Guinea Pigs Protein Ritual

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/274048243
Guinea Pigs, Protein, and Ritual
Article in Ethnology · July 1979

DOI: 10.2307/3773376
CITATIONS READS
44 200
1 author:
Ralph Bolton
Pomona College
67 PUBLICATIONS 1,032 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
Valerie Hoffman View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Ralph Bolton on 28 May 2020.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

University of Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education
Guinea Pigs, Protein, and Ritual

Author(s): Ralph Bolton
Source: Ethnology, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Jul., 1979), pp. 229-252
Published by: University of Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher
Education
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3773376
Accessed: 20-08-2017 15:34 UTC
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms
University of Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education is

collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Ethnology
This content downloaded from 134.173.245.81 on Sun, 20 Aug 2017 15:34:04 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Guinea Pigs, Protein, and Rituall
Ralph Bolton
Pomona College and
University of Trondheim
Increasingly, anthropologists have become aware of the importance of under-

standing relationships between nutrition and diet, on the one hand, and human
behavior and culture, on the other. A classic monograph on this topic is
Holmberg's (I950) analysis of the effects of food deprivation on the cultural and
psychological development of the Siriono Indians of Bolivia. His theoretical
conclusions, based on the observation of a single case, have not been system-
atically tested and many of them can be disputed. Nonetheless, his research
stands as an early attempt to grapple with problems on the interface between
nutrition and culture, albeit in broad and nonphysiological terms.
Numerous reports dealing with behavioral and cultural consequences of
specific dietary requirements and deficiencies have been published by anthropol-
ogists, many of them relating ritual behavior and ceremonial activities to
subsistence needs. Suttles (I960, I962, I968), Vayda (I96I), and Piddocke
(I969), for example, argue that the potlatch functioned to redistribute necessary
foodstuffs in a region where local climatic Yariations could lead to temporary
deficits for some groups. This explanation has been challenged by some scholars
on empirical (Drucker and Heizer I967; Rosman and Rubel I97I) as well as
logical (Orans I975) grounds. However, a recent investigation has provtded
strong, additional support for the hypothesis. Donald and Mitchell (I975: 343-
344) showed that "there are important territorial and annual variations in the
number of salmon available in the Southern Kwakiutl area," and that there
"are very strong associations between one aspect of the Kwakiutl potlatch (a
local group's ranked position in the system) and the resource base (median
salmon runs) in a local group's territory." Thus, the potlatch may have helped
to prevent dietary deprivations.
In another well-known study, Rappaport (I967, I968) argues that rituals
among the Tsembaga, a New Guinea people, have important functions, includ-
ing the regulation of the pig population and the prevention of environmental
degradation. More signiEcantly, Tsembaga rituals serve to distribute local
surpluses of pork throughout a region and assure that people obtain high quality
protein when they are experiencing various forms of stress. In this paper we
describe anoeher case in which protein needs and ritual cycles appear to be
linked, though not precisely in the same manner as among the Tsembaga.
The original purpose behind the research reported below was fundamentally
229
250 E THNOLOGY
ethnographic rather than theoretical: to investigate the role of the

Andean village life by describing beliefs, practices, and cognit
related to these animals. Immersion in the empirical data, however
beyond the initial intention, speciEcally to formulate an hypothesi
relationships between the characteristic cycle of guinea pig flocks
ritual cycles. We raise the possibility that the timing of major comm
1S a function of environmental constraints associated with the raisin
pigs (under certain conditions) and, in general? of the periodic hum
high-quality proteins to maintain a healthy population.
After a brief ethnographic sketch of the community in which o
was conducted, and a section providing background information on
in Andean culture, we present the evidence that we contend su
hypothesis of a rather tight link between the ritual cycle and the
production cycle in this community.
THE SETTING
Santa Barbara is situated astride the Salcca River, in the province

