Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests Part 6

In the commencement of the present chapter I made the observation that the people of mixed blood unite in themselves all the faults without any of the virtues of their progenitors. To this general remark, however, the Mestizos form an honorable exception. They inherit many of the good qualities both of the Whites and the Indians. They are mild and affectionate. Their feelings are very excitable, and they readily perform an act of kindness or generosity on the impulse of the moment--but they are irresolute and timid. They attach themselves affectionately to the Whites; but they are not partial to the Indians, whom they regard with some degree of contempt. In Lima their number is less considerable than in the interior of the country, where whole villages are inhabited solely by Mestizos. In those places they style themselves Whites, and hold themselves very much aloof from the Indians. One cannot pay them a better compliment than to inquire whether they are Spaniards, a question which they always answer in the affirmative, though their features are plainly impressed with the Indian stamp. The complexion of the Mestizos is usually a clear brown; but in some individuals it has a very dark tinge. Their hair is sleek, long, and very strong. The women frequently wear their hair in two long plaits descending nearly to the knees. The men are strongly made, have marked features and but very little beard. In Lima they are chiefly handicraftsmen and traders. Most of the hawkers (Mercachifles) in Lima are Mestizos.

The Mulattos differ very widely from the Mestizos. In person they are less strongly made; but in intellect they are superior to any of the half-casts. They possess a very great apt.i.tude for mechanical employments, great dexterity and a remarkable degree of imitative talent, which, if well directed, might be brilliantly developed. They are exceedingly impressionable, and all their feelings are readily exalted into pa.s.sions. Indifferent to all out sensual enjoyments, they indulge in the fleeting pleasure of the present moment, and are regardless of the future. There is a certain cla.s.s of Mulattos, who, in a psychological point of view, are very remarkable. They are distinguished by the nick-name of _Palanganas_.[28] They are gifted with wonderful memory, and after the lapse of years they will repeat, word for word, speeches or sermons which they have heard only once.

With this extraordinary power of memory, they combine a fertile fancy, and a boundless share of self-confidence. Wherever there is anything to be seen or heard, the Palanganas never fail to attend, and they repeat with the most ludicrous att.i.tudes and gestures all that they hear, be it a sermon in church, a speech in Congress, or an address delivered at any public solemnity.

The Mulattos now study theology; for, since the establishment of independence, the Indian law, which prohibited any person of mixed blood from entering the ecclesiastical state, is no longer observed.

Many have devoted themselves to medicine; and most of the physicians in Lima are Mulattos; but they are remarkable only for their ignorance, as they receive neither theoretical nor clinical instruction. Nevertheless, they enjoy the full confidence of the public, who rank the ignorant native far above the educated foreigner.

The business of a barber is one that is much followed by the Mulattos of Lima. In that occupation they are quite in their element, for they possess all the qualifications for which the members of that fraternity are distinguished in all parts of the world.

Among the Mulatto females many are remarkably beautiful--though they are always wanting in that oval form of the face which is the first condition of cla.s.sic beauty. Their countenances are generally round and broad, their features strongly marked, and their expression impa.s.sioned. Their beauty soon fades; and as they advance in life the negro character of their features becomes distinctly defined. Their hair, which does not grow beyond a finger's length, is jet black and frizzy. They plait it very ingeniously in small tresses, frequently making more than a hundred. Their complexions vary from white to dark-brown; but most of them are dark brunettes, with large black eyes and pearl-white teeth.

Their vanity is quite equal to that of the Negresses, but it is combined with a certain degree of taste, in which the latter are wanting. The Mulatto women are pa.s.sionately fond of music, singing and dancing. They play the guitar and have pleasing voices, but their singing is quite uninstructed.

The Zambos are the most miserable cla.s.s of half-casts. With them every vice seems to have attained its utmost degree of development; and it may confidently be said that not one in a thousand is a useful member of society, or a good subject of the state. Four-fifths of the criminals in the city jail of Lima are Zambos. They commit the most hideous crimes with the utmost indifference, and their lawless propensities are continually bringing them into collision with the const.i.tuted authorities. In moral nature they are below the Negroes; for they are totally wanting in any good qualities possessed by the latter. Their figures are athletic, and their color black, sometimes slightly tinged with olive-brown. Their noses are much less flat than those of the Negroes, but their lips are quite as prominent.

Their eyes are sunk and penetrating, and their hair very little longer than that of the Negroes, but curling in larger locks. The men have very little beard.

The Chinos are but little superior to the Zambos. Indeed, in physical formation they are inferior to them, for they are small and attenuated. Their countenances are hideously ugly. They have the Negro nose and mouth, and the Indian forehead, cheeks and eyes. Their hair is black, rough, but less frizzy than that of the Mulattos. They are deceitful, ill-tempered, and cruel. They never forget an offence, but brood over it till an opportunity, however distant, presents itself for wreaking their vengeance. They are very dangerous enemies.

