Elizabeth Cox

Philedelphia, PA
Senior in Anthropology and Religion
The George Washington University

"So far the program has been wonderful. Bonnie has been amazing and her enthusiasm for the program has been infectious. I want to learn everything which has made picking a topic very difficult. Bonnie has been supportive of every idea with a list of contacts to help. The hostal staff are friendly and welcoming as is all of Huanchaco. Everyone has been helpful, intrigued by our presence, and willing to tell their stories."

Introduction

When I arrived in Peru, I was excited and anxious. Excited to be doing my own field research, the backbone of the discipline of anthropology, and anxious to perform well despite my minimal Spanish language abilities. I had great expectations of uncovering some sort of hidden and unknown aspect of Huanchaco. I was going to help ease the sleepy town into a tourist haven. I spent the first half of field school floundering from topic to topic. I was foolish and frustrated when nothing jumped out at me. At the beginning of week three, I had chosen to study traditional foods of Huanchaco, more out of necessity than out of curiosity and interest. I began my first interview with a heavy heart and little enthusiasm that waned with every answered question. I had wanted to study something “exotic” and “different,” but the same basic food laws seemed to apply to Huanchaco as they did at home. As the interview finished, I decided to go for a walk on the beach in order to sort out my thoughts when I casually mentioned the puppy feet I had seen tied to a stick on the beach during my walk the day before. My interviewee gasped and with wide eyes said la mala gente.

This was not the first time I had heard of la mala gente while in Huanchaco. La mala gente seemed to be the cause of all bad occurrences in Huanchaco. We learned on the very first day that it was la mala gente that had killed all the burros that once lived on the beach and carried tortora reeds. I later learned that it was la mala gente that had stolen the bones and broken into graves in the cemetery. I was even told it was la mala gente that stole my sunglasses on the beach. La mala gente are never Huanchaqueros, they always come from the outside, most often from Trujillo, the large city of about 650,000 people 12 km to the south of Huanchaco. Traditional food ways of Huanchaco was quickly forgotten as I had finally found something that interested and intrigued me. I began to wonder about la mala gente, the outsiders who were the cause of all bad things in Huanchaco. I learned very quickly that la mala gente is very often associated with brujería, or witchcraft. Brujos, witches, have existed in Northern Peru for over a thousand years as suggested by evidence found on pottery throughout the region. Furthermore, I have been told there are more brujos in Northern Peru than anywhere else in the world.

People seek help from brujos to enact daños , or curses, on people, most often family members, business partners, and neighbors, especially during times of economic hardship when envy and jealousy is more abundant. Huanchaco is currently experiencing identity crisis and economic difficulties as the once stable fishing industry becomes threatened and tourism is slated to take its place. One would assume that if there are no mala gente in Huanchaco, as the people claim, then there would be no cases of brujeria occurring in Huanchaco since brujeria is practiced by la mala gente. Is this in fact the case or does brujeria exist or has it previously existed in Huanchaco? And if it has and does, what are the implications on social relationships and values?

Background

Huanchaco is located 12 km north of Trujillo on the north coast of Peru, between 8-10 hours north of Lima by bus along the Pan-American Highway. Huanchaco is believed to have been founded around 800 years ago by the Chimu Prince Takaynamo. It has been traditionally known as a small village famous for its artisan fishing. The fisherman of Huanchaco are the only people on the coast to still practice the ancient Moche art of making boats out of tortora reeds called “caballitos de tortora,” literally little horses of tortora reeds. In the last twenty years, the character of Huanchaco has been changing as the tortora pits have become threatened by development and like other coastal, desert towns in Peru it has seen a burgeoning in its population as people leave the mountains in search of a better life. Houses stretch towards the east for as far as the eye can see where a decade ago the desert stood untouched and flat. The town has a future in tourism. A popular guidebook, The Lonely Planet, sells it as a “very low key” place, and “apart from walking on the beach and waiting for the caballitos to go into action, there’s not much to do in Huanchaco, and that’s one of its attractions. It’s a quiet, easy-going place.”