department of Cuzco (Peru). A dirt road, passable during all but th
the rainy season by vehicles with four-wheel drive, connects Santa B
Sicuani, the closest town. Nevertheless, most traic in and out of th
ity is on foot or on horseback. Houses of the villagers are located near
an altitude of approximately 4,ooo meters above sea level, but the c
territory extends into the hills that encircle the lower zone. The co
consists of scattered hamlets. Except for a few mestizo families in
hamlet the site of the church, civil guard post, school, and ofiRces
authorities the inhabitants of Santa Barbara are monolingual Qu
ing Indians or campesinos, to use the term preferred by the people th
The local subsistence economy is mixed, based on both agric
pastoralism. Indigenous cultigens predominate in the crop comp
(the principal staple), oca, ollz4c>, quinaa) habas, anu, and canibu
the only important Old World plant. Village herds contain mainly I
sheep, although some cogmpesinow also own a few cows, horses
Relationships with Indians at lower altitudes enable people to acquir
highly-prized item in their diet, and relationships with Indian
altitudes give access to pastures and caretaking for alpacas, which d
under conditions found in the vicinity of Santa Barbara. Altho
haciendas still exist in this region (as of I974), few villagers are em
mestizo hacendogdos. Most families own the land they work. With
introduction, let us turn to the ethnography of guinea pigs in the
GUINEA PIGS IN ANDEAN CULTURE

