of munism still prevails in Chipaya. The tensely and one dozes lazily against . Even the folded cloth pastures belong to all members of the the wall of a hut, does one feel rid of worn by the women on their heads two moities into which the village is the night's spell. On these highlands had been depicted on Inca pottery. divided. In the village itself the indi- a feeling of emptiness seizes the mind, Miniature bronze idols jingled in vidual owns nothing except the little and wherever the eyes turn they are their braided hair. These were an- patch of land upon which are built his caught by a gray expanse, relieved tiques that the Chipaya had adapted house and corral. The arid lands cul- only by the ardent blue of a midday to their own use and were exactly tivated by the Chipaya are divided in- sky. Grimmest of all is the great si- like those discovered in the ruins of to long strips 30 feet wide and are lence, an iced, unearthly stillness Tiahuanaco, the mysterious city of redistributed each year among the dif- which is never interrupted and to the Titicaca, which was already a ferent families. which one can never become quite heap of ruins when Columbus discov- January and February on the high- accustomed. It is a silence unbroken ered America. lands are months of storms and rain. by human voice, or even by the re- Indeed, all the objects about me Swollen rivers flood the sandy plains, mote cry of a bird or animal. seemed to have been rescued from the and the entire territory becomes a vast Here, in the midst of a cursed archaeological past. Even the gestures swamp. Grass grows taller and country, the Chipaya have their vil- remained unchanged; the chicha, or greener; pigs find better food in the lage. They are as isolated on their maize beer, was served in two cups as bogs. These months can be a time of desert plain as natives on an island it used to be among the Inca. This unaccustomed abundance; from them surrounded by a vast sea. Not one custom was explained by a Spanish comes prosperity, existence,—or anni- segment of their history is known. chronicler: "It was politeness and hilation. In some years the rain is late Their position in these dreary sur- courtesy at the court of the Emperor and storms break up beyond the hori- roundings speaks, however, of their to present the guest with two cups, zon. Then the blue sky becomes a struggles against the warlike Aymara, one of which he offered to whom he threat and the clans feel the pangs of who must have driven them into this wished." Then, as now, part of the fear, for if the rains do not visit the desert abode. To this lost village of content was spilled on the ground in Chipaya, it means death to the herd, the desert has been given, by an irony honor of the gods. hunger and famine for the people. In of fate, the curious destiny of per- The Chipaya managed to survive order that the waters may come to petuating down to our times, the ar- in their inhospitable homeland by a fertilize the sands, the men beseech chitecture, dress, social organization, their pagan deities and the ancestral prodigy of work and skill. They dug and religious beliefs of the people of ceremonies are celebrated once again across the plains an intricate system the Inca empire, four centuries after according to rites almost as immut- of small canals, which drain the the disappearance of that civilization. able as the blue Andean mountains. waters of the Rio Llauca, west of For the Chipaya have preserved far their territory. In the rainy season, Chipaya religion is a blend of old better than the Aymara the traditions when the river is high, they create an Andean beliefs and rites, with some of the past, both in material and spir- artificial flood, which fertilizes the Catholic practices intertwined. The itual culture. plain and allows the people to main- main deities of their public cult are I arrived at Chipaya late on the eve tain their meager pastures. Thus, they the Earth-Mother, who is often con- of New Year in 1932. The mirage raise sheep, llamas, and pigs. With fused with the Virgin Mary, and a this day was playing all sorts of tricks the milk of the sheep they make host of spirits (mallku) represented on us: at times full lakes were formed cheese, which they trade with their by cones of sod built on low platforms and disappeared, towns sprouted like neighbors for coca, alcohol, potatoes, in isolated and secret spots about ten plants above the horizon, llamas were and maize. miles from (he village. They also changed to colossal camels. We ad- The problem of building a dwell- worship the mountains on their hori- vanced across the plain, guided only ing is the most difficult the Chipaya zon, the Llauca River, and the tower by the spire of a church. Coming sud- face. Nature has refused them any of their church, which is a powerful fetish. The community is also under denly upon the village, we discovered natural shelter and deprived them of the protection of sacred stone fetishes, that the Chipaya were celebrating a everything that might be necessary to or samiri. Each household also recog- feast, and our arrival was totally un- construct a house. On their desolate nizes spirits represented by stuffed expected. Yet, no surprise was shown. plain there is not a single tree, not wildcats or hawks. The calm of the highland was not even a cactus, and the soil is not suit- disturbed by the trifle of our presence. able for making sun-dried brick. Yet The high point of the ceremonies I entered the hut of the chief, to find here ingenuity has again overcome all observed for these deities is the sacri- myself surrounded by a group of obstacles. Like the Eskimos, who cut fice of the three animals on which the ghostlike men. They exchanged few blocks of snow to make their snow- pastoral Chipaya depend for their words and remained perfectly immo- houses, the Chipaya hack large sods subsistence: a llama, a sheep, and a bile, squatting on the ground. and heap them to form round beehive pig. Each animal, decorated with A single glance about the hut was huts that have a strange likeness to woolen tufts, is exposed to the smoke sufficient to solve many minor prob- the winter houses of the Arctic peo- of incense, sprinkled with alcohol and lems of Andean archaeology The hair ple. In the village, however, the sod covered with coca leaves. Then the of the Chipaya women was dressed walls of the houses have a thatched ceremony begins. The native priest, like that of the mummies we had seen. dome-shaped roof made of arched or yatiri, slits the throats of the ani- The brown robes and the white and bundles of tola, a shrub that grows on mals. As the blood gushes from the M- ,•!- !••.-'•. ' tW* .}„• hi-h!;md. ar»enV< if is poured in?r< howl- cor-