Huanchaco is currently facing the difficulty of developing while maintaining the traditional customs of its people and its past. Historically a fishing village, Huanchaco is forced to reevaluate its identity as fisherman encourage their sons to find more profitable and less hard work, the tortora reeds are threatened, and the world becomes closer as tourists come to surf and relax. As the town grows, more outsiders enter, including la mala gente. Competition between restaurants, hotels, artisans, and fisherman increase, especially during the off season, when the same businesses are vying for very few customers, and the fish become less bountiful and disputes over territory become more fierce. Do these conditions result in an increase in the amount of brujeria? And if it does, what groups are practicing the most witchcraft and how does it effect relations among the people of Huanchaco?

Methodology

Brujeria is not something everyone is willing to talk about and with good reason. One would not want people to know that they had gone to a brujo to enact a daño, especially since in all likely hood it was placed on someone they know. Fortunately or unfortunately, I had very good luck obtaining information at the beginning of my research. My first two interviews were happy and willing to talk openly. This led me to believe I would be able to talk to everybody and anybody, assuming that everyone knows something about brujeria. My assumption may hold true, but I failed to recognize that most people would be very unwilling to share any knowledge. However, I have had the opportunity to conduct several interviews, both formal and informal. Unobtrusive observation of plants, such as San Pedro and savila that are believed to posses magical powers, in the houses and restaurants of Huanchaco has allowed me to get an idea of how many households might have some faith in brujeria.

Discussion

Eyes wide, a heavy sigh, and sometimes a nervous laugh accompanied the reaction of people upon learning about my chosen topic of brujeria. They all wanted to know why would I choose to study brujeria when I could study the fishing, the food, tourism, folklore, music, or any cultural practice that was acceptable and open to talk about. It was exactly that secretive, hesitant reaction that made me want to learn more. Learning more is a difficult task. I was only able to scratch the surface of what the beliefs, the frequency, and the history of brujeria in Huanchaco are. To be able to really uncover the power brujeria holds in the life of Huanchaqueros, one would first have to learn all the intricacies of kinship, history, and religion of the people.

My first exposure to brujeria occurred in our hostal. I was amazed by the belief and faith a member of the staff had as to why her cousin was suffering from severe headaches for months. They had gone to doctors, all who were unable to help her. Then one day, a member of her family, who is a fisherman, found a bottle on the beach. Enclosed in the bottle was a picture of her cousin, some herbs, and garlic. They broke the bottle, and she immediately began to feel better. They believe it was her mother-in-law who had gone to a brujo and placed a daño on her because the mother-in-law is ashamed and embarrassed that her son would marry a woman who was older. She has said that she will never accept her into the family. This incident tells a lot about social relationships in Huanchaco. In a machismo society, such as Northern Peru, the male is supposed to be older, the provider. The mother-in-law was so ashamed by her son’s older wife and reversal of roles that she placed a daño on her daughter-in-law and caused her great pain, most likely in the hopes that she will leave her husband and end the embarrassment of a socially unacceptable situation for her family.

According to the staff member, the mother-in-law would have had to have gone to Trujillo to find a brujo because there are no brujos in Huanchaco. This is because brujos are seen as la mala gente and la mala gente are never from Huanchaco. Over and over again, I was told that there are no brujos in Huanchaco. Huanchaqueros that say they are brujos are “liars who are in it for the money,” or so I have been told. From every conversation I had, everyone made it very clear that “Dios es la verdad” (God is truth), and they do not practice any brujeria.

People admit that brujeria did exist in Huanchaco, but it was a very long time ago. During my interviews, people were more likely to part with information about past beliefs in Huanchaco as they are safer to talk about and have less (if any) consequences. One local restaurant owner was very knowledgeable about past beliefs. Her great grandmother was the midwife for the town, and her stories have been passed down. As we sat down to talk, she immediately and emphatically stated that God is the only truth. She once practiced a little white magic, such as tarot card reading, but now knows that only God can guide her. Once that was stated, she became intense and eager. I did not have the time to ask a question before she began to tell me that it was once believed that menstruating women should not carry babies. If they did the child’s head would break, quebrada, not literally but psychologically, and the child would cry and cry for no reason. The only way to cure the baby and stop it from crying was to rub and cover its head with a bandage and wrapping its body in diaper cloths. The wrapping of the child in bandages and diapers is called atalinger. Then, one would place the wrapped child into a door frame while reciting the Lord’s Prayer or Hail Mary’s and making the cross three times over the baby’s head.