Discussing pre-Columbian Peru, Lanning (I967: I8) states: "If w
way of estimating the number of guinea pigs eaten in ancient time
find that they ranked with seafood as the most important sources o
the ancient diet, well ahead of the camelids and the Andean deer."
2I9) writes about the Incaic period: "Almost the only regular m
available to Indians was provided by the swarms of guinea pigs t
Indian kitchens; the situation has not changed much in the last 400 y
GUINEA PIGS, PROTEIN, AND RITUAL 23I
extreme dependence on guinea pigs for protein does not exist in most Andean
communities today, yet the importance of guinea pigs remains, transcending the
strictly quantitative nutritional contribution made by these rodents. Despite
widespread acceptance of Old World animal species such as sheep, cattle, goats,
and pigs by inhabitants of the Andes, cuys, as guinea pigs are called in Peru,
continue to occupy a special place in the life of the average household in a vast
region between southern Colombia and northern Argentina. Published informa-
tion on guinea pigs in Andean culture is scanty, scattered comments made in
passing by ethnographers and a handful of brief discussions of the topic (cf.
Gade I967; Luna and Moreno I969; Andrews I975; Escobar and Escobar I976).
Thus, it is risky to generalize about the role of guinea pigs, and, unless otherwise
indicated, our discussion will be based on observations in Santa Barbara.
CUY HUSBANDRY
In Santa Barbara, guinea pigs live exclusively in kitchen huts since conditions
by the hearth are thought to provide the best, perhaps only, environment for the
successful raising of cuys. In these unheated buildings, the area near the cooking
fire provides the warmth that cuys need to survive.
Warmth is not the only reason given for keeping cuys in kitchens. Villagers
believe that smoke is essential for their well-being, that without smoke cuys
cannot live. According to respondents, cuys do not require water; instead, they
"drink smoke." Most households do not provide cuys with water since those
that drink water are said to become emaciated and sick. It should be noted that
"smoke" (k'owni, in Quechua) includes not only smoke but also vapor or steam.
By having cuys live near fire, villagers provide them with high humidity, a
source of water, and also, perhaps, some protection against disease-carrying fleas
and lice.
To protect them from predators (dogs, cats, thieves), cuys are kept inside. As
a result, they must be fed regularly. They eat the residue of foods prepared for
human consumption, e.g., potato and chuno peelings, fresh corncobs, bean
(haboz) shells, corn husks, onion peels. Vegetable and tuber scraps are eaten
throughout the year. At harvest time, cuys are given ocas too wormy to be eaten
by humans and the stalks and leaves of bean plants. Throughout the rainy
months, a variety of green tgrasses (q'achu) form the basis of the cuy diet.
Commonly, young barley stalks are harvested and given to the cuys. During the
dry season green grasses and herbs are hard to collect. Moistened barley straw
and bean shells are then fed to cuys, and people gather ichu and ira grasses
(tough, dry grasses) and a thorny plant called qayara (a bromeliaceae) for them.
Lastly, they are fed the residue of barley from chicha-making, sut'uchi, highly
regarded in Santa Barbara as cuy food. The tasks of gathering food and feeding
cuys usually fall to women and children. In most households cuys are fed two or
three times per day and if everyone in a household is to be absent all day from
the homestead, the cuys are provided enough food to last until evening.
Beyond providing food, the people of Santa Barbara do not lavish attention
on their cuys. The animals are rarely fondled since handling is thought to be
detrimental to them. Illnesses are generally not treated, but an afflicted animal
may be killed to prevent the spread of disease, or an entire flock may be
slaughtered so that the healthy animals might be eaten before they become ill.
232 E THNOLOGY
Some villagers occasionally clean the feet of their animals during the rainy
season when the moist food results in heavy urination and muddy cubbies.
Although people possess a considerable amount of accurate information about
cuy reproduction, they do not do much to influence the process intentionally.
According to informants, female cuys can begin to reproduce when they reach
two months of age. They give birth to two or three young at a time, but the
range is from one to seven. Smaller litters are produced by old cuys and single
births by all cuys during the dry season. When a cuy gives birth to five or more
young, they are small and usually die. Mothers of large litters may die as well in
the process. In such instances, other females may care for surviving orphans, but
sometimes they reject and attack orphans. Cuys in small litters grow rapidly,
those in large litters more slowly. Well-fed cuys have shorter gestation periods
and more frequent pregnancies than poorly fed cuys. A majority of informants
considered the duration of gestation to be about two months. Four or five litters
per year is thought to be average for most cuys. Fertilization takes place again
shortly after a female produces a litter . Only rarely is special care provided for
pregnant cuys. In some households extra food is supplied to the mother after
giving birth. Birth takes place inside the cubbyholes, and the young are not seen
immediately by the owners. Reportedly, young cuys are born with their eyes
open; within two hours they are nursing; by the age of three days they arezable
to take care of themselves, although they may continue to nurse longer.
The standard procedure is to keep only one sexually active male, kututu, per
flock. Female cuys do not fight, but kututus do. Wounds often result ears
ripped and fur torn off. Normal practice is to eliminate excess males (especially
those that fight) by eating them or selling them when they mature.
THE SIZE AND COMPOSITION OF CUY FLOCKS