taining flour and is thrown toward presented in days gone by. The offer- the four cardinal points of the sky, as ings today are a shadow of the past— an offering to the spirits who own the make-believe treasures suggesting the world. When the spirits of the air splendors of a vanished age. have received their share, the cone The hard struggle for life has fetishes, or mallku, are smeared with made the Chipaya sordid and miser- blood, which in red streaks covers the able, but when the blood of their dark brown stains of past rites. herds is lavished on their deities, they No aspect of Chipaya religion is seem to emerge from their usual -t* dissociated from blood sacrifice; even apathy. They dance to the sound of - the Catholic crosses and the chapels drums and flutes, shout and pray with are splashed with blood offered to the profound fervor. They heartily de- Saints. When a house is built, a sheep vour in-a communal meal the flesh of is sacrificed and its blood is sprinkled the victims, drink themselves out of against the walls and roofs. These their minds, and resume their dances Indians also offer to their deities a until they fall exhausted to the curious beverage—a brew of maize ground. beer, feathers, incense, copal, flowers, At carnival time, they symbolize crystals, pulverized sweets, mineral the desired fertility by huge wreaths powders, and leaves of gold and silver of fruits and cheese hung from the paper. The same mixture was spilt in tower of the church, and by the out- honor of the God of the Inca, but in- fits of the dancers, who carry bundles stead of leaves of silver and gold pa- of fresh grass, strings of brown eggs, per, costly gold and silver jars were dead ducks, stiiffed vicunas, and other objects. Between feast periods, life is dull CUPS containing a sacred brew are and monotonous. People scatter to offered to the deities. It is made of their small huts in the pastures, where maize beer, feathers, incense, copal, they watch their herds. Their exist- flowers, crystals, pulverized sweets, mineral powders, and leaves of gold and silver paper * THESE INDIANS are so dependent upon llamas, sheep, and pigs for their subsistence that the women will F CHIPAYA WOMAN nursing a baby even play wet nurse to young animals

. -jtiXf. I YRT AT

6 NATURAL HISTORY, NOVEMBER, 1945 ence is not idyllic. The village is rent by the rivalry and jealousy between the two main clans; and pitched bat- • jfef ' , 3 .->. • • tles with slings or with cudgels are fcs' r.SSf&^ty**-" »'- " fought over the water rights. Stealing water is the supreme crime and is the cause of many internal feuds. Family life lacks tenderness. Quarrels be- tween husband and wife are frequent

and often terminate in mutual thrash- rV~ "-''j • * . * . '• * ings. In too many cases, parents-in- 3S» >- law interfere, witli consequent tur- -My** moil. Sometimes these family spats end seriously. A few days after I had first arrived at Chipaya, I joined a crowd rushing toward a small hut. Entering, I found a woman on the ground. Her eyes were widened, her face convulsed, her tongue swollen. She had just taken her life by pulling a woolen rope around her neck with one hand, while she held her baby with the other. The Indians regarded the scene dispassionately, none show- ing pity or fear. Even the parents and relatives stared at the body without apparent comprehension. Suddenly, as A CHIPAYA INDIAN spinning yarn for if prompted by a signal, the women A THIS WOMAN is weaving with a loom their woolen garments and blankets sank to the floor and started the shrill common in pre-Columbian days. One chant of the bereaved. Meanwhile, I end is supported by pegs stuck into the asked questions, believing that a crime ground, the other end is attached to might have been committed. But the her belt Indians merely informed me that the woman had killed herself to annoy her husband, with whom she had quar- r A CHIPAYA COUPLE. Family life lacks tender- reled at breakfast. Perhaps she had V LITTLE GIRL and her piglet. Pigs are im- ess. Quarrels between husband and wife are fre- hoped to loose a spirit that might portant economically to the Chipaya, uent and often terminate in mutual thrashings plague the man who had spoken to on occasion the Indians make pets of their her so harshly. Another aspect of Chipaya life that is particularly impressive to a white man is the unbelievable filth of these Indians. Dust and grease build around their bodies in a thick crust, which breaks at the joints. Lice, also, constitute an unpleasant part of the Chipaya personality. In the whole world, only Tibetans possibly rival the Chipaya in bodily filthiness. Yet this sad people", squalid, indo- lent, untutored, and indescribably poor, are a carry-over from the days of the Incas, whose nation once ruled over large parts of South America with fabulous wealth and mighty armies. The Chipaya are the only Indians who may still give us an idea of rural life in a remote corner of a great empire. Time has passed them by, leaving them almost untouched. When the round Chipaya huts and the blood sacrifices to the Inca Gods vanish, one of the la?f 1 i'. inrerun:"-