In many cultures throughout history, menstruating women have been seen as unclean and dirty, sometimes even dangerous. The belief that a baby held by a menstruating woman would mentally break demonstrates that people in Huanchaco once adhered to the conviction that menstruating women were something to be afraid of, someone to avoid contact with.

The ill-intended doting and cooing over a child could also cause a quebrada or break in a child’s head. After a person who had been talking very fondly and sweetly over a child leaves and the baby cries and cries, it was believed that the person actually gave the child bad spirits. The giving of bad humors while pretending to dote is referred to as ojear. The owner of the restaurant said black men known as sambas were the most dangerous and people should be most wary of them because they were believed to posses the strongest characters. Like menstruating women, black men have also occupied a precarious state, especially in the Americas with its history of slavery. In many colonized countries black men have been seen as threatening to women. The belief that black men posses the strongest characters and are therefore the most dangerous fits the model of black men as liminal characters.

To cure the child from receiving an ojear the mother would rub an egg over the child while reciting the Lord’s Prayer. She would then crack the egg into a glass of water and according to the shapes the egg would form in the water she could tell if the bad humors had been passed to the child. If they had been passed, she would cut the egg into a cross and throw it far from where people go so the bad humors could be taken away by bad spirits. She says that little children would wear necklaces of little seeds called juellolos to protect them from bad spirits. Necklaces made of these seeds can be bought in the artisan stands in Huanchaco today. I have been told they provide energy. Cleaning and curing with an egg continues today. Rubbing an egg over one’s body is used to alleviate stress and tension caused from a chacaque, an embarrassment, or a susto, a scare.

Although “God is the only truth,” the restaurant owner does have some plants that are used for protection against evil spirits and brujos. On the counter, there was la ruda. La ruda is used for good luck - she says bathing with it can change your life. The water in its pot absorbs any bad spirit that enters her restaurant. She takes the water from the plant and throws it out the door, and therefore she throws the evil spirits out with the water. She also uses la ruda along with palito santo (holy water) and garlic root in a mixture called sahumado. The mixture is poured over a fire while reciting prayers. Sahumado is used to cleanse a house and ask for wishes. The restaurant owner cleans her house with sahumado because she says “it is in the Bible.” One can also bathe with la ruda and flower petals for protection and good luck in business, love, and health. Above her door hangs another plant called, savila. This plant is said to drip blood if a brujo should walk underneath it.

Black magic was briefly touched on during our conversation. She says that people most often use black magic to get people to fall in love, although people have been known to die after receiving a daño. I was told that if I wanted to hear about black magic I should go to the fisherman, “the true Huanchaqueros,” who know more about witchcraft and the most effective ways to cause daño than anybody else in Huanchaco.

The fishing community appeared to be the perfect community to study. The community is small, most are related. The current economic situation is difficult and hard. This would lead one to believe that this would lead to an increase in daños as envy and jealousy become more widespread in the ever narrowing sea of fish and profit. During my field research, I attempted to talk with a couple of fisherman about brujeria, however I grossly underestimated the amount of secrecy bound to it. I was hesitant, not at all comfortable on how to approach a subject so private and personal. Foolishly, I once let my hesitations become allayed by a friend who insisted that the fisherman were like his uncles, that he had grown up with them and they would be happy to talk. However, that was far from the case as I was introduced. The four older men did not acknowledge my presence (and why should they?). They mumbled they knew nothing about brujeria and continued to mend their nets. I stood there with my notebook and recorder in hand, wanting to crawl into a hole and angry at my weak attempt to get inside information without first getting in the inside and becoming familiar.

Due to my lack of time and Spanish skills and the embarrassment I felt among the fisherman, I choose to give up my research on brujeria in the fishing community. Instead, I turned my attention to the more public world of herbs, potions, plants, and perfumes. I visited a woman who sells herbs in the market of Huanchaco. She began the interview by ardently telling me the difference between the world of healing with herbs and the magical world of brujos and daños. Any question I asked about brujeria was answered with “Christ is the only way.” She said if I wanted to talk about brujeria I should go to Trujillo because “there are no brujos in Huanchaco.”