Respecting the half-casts of fairer complexion, especially the Cuarterones and the Quinteros, there is but little to be said. Both physically and morally they approximate closely to the whites, among whom they almost rank themselves.

The majority of the foreigners in Lima, and indeed throughout the whole of Peru, are the families of the Spaniards from Europe, who emigrated to South America before the war of independence. Since the close of that struggle there has been but little emigration, as the circ.u.mstances of the country are not now very favorable to new settlers. The old Spanish families are for the most part landed proprietors or merchants. They are people of very temperate habits, but they are pa.s.sionately fond of gaming, and in this respect they have bequeathed a dangerous inheritance to the Creoles. The pride and mercenary spirit which distinguished the Spaniards before the independence are now broken, if not entirely subdued. The intercourse between them and the natives, though still somewhat constrained, is every year becoming more and more friendly, as the privileges enjoyed by the Spaniards, which were a continued cause of hostile feeling, are now removed.

Next to the Spaniards, the most numerous cla.s.s of foreigners are the Italians. These are chiefly Genoese, and the majority are run-away sailors and adventurers. They usually begin by setting up a Pulperia (a brandy shop), or a spice shop, and gradually extend their traffic until, in the course of a few years, they ama.s.s money enough to return to their native country. Some of them make good fortunes and possess extensive warehouses.

The French in Lima occupy the same positions as their countrymen in Valparaiso, viz., they are tailors and hair-dressers, dealers in jewellery and millinery.

The English and North Americans, who are much better liked by the natives than the French, are chiefly merchants. They are the heads of the princ.i.p.al commercial houses, as Gibbs, Grawley & Co., Alsop & Co., Templeman and Bergmann, Huth, Cruning & Co., &c. The enterprising spirit of the English and North Americans has led many of them into extensive mining speculations, which in some instances have proved very unfortunate.

The Germans in Lima are proportionally few. They are distinguished by their apt.i.tude for business, and many of them fill high stations in the great English commercial houses. They are held in high esteem by the natives. The general gravity of their manners has given rise, among the Limenos, to the saying, "_Serio como un Aleman_"--Serious as a German.

Settlers from the other American republics have of late years considerably increased in Lima. After the Chilian expedition, many Chilenos established themselves in Peru, and numbers of Argentinos, escaping from the terrorism of Rosas in Buenos Ayres, have taken refuge in Lima.

Foreigners being in general more industrious and more steady than the Creoles, the Limenos readily form connexions with them. The ladies generally prefer marrying a _Gringo_[29] to a _Paisanito_.[30]

I may close this chapter on the inhabitants of Lima, with some remarks on the Spanish language as spoken in the capital of Peru. The old Spaniards, who brought their various dialects into the New World, retain them there unchanged. The Galician transposes the letters _g_ and _j_; the Catalonian adds an _s_ to the final syllables of words, and gives a peculiarly harsh sound to the letter _j_; the Andalusian rolls the _r_ over his tongue, and imparts a melodious expression even to harsh-sounding words; the Biscayan mingles a variety of provincialisms with his own peculiar dialect. The Madrileno (native of Madrid) prides himself here, as well as in Europe, in being far superior to the rest of his countrymen in elegance of p.r.o.nunciation. The Creoles, however, have gradually dropped the characteristic dialects of their progenitors, and have adopted new ones, varying one from another in the different South American provinces. The Spanish language, as spoken by the natives of Peru, differs widely from the correct and pure model of p.r.o.nunciation.

The inhabitants of the coast have too soft an accent, and they frequently confound, one with another, letters which have a mutual resemblance in sound. On the other hand, the people who dwell in the mountainous districts speak with a harsh accent, and very ungrammatically. As the Swiss force out their guttural tones from the lowest depth of their throats, and with the strongest possible aspiration, so do the Peruvians of the Cordillera. The inhabitants of the sand flats of North Germany, on the contrary, impart a ludicrously soft sound to the harsher consonants; and the same peculiarity is observable in the people who inhabit the coast of Peru.

Of all the inhabitants of Lima, the white Creoles speak the best Spanish; but still their language is far from pure. The ladies in particular have the habit of subst.i.tuting one letter for another in certain words; for example, instead of _pulso_ (pulse) they say _purso_, and instead of _salsa_ (sauce) they say _sarsa_. In other words they subst.i.tute _d_ for _r_, saying _amod_ for _amor_, _cavalledo_ for _cavallero_. The _ll_ is frequently sounded by the Peruvians like _y_, a blunder which foreigners are also very apt to commit; for example, in the word _pollo_ (chicken), which they p.r.o.nounce as if it were spelled _poyo_, and _gallina_ (hen) they p.r.o.nounce as if spelled _gayina_. Not only do they confound single letters, but they frequently change whole syllables; as for instance, in the word _pared_ (wall), which they transform into _pader_. The name of the well-known ex-President Orbegoso was, by two-thirds of the natives of Lima, p.r.o.nounced as if written _Obregoso_. There is no word in the Spanish language beginning with an _s_ followed by a consonant, and the Limenos, when they attempt to p.r.o.nounce foreign words or proper names commencing in the manner just described, never fail to prefix to them the letter _e_. I know not whether in the schools and colleges of old Spain this method of prefixing the letter _e_ is adopted in teaching Latin; but the practice is universal among the students of all the colleges in Lima. For studium they say _estudium_; for spurius, _espurius_; for sceleratus, _esceleratus_, &c.

