Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
expecting the seemingly inevitable disaster to happen. The other women each wore several
long woollen skirts, one over the other, and the bulk might have made one believe they were
wearing crinolines. Every time they spun around during the dance they made these skirts fly
to show their different colours, which gave them the appearance of big toy tops.
After a few visits to the best man's house the alcohol began to take effect. Then the men's
charging around began to resemble the actions of infuriated bulls, some of the women's feet
seemedtobegettingtooheavytoperformthefancyspinstheyhadbeensofondofbefore,and
one or two looked as if they had become entangled in their own feet. Within an hour or so one
mighthavebelievedthatsomeofthedancerswerewalkingonacarpetofchewing-gumwhilst
othersmovedasiftheywereonice,andeverynowandagainonelosthisbalanceandfell,but
whether they were men or women, nobody helped them to rise. The squatting and spinning
onlookers watched without showing the slightest trace of emotion, nor even a smile when a
woman who had tried a fancy pirouette turned head over heel like a shot hare. There is no
limit to these feasts; they simply last as long as there is alcohol and food. If there is sufficient
of these the dance lasts for three or four days or even longer, and when the best man's stock is
exhausted they often begin afresh at the newly married couple's house-warming. White men
wouldfinditdifficulttodanceinsuchaltitudes,fortheairissorarefiedthateventheslightest
physical effort fatigues one.
In the mountains to the west of Lake Titicaca live the Tunquipa Indians, who are great
fighters and have a bad reputation in the neighbourhood. The Tunquipas are skilful with the
lasso and use modern firearms. They wear clothes made entirely of leather and ride on small
butremarkably hardyponies.Fromtime totime theymake raidsonvillages, butthewhite au-
thorities leave them carefully alone because it would be very difficult and dangerous to reach
their strongholds up in the mountains.
Whilst I was in Peru the feeling against the Chilians was very bitter, and owing to this I
had a very unpleasant experience in a village near Lake Titicaca. As I was riding towards the
plaza to find the
gobernador
several men and boys shouted
Perro chileno
(Chilian dog) after
me, but I continued without taking any notice of these mestizo ruffians. When I arrived at the
'town hall', a tumbledown adobe house that had been whitewashed when it was built, I asked
forthe
gobernador
,butadark,pock-markedfellowwithMongolianeyeslaconicallyinformed
me that the
señor
was out. I produced my letter of recommendation, and on the strength of it
(althoughhecouldnotread)Iwasgivenpermissiontoputthehorsesintothebackyard.Ithen
threw my packs and saddles into a bare room and went out fodder-hunting. When my efforts
had met with partial success, but at high cost, I went from house to house until I found an old
woman who was willing to cook something for me.
Duringtheevening,asIsatonthedoorstepofmyroomandpuffedawayatarank-smelling
cigarette, I noticed several groups of men come slouching past me, casting foxy glances in
my direction and whispering to each other. I began to feel somewhat uneasy, and although I
did not show it, I kept a weather eye on these fellows, and before curling up in my blankets