Although raising cuys seems to be pan-Andean, involvement with these
animals varies from community to community as well as from household to
household within communities. At one extreme are communities in which
guinea pigs are kept by only a few families. At the other end of the spectrum,
one discovers many communities in which nearly everyone raises cuys. However,
quantitative data on cuy flocks are essentially unavailable in the Andean
literature. While ethnographers tend to count cattle and sheep and calculate per
capita holdings of these and other large animals, they generally neglect to
investigate the number of guinea pigs people own. Ironically, the most precise
data we found pertain to communities in which cuys are unimportant. Residents
of Irpa Chico, Bolivia have an average of .o8 CUyS per household, and the
inhabitants of the Bolivian former haciendas Huacullani, Rosapata, and Vili-
roco an average of I.00 guinea pig per family (Carter I964: 28). In Mayobamba
(Dept. of Lima, Peru) only I74 CUyS were reported, I20 in a single household
(Morris et al. I968: I34); if one discounts the household with I20 CUyS, the
average number of cuys per village family is approximately I.44, and approxi-
mately 4.9I for families actually raising cuys.
For the Andes as a whole, Gade (I967: 220) estimates that flocks range in
size between eight and fifteen cuys with an occasional flock as large as 50.
Gilmore's (I950: 457) estimate is between hve and fifteen cuys. The Escobars
(I976) break down their figures into class and ethnic categories: four to five cuys
GUINEA PIGS, PROTEIN, AND RITUAL 233
per Indian household, fifteen to twenty cuys per middle- and upper-class urban
mestizo household, and up to 50 or more per hacienda.
In Santa Barbara we asked nineteen informants how many cuys they owned
and how many cuys they thought would be ideal to raise at any given time.
Their responses are summarized in Table I. Only one fVmily had no cuys, but
even that family had owned some two months earlier. We heard reports,
however, of several other families without cuys, mainly households whose
members work for a local hacendado and who therefore supposedly do not have
time to care for cuys, and a few families residing in homesteads consisting of a
single hut without a separate kitchen. In our sample, the median number of cuys
per household was 6.oo and the mean was 6.95. The highest reported number
was twenty. Since there were some suspicions about our intentions in requesting
data on the number of cuys owned (were they to be taxed?), these figures might
be on the low side. However, when we personally examined three of these
flocks we found that two informants had over-reported the number of cuys and
one informant had under-reported. The eight flocks we looked at personally
contained a median of 5.50 cuys, a mean of 7.75 cuys, and a range from two to
27. Most informants consider ten to twenty to be the ideal number.
Accuracy in determining the number of animals in cuy flocks is difficult to
TABLE I
Number of Cuys Reported and Preferred in Santa Barbara
Number of Number of Cuys Number of Preferred Size

Respondents Reported Respondents of Cuy Flock
1 0 1 6-7
3 3 1 10
2 4 3 10-15
3 5 1* 15
2 6 1 15-20
2 8 4 20
1 9 2 20-30
3 10
1 13
1 20
* This informant indicated that 100 would be the number she would like
to have if she had an enormous kitchen.
254 E THNoLoGY
achieve, not because of faulty informant memories or deception, but because of