I went to Trujillo and visited the mayorista, the big market where one can buy anything they could ever need from food to rope to toys and clothes. I moved away from the hanging meat and buzzing flies, and two aisles later I came upon a whole section of vendors selling objects that could be used for brujeria. Herbs, deer paws, dried frogs, colorful candles, and dolls hung from the ceiling. Plants crowded the walkway and colorful boxes containing soaps and perfumes claimed to protect you from hechizos (curses), bring happiness, love, sex, money, good luck in all aspects of your life, and even beauty. Every ailment imaginable had a cure among the rows of colorful bottles. Cleansing staffs used during mesas, old jewelry boxes containing pasted seeds and pictures of saints for good luck and protection, and tarot cards were piled high on the countertops. I walked up and down the aisle fascinated, thinking that for a very Catholic area that claimed that “God was the only truth” someone is buying all this stuff.

Most Huanchaqueros claim brujeria is a belief of the past. It is something their parents and grandparents once practiced. A Huanchaquero in his early 20´s described his belief like this:
Para mi es algo como una question de fe, no? O sea si tu crees en estas cosas va a hacer efecto y eso es lo que utilizan los brujos o shamanes, no? Hacen que la gente tenga fe en eso para que hagan mal a la gente o sea que tener bastante fe y ganas de hacerle daño a otra persona para que funcione. Porque nunca... nunca... estas nunca estuvieron escritos ni esta escrito que la brujeria existen pero por maldad el daño si existe y ellos eso es lo que hacen. Hacen daño a la gente y aca en Huanchaco se sabe de que la gente mas antigua hacia brujeria. La gente mas antigua tenia conocimiento sobre la brujeria. Se iban al cementario que queda de la parte de arriba y asi hacian rituales como una mesada. Supuestamente, venian de la playa aca con velas negras y bastante cosas que pociones que ellos utilizan para ser el maldad. Otras utilizan el pelo, el pelo de la gente a que le va a hacer dano y los vuelven y los vuelven. Otras utilizan los prendas (clothes) o tambien hacen munecas o usan las ropas interiores de los hombres o de las mujeres para hacerle daño. Asi hay varias formas eso es lo que escucho.

Another young Huanchaquero claimed not to believe in brujería, although his parents do. However, while walking on the beach he often comes upon bottles containing pictures and herbs. He always breaks them.

Conclusion

The future of brujeria in Huanchaco depends greatly on the future of the town itself. Brujeria occurs most frequently during times of economic hardship. If the economy of the town improves over time, there will be less envy and jealousy. Therefore, one could also assume there would be less brujeria. However, if the economy in Huanchaco continues to struggle, one might assume that brujeria will play a major role in shaping the relations among the people of the town.

A continuing theme I encountered while interviewing people was the adamant affirmation that “God is the only truth.” This leads me to wonder what Catholicism’s, the major religion in the area, view on brujeria is? Who is really practicing? Do most of the people who go to brujos consider themselves religious and in what sense? The close knit Catholic family is the ideal. However, the fact that most brujeria occurs within families contradicts this model. How does this play into family relationships?

According to most of my interviews, brujeria was either practiced by la mala gente from the outside, and the only time it occurred in Huanchaco was a long ago. I wonder if the demographic of people seeking help from brujos is changing? Is brujeria less frequent among the younger generations? Is it something that was practiced by the older generations and in this age of globalization and modernization is brujeria becoming obsolete? Also who are the brujos? Where do they live? Are there any true brujos in Huanchaco?

I believe brujeria exists and is also a powerful force in the lives of many Huanchaqueros. From the past fear of menstruating women and black men to the savila that hangs over the door of many restaurants and homes today, brujeria is a part of the history and culture of Huanchaco. Although very little is said publicly about brujeria, it can be felt in the daily interactions. I myself felt it while huddled on the corner of the beach, secretly talking to a young fisherman. As he whispered into the recorder I held in my hand, an older fisherman came from behind. He loomed large against the sun brightened ocean, leaning over us. He angrily cursed the young fisherman for talking to me, and the younger fisherman scurried after the older. I sat in the sand, heart beating fast, feeling guilty for causing the fear I saw in the eyes of the young fisherman. I stood up and walked along the beach, realizing that I am an outsider causing trouble. For that moment, I felt like I was la mala gente.