To the Limenos the correct p.r.o.nunciation of these words is extremely difficult, and many have a.s.sured me that they find it impossible to omit the _e_ before the _s_. Still more arbitrary is their conversion of _h_ into _k_ in the words mihi, nihil, &c., which they p.r.o.nounce _miki_, _nikil_.

The colored Creoles, who are generally uneducated, speak the Spanish language much more corruptly than the whites. The Negroes have a very bad accent. Their tongues seem quite unfitted for the p.r.o.nunciation of the Spanish language, which many of them render unintelligible by transposing letters and lopping off syllables.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 13: Interpretations of the Indian Laws.]

[Footnote 14: His divine genius has produced eternal spring in Arequipa.]

[Footnote 15: "Guia del Peru." "Observaciones sobre el clima de Lima y sus influencias en los seres organizados en especial el hombre."]

[Footnote 16: The women of Lima clean their teeth several times a day with the root called _Raiz de dientes_ (literally _root for the teeth_), of which they keep a piece constantly in their pocket.]

[Footnote 17: It is related that, during the war of independence, when Lima was alternately in possession of the Patriots and the Spaniards, a party of the latter, in order to ascertain the spirit of the Limenos, disguised themselves as Patriots and marched to the vicinity of the town. On their approach becoming known, a great number of persons proceeded from Callao to the Alameda to meet them. Among those who went forth to welcome the supposed patriots were a number of women dressed in the narrow _sayas_ above described. When the disguised Spaniards had advanced within a little distance of the deceived mult.i.tude they began to attack them. The men saved themselves by flight; but the women, whose sayas impeded their motion, were unable to escape, and were almost all killed.]

[Footnote 18: A _Tapada_ is a lady closely concealed beneath the folds of her veil or manto. The term is derived from the verb _tapar_, to cover or conceal. _Tapa.r.s.e a media ojo_, is said of a lady when she draws her manto over her face so as to leave only one eye or rather the half of an eye uncovered.--T.]

[Footnote 19: A preparation of finely-bruised maize mixed with morsels of pork. It is rolled in maize leaves, and in that manner served up.]

[Footnote 20: Sweet cakes made of maize and raisins.]

[Footnote 21: A syrup made from the pulp of fruit.]

[Footnote 22: Preserved peas with syrup.]

[Footnote 23: Literally Bigots.]

[Footnote 24: Meaning _Yo esclavita!_ (I, a slave!) _Esclavita_ being the diminutive of _Esclava_.]

[Footnote 25: Narrative of twenty years' residence in South America, by W. B. Stevenson.]

[Footnote 26: The term Creole is a corruption of the Spanish word _criollo_, which is derived from _criar_ to create or to foster. The Spaniards apply the term _criollo_ not merely to the human race, but also to animals propagated in the colonies, but of pure European blood: thus they have _creole_ horses, bullocks, poultry, &c.]

[Footnote 27: A brutish Indian; a favorite expression of the Limenos when speaking of the Indians, who certainly do not merit the compliment.]

[Footnote 28: The word _Palangana_ signifies a wash-hand-basin; but more especially the kind of basin used by barbers. Figuratively the term is used to designate an empty babbler.]

[Footnote 29: _Gringo_ is a nickname applied to Europeans. It is probably derived from _Griego_ (Greek). The Germans say of anything incomprehensible, "That sounds like Spanish,"--and in like manner the Spaniards say of anything they do not understand, "That is Greek."]

[Footnote 30: _Paisanito_ is the diminutive of _Paisano_ (Compatriot.)]

CHAPTER VI.

Primary Schools--Colleges--The University--Monks--Saints--Santo Toribio and Santa Rosa--Religious Processions--Raising the Host--The Noche Buena--The Carnival--Paseos, or Public Promenades--Ice--Riding and Driving--Horses--Their Equipments and Training--Mules--Lottery in Lima--Cookery--Breakfasts, Dinners, &c.--Coffee-houses and Restaurants--Markets--The _Plazo Firme del Acho_--Bull Fights.