broad and rapid fluctuations in the size of individual 90cks. This problem is
further complicated by the fact that cuy flocks manifest a cyclical pattern of
expansion and contraction meshed with the annual climatic cycle. Inasmuch as
we did not follow these processes for any flocks throughout the entire cycle, our
study is deficient. It would be interesting to have precise data on specific flocks
over a long period. Our data are static, obtained in late April and early May
when flocks have begun to wane.
Cuys flourish between October and April when grass is abundant and
gathering their food is relatively easy. Extremely cold conditions occur infre-
quently during this rainy period. Thus cuy flocks are allowed to enlarge. As
flocks grow, the number of cuys occupying the limited living space in the
kitchens reaches a critical density. Cuys begin to get in the way of humans,
literally underfoot. Gathering grass for them becomes time-consuming. By
December, people begin to eat excess animals. Slaughtering is particularly
intense around major feast days, even though cuys may be eaten at any time.
Cuys are prepared as special dishes in large numbers during carnival celebrations
prior to the beginning of Lent and again during the series of fiestas that
commence with Easter. In June, Corpus Christi is another event commonly
associated with the consumption of cuys in Santa Barbara.
Most families drastically reduce the size of their flocks in anticipation of the
dry season, generally killing off all but two or three animals to use as a base to
rebuild their flocks when the rains return. Several reasons are given for not
maintaining cuys during the dry season: they do not reproduce well during this
period; they are hard to fatten and do not grow; and many, especially the
young die anyway as a result of the cold and the lack of fresh grass. Grass that
can be found during the dry season is needed for other animals.
Although many species of domesticated animals in the Andes and elsewhere,
for example sheep and alpacass participate in analogous seasonal cycles of
expansion and contractlon in numbers, cuys are probably unique in having such
a tremendous disparity of flock size at different points in the cycle. The maximal
size of cuy flocks is probably five to eight times their minimal size. The
biological traits of guinea pigs make this pattern of exploitation possible.
In Table 2, aggregated data on weight, height, length, and midriff circum-
ference are given in relation to the age of 62 animals in eight flocks. In Table 3
we present the descriptive data grouped by household for each cuy. This
information reveals interesting aspects of flock composition and physical growth
patterns. Let us look first at the ages of these animals.
While guinea pigs can live from five to eight years (Gade I967: 2I5; Gilmore
x950: 457), only one cuy in this sample was older than one year. IndeedS
approximately 80 per cent of these cuys had been born since the onset of the
then-current rainy season; only eleven cuys were holdovers from the previous
year. Furthermore, of these eleven, not one was male. Harvesting patterns are
clearly discernible in the age distribution shown in Table 2. The absence of cuys
in the ten- and eleven-month period corresponds to low reproductivity during
the dry season. The decline in numbers between the ages of two and three
months reflects the tendency to butcher animals beginning three months after
they are born. All of the twelve-month-old cuys were reported to be pregnant
(d - days, m months)
TABLE 2
Cuy Measurements, Aggregated Data on Weights Heighte Length, and Circumference by
No. of Age WEIGHT (gm) ItEIGHT (cm) LENGTH (cm) CIRCUMFERENCE (czn)
uys X High Low X High Low X High Low X High Low
2 2 d 85 85 8S 4.5 5.0 4.0 12.0 13.0 11.0 11.3 12.5 10.0
2 3 d 85 85 85 4.0 4.0 4.0 11.0 12.0 10.0 10.5 11.0 10.0
4 5 d 82 156 57 4.5 5.Q 4.0 12.8 14.0 12.0 12.5 13.0 12.0
1 14 d 170 170 170 5.0 5.0 5.0 17.0 17.0 17.0 14.0 14.0 16.0
B 1 m 264 454 213 5.9 7.0 5.0 19.3 22.0 15.0 19.4 23.0 17.0
11 2 m 349 567 227 6.0 7.0 5.0 20.1 22.0 18.0 19.2 24.0 15.0
4 3 m 471 595 369 6.5 7.0 6.0 22.2 24.0 21.0 23.0 26.0 20.0
4 4 m 411 624 284 6.5 7.0 6.0 22.0 24.0 21,0 24.0 28.0 20.0
7 5 m 431 567 312 7.0 8.0 6.0 21.1 24.0 20.0 22.9 27.0 19.0
4 6 m 482 539 425 7.0 8.0 6.0 23.5 25.0 22.0 21.8 23.0 19.0
2 7 m 624 766 482 8,0 9.0 7.0 27.5 29.0 26.0 24.8 26.5 23.0
2 9 m 751 822 680 7.5 8.0 7.0 23.0 26.0 20.0 30.5 31.0 30.0
10 12 m 695 936 539 8.0 10.0 7.0 25.5 28.0 20.0 29.5 37.0 23.0
1 36 m 879 879 879 9o0 9.0 9.0 27.0 27.0 27.0 36.0 36.0 36.0
and would be slaughtered within a month or two, i.e., after giving birth; many
of their young would serve as the foundation for the next year's flock.
The evidence in Table 2 shows that cuys tend to achieve ful growth by thre
or four months of age. If they increase in weight, height, and circumference
after that agea the increase is almost total y due to pregnancy. We sug est that
the people of Santa Barbara follow an optimal strategy in relation to the
management of cuy flock size. By slaughtering animals close to the time when
they attain their maximum dimensions, people minimize effort and maximize
output of meat.
Males in particular are slaughtered early. Fully grown males beyond those
needed to fertilize the females are rare (see Table 3); only the largest flock
contains any males that could be considered excess, and then only two such
animals. Males constitute approximately 32 per cent of the total population in
these flocks. The oldest male was six or seven months old. Since one male cuy
can mate adequately with many females, excess males are expendable.
THE CONSUMPTION OF CUY MEAT

