Peru : People Of The Mountains (1941)

in Lima the capital city of Peru centers the administration of a republic rich in historical background established by Pizarro more than four centuries ago Lima was four years the dominant city of all South America even today it is the nerve center of Peruvian politics Commerce finance and education its citizens largely of Spanish lineage have much in common with modern city dwellers the world over in Lima are found the banks of international trade here too are the offices of modern business enterprise typify but the headquarters of a telephone concern representative of another function of Lima in bureaus national life is the university of san marcos founded in 1551 a proud and impressive metropolis is Lima with its stately homes and imposing public plazas rich and historic lore but in the remote Andes of Peru there are remnants of another earlier glory where silent crumbled ruins bear witness to a vanished age in these mountains once dwelt the Incas proud rulers of a vast Indian empire strong and immense with the fortresses they built to guard the paths of Empire from the pole fooled Stone on team stone they reared their massive Citadel's throughout the central Andes the stones have endured the stones of fortresses and of Imperial dwellings these have remained but the civilization which flourished here vanished long ago long before the ships of the white men touched on South American shores the life of a far-flung Empire centered here advanced in the arts of war and peace the Incas administered from mountain stronghold of a highly organized society the Spaniard came the incas fell only ruins remain ones and hapless descendants of a once proud Indian people in cusco the inca capital a monastery now stands upon masonry once the inca temple of the son for his forebears passed in proud procession the present day Indian makes his indifferent way yet Cusco is still an Indian city the empire past the people have remained threading narrow streets bordered by masonry reminiscent of past glory they still adhere to ways tradition has preserved life goes on the marketplace brings together those who buy and those who sell ever prominent our corn and the potato which spread from Peru around the world there are blankets woven on native looms there are sandals made from discarded automobile tires from populous Kuzco out in the broad reaches of the plateau are the communal Indian villages of even more traditional pattern in one such village is the home of the ketchup boutique family the dwelling of adobe patching and occasional patches of tile today grandfather platykurtic sits quietly near the doorway chewing the much relished coca leaves the approach of a village boy leading a Lama a favorite beast of burden in the andes evokes but a listless response though in his youth when father to set off on many an arduous trek to distant mountain villages in the fields other members of the Quecha Critic family have long been busily at work planning is underway the dry earth tOA's first turned up with primitive foot plows plows ancient and design and used in time-honored fashion in the wake of the foot plows father guides his team of oxen making the follows in which seeds are planted plodding along laborious ly and slowly the oxen draw the ancient wooden plow made from a tree fork alta a daughter scatters fertilizer and meldova brother completes the planning world fertilized and planted the putter critic Fields will yield up corn and potatoes staples grown here through long centuries the arrival of a water carrier in the field brings a welcome pause board from a native earthenware vessel into a cup likewise a product of local handicraft the cool water offers needed refreshment after the long morning of work in the fields and now with the crude pools temporarily laid aside the family prepare for their midday meal a meal eat with the earth itself serving as a table from a large earthenware pot mother serves out bowls of vegetable stew in which the ever-present potatoes are a major ingredient following customary practice a pulley her son eats the mixture without benefit of fork or spoon each one drinks the nourishing liquid directly from his dish in their eating habits as in their agricultural methods the family reflected the ways of the people who have long lived close to the soil meanwhile in a pasture not far away the wife of a poori tens up walk nor is her attention directed to the animals alone on a small hand a traditional pattern she waves a strip of belting incorporating a conventional Indian design with varicolored yarns thus in field and pasture the pets aquatic family reveal a traditional division of labour likewise those who remain in the village pursue their respective specialized tasks today as in centuries past the women of the Andes villages prepare the yarn for homespun clothing the techniques of a machine age have yet to make their inroads here where the ancient ways suffice just as a poor tease wife flies her handloom in the field other women of the village sit all day at larger looms with eyes intent on the work at hand they fashioned the yarn from the spindles into fabrics clothing must be strong and warm in the cold climate of the high Andes like all members of the village community the butcher too has his special work but meat is a minor part of the diet for people who depend chiefly on potatoes and corn laborious ly ground Baker butcher Weaver spinner and grinder of corn all make their contributions to the closely knit village life a life centering largely around the marketplace and here as infield food is the major concern potatoes nearly harvested and through freezing our in the produce of the fields in colorful native headgear and in the market itself the ancient pattern of things continues to find expression toward evening up Laurie's wife leaves her unmarried flock back across the tranquil plateau to the village from the village in the morning to the village at night such as the rhythm of routine for those of the community who till the soil or tender flocks of llamas another day will bring another repetition of the old familiar round followed in the village through the years the plows put aside today will be taken up once more on tomorrow's return to the fields corralled for the night close by the living quarters of the family itself the llamas will wait another day of grazing in pastures centuries old for a season most of the men of the village depart to work in mines or on plantations they leave the women to climb the rugged slopes to work in the fields it is the women will bring the village crops to maturity among the high and Dene mountains they are aided in this work by native llamas and by sturdy plodding burros reminiscent of the Spanish conquest centuries ago at harvest time across the bridge that leads to the outside world men of the village begin returning home from their work in the white men's minds and plantations in this return to their ancestral mountain homes they answer the age-old call of the clam reunion with their families sharing together the harvest from the soil from strange places of the outside world gifts are brought back for the women folk and experiences of past months recounted the celebration includes a to cusco where natives from the surrounding mountains come for marketing and for friendly reunions to the imposing Cathedral whose power has sent out its call through the centuries centuries since the white man brought a new religion children of the sound [Music] includes closed marketplace the visitors gather to buy to sell to barter here elders from the villages meet to exchange local gossip and to cheer the popular coca leaves in their faces is the story of a people who have survived centuries after a Spanish conquest the people with the heritage of an ancient Indian culture whose glories are dimly echoed in many a crumbling ruin sets darkly against the eternal Andes