Schools for primary instruction are numerous in Lima, and upon the whole they are tolerably well conducted. There are thirty-six of these primary schools, public and private; twenty for boys, and sixteen for girls; and altogether about 2000 pupils[31] receive in these establishments the first elements of juvenile instruction. The princ.i.p.al public inst.i.tutions of this cla.s.s are the Normal School of Santo Tomas (in which the Lancasterian system is adopted), and the Central School of San Lazaro. Each contains from 320 to 350 pupils. Of the private schools, some are very well conducted by Europeans. The College of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe was founded a few years ago by two Spanish merchants. In this establishment the sons of the wealthier cla.s.s of people may receive a better education than they can obtain in the public schools. There are three Latin schools, and the number of pupils attending them amounts to about two hundred.

The College of Santo Toribio is exclusively appropriated to students of theology, who are likewise received into the College of San Carlos, though the latter is chiefly destined for the study of jurisprudence.

San Carlos was founded in the year 1770 by the Viceroy Amat, who incorporated with it the previously existing Colleges of San Martin and San Felipe. In the year 1822 the Colegio de Esquilache was likewise united to San Carlos, which now contains about a hundred students. The building is large and commodious, containing s.p.a.cious halls, a fine refectory, and a well-stored library. There are five professors of law and two of theology. French, English, geography, natural philosophy, mathematics, drawing, and music are likewise taught in this college. The annual revenue of the establishment, exclusively of the fees paid by the students, amounts to 19,000 dollars. During the war of emanc.i.p.ation, this establishment for a time bore the name of Colegio de San Martin, in honor of General San Martin, the liberator of Chile; but its original t.i.tle was soon restored.

The Colegio de San Fernando was founded in 1810 by the Marques de la Concordia, for students of medicine. In the year 1826 this Inst.i.tution received the name of _Colegio de la Medecina de la Independencia_, a t.i.tle which it justly merits, for certainly medicine is taught there with a singular independence of all rules and systems. The Professors, who themselves have never received any regular instruction, communicate their scanty share of knowledge in a very imperfect manner to the students. The number of the students is between twelve and fifteen, and there are two Professors. The clinical lectures are delivered in the Hospital of San Andres, to which an anatomical amphitheatre was attached in 1792. The heat of the climate renders it necessary that burials should take place within twenty-four hours after death, a circ.u.mstance which naturally operates as an impediment to the fundamental study of anatomy. It cannot therefore be matter of surprise that the native surgeons should have but a superficial knowledge of that important branch of science.

In the University of San Marcos no lectures are delivered, and the twenty-five Professors' chairs are merely nominal. Honors and degrees are however conferred in San Marcos, and the same rules and ceremonies are observed as in the Spanish Universities. In the departments of medicine and jurisprudence there are three degrees; those of Bachelor, Licentiate, and Doctor. In former times the dignity of Doctor was conferred with great pomp and solemnity, and the public were admitted in large numbers to witness the ceremony. The acquisition of the degree of Doctor was then attended by an expense of about two thousand dollars, chiefly expended in presents. The new Doctor was required to send to every member of the University, from the Bachelors to the Rector, a new dollar, a goblet full of ice, and a dish of pastry.

Lima is overrun with monks, lay and conventual. The monastic regulations are not very strict, for the monks are permitted to leave the convents at all hours, according to their own pleasure. They avail themselves of this liberty to the utmost extent. Friars of various orders are seen in the streets in numbers. Most of them are fat Dominicans, who sit in the Portales playing at draughts, or lounge in shops staring at the _Tapadas_ as they pa.s.s by. Many of these ecclesiastics are remarkable for their disregard of personal cleanliness; indeed it would be difficult to meet with a more slovenly, ignorant, and common-place cla.s.s of men. They frequent all places of public entertainment, the coffee-houses, the chichereas, the bull-fights, and the theatres: these two last-mentioned places of amus.e.m.e.nt they visit in disguise. The Franciscans and the Mercenarias are little better than the Dominicans; but the Descalzados (barefooted friars) lead a somewhat more strict and regular life. To the monks of the _Buena Muerte_ belongs the duty of administering the last consolation to the dying. Whenever they hear of any person who is dangerously ill, they hasten to the house without waiting till they are sent for, and they never leave the invalid until he either recovers or dies. Day and night they sit by the sick-bed, and scarcely allow themselves time for necessary rest and refreshment. I have known many of these monks who, from long experience and observation, but without any medical knowledge, had acquired wonderful shrewdness in determining the degree of danger in cases of illness, and who could foretel with almost unfailing certainty the moment of dissolution. As soon as the patient has breathed his last, the monk utters a short prayer, then giving the corpse a knock on the nose, he silently takes his departure. I have frequently witnessed this singular custom, but I never could discover its origin or motive. The habit worn by the monks of _Buena Muerte_ is black, with a large red cross on the breast, and hats with high conical crowns.