Cuy meat is a highly valued food in Santa Barbara, as elsewhere throughout
the Andes, consumed primarily on the most important festive occasions. No
taboos restrict the eating of cuy meat; anyone may eat it at any time, and some
people do eat cuy on ordinary days. But generally, cuys are reserved for
birthdays, visits by and to kinsmen and ritual kinfolk, celebrations in the Selds,
New Year's Day, and religious holidays including Christmas, Carnival Easter,
the Fiesta of the Cross (Third of May), and the feasts of Santiago, Corpus
Christi and Santa Rosa. No one eats cuy meat on all of these days during a
given year, to be sure. Households differ with regard to their choices of holidays
236 E THNOLOGY
TABLE 3
Cuy Flocks in Eight Households: Composition and Individual Cuy Measurements
Animal HEIGHT LENGTH WEIGHT CIRCUM-

Number Sex Age (cm) (cm) (gm) (cm)
HOUS EHOLD A
M 5 d 5 13 57 13
M 5 d 4 12 57 12
2
M 5 d 4 12 57 12
3
F 5 d 156
4 14 13
F 1 m 7 20 227 22
5
M 1 m 6 284
6 22 21.5
F 2 m 7 22 227 19
7
M 2 m 6 21 227
8 20
M 3 m 7 24 369 22
9
F 4 m 6 21 284 20
10
M 4 m 6 24 369
11 23
F 4 m 21 369
12 25
F 5 m 21 312
13 23
M 5 m 6 24 340 lg
14
M 9 m 6 20 340 91
15
F 5 m 7 21 454 24
16
F* 5 m 8 23 510 27
17
F 6 m 7 25 425
18 23
F* 6 m 7 25 482 22
19
F* 12 m 7 539
20 24 28
F* 12 m 8 26 680 27.5
21
F* 12 m 8 680
29 26 28
F* 12 m 9 28 680
23 29
F* 12 m 7 27 680 29.5
24
F* 12 m 7 26 766
25 29.5
26
F* 12 m 9 26 766 34
F* 36 m g 27 879
27 36
HOUSEHOLD B
M 2 d 4
28 1t 85 10
F 2 d 5
29 13 85 12.5
F 3 d 4
30 10 85 10
F 3 d 4
31 12 85 11
M 2 m s
32 18 255 17
F* 6 m 6
33 22 482 19
F* 6 m 8
34 22 539 23
M 6-7 m 7
35 26 482 23
F* 12 m 8
36 24 657 23
HOUS EHOLD C
M m 227
37 18 15
F 2 m 284
38 19 17
M 2 m 6 284
39 20 17
M 2 tn 6 329
40 18 19
F 2 m 6 425
41 20 21
F* 9 m 7 680
42 20 30
F* 9 m 8 822
43 26 31
GUINEA PIGSS PROTEIN, AND RITUAL 237
TABLE 3. conttd
HOUSEHOLD D
F 14 d s 17 170
44 4
F 1 m 6 20 227
45 18
F 1 m 6 20 284
46 19
1 m 7 22 454
47 23
F 2 m 21 397
48 22.5
F 2 m 7 22 567
49 24
HOUSEHOLD E
F 1 m 17 199 17
50
M 1 m 5 18 213 17
51 M 1 m 5 15 213 18
52
F* 4 m 22 624 28
53 F* 12 m 7 20 652 29
54
HOUSEHOLD F
M 2-3 m 7 22 424 20
55
F* 2-3 m 6 21 496 24
56
F* 3 m 6 22 596 26
57
HOUS EHOLD G
58 M 5 m 20 496 20.5
59 F* 5 m 8 20 567 26
60 F 7 m 9 2g 766 26.5
HOUSEHOLD H
61 M 2 m 6 22 65 7 20
62 F* 12 m 10 28 936 37
*Starred female cuys were reported to be gestating.
when cuys will be consumed. Furthermore, those choices are c

condition of the flock at the time of the fiesta.
Most people in Santa Barbara prefer cuy meat to all other kinds of meat, e.g.,
beef and alpaca. Cuy meat is said to be more flavorful and "rich." Not
surprisingly, given the general tendency of Andean peoples to be skilled hus-
banders of their limited resources, virtually no wastage is associated with the
consumption of cuys. Every part is eaten except the hair, the bones, and the gall
bladder. Since cuys are small, patierlce and adeptness are required to extract the
maximum of meat from the skeleton. Gade OI967: 223) has pointed out that
"several animals are needed to satisfy the appetite of a hungry man.'t In Santa
Barbara, such indulgence would be unheard of: one euy may have to suffice for
as many as ten individuals. While everyone would like at least half a cuy,
probably, on average, a single cuy is eaten by three or four persons. It is difBicult
to estimate the frequency with which cuys are eaten; the average however, does
not exceed five or six times per year per person.
Limitations on space do not permit much discussion of cuy cuisine. But a few
brief remarks should be made. Cuys are slaughtered shortly before they are tO
be cooked. They are cleaned by dipping them in boiling water and pulling the
238 E THNOLOGY
fur off by hand. The fur itself must be ritually dispersed. The meat may be fried
or boiled, but the preferred preparation involves rubbing the cuy with condi-
ments, stuffing it with the cleaned viscera, herbs, and sometimes potatoes and
rice, and then roasting it. When possible, cuy is eaten with several other dishes,
including parboiled potatoes or chuno, stewed corn, chili peppers with alluku
(an Andean tuber) or with broad beans (habas), noodles, and rice.
Raising cuys is almost entirely a household matter, with little exchange or aid
between households. Although cuys can be bought and sold, people in Santa
Barbara raise them mostly for their own consumption. If an individual has
heavy ritual obligations, he may obtain additional cuys through purchase. Flock
owners may sell a few if their cuys have been particularly prolific or if the
household requires cash. The local prices of cuys in I974 were 5 to 8 soles for
small cuys, I0 soles for medium-sized ones, and I5 to 20 soles for large ones (I
sol - 2.3 cents).
By far the most cuys that move from one household to another do so in gift
exchange. In the Colta Lake region of Ecuador, for example, cuys are "the
customary gifts of the Indians to Mestizos or 'Whites' when requesting favors"
(Anonymous I965: 32). In many areas, cuys figure prominently in interfamily
exchanges surrounding courtship and marriage (Revilla I963: 43-47; Carter
I977; Stein I96I). Our respondents stressed the importance of cuys as gifts by
godchildren to godparents, particularly matrimonial godparents. Godchildren
are obligated to visit their godparents, taking food for them on special days prior
to Carnival and after Easter. Each godparent should be presented with a whole
cuy, cold but already cooked (chiri uchu), plus other dishes, some containing
pieces of cuy meat. Many people carefully decorate the roasted cuys before
giving them away, placing carnations in the nose and mouth and sometimes
even in the ears. These events, ideally, are joyous, Slled with dancing, conversa-
tion, and drinking.
The processes involved in the distribution of cuys in Santa Barbara help to
spread the consumption of cuy meat more evenly throughout the community.
Individuals whose flocks have produced well during a given season share their
good fortune with relatives and ritual kin. As a consequence, even families
without cuys because of ill luck are likely to have an opportunity to consume
some meat during the time of greatest need for protein. These processes
combined with others discussed below tend to optimize the temporal and spatial
dispersion of protein, and thus the ritual regulation of protein consumption is
doubly significant and beneficial to the Santa Barbara population.
In still other ways, however, cuys contribute to the well-being of Andean
campesinos. Cuys have non-dietary uses concerned with the prediction, diagno-
sis, and curing of diseases and with warding off the harm that can be done to
humans by the supernatural.
It is said cuys often foretell events. When cuys scream " Kwish Kwish
Kwish," the owner can expect visitors soon (cuys predicting their own death?).
Other sounds are signs that the cuy's owner or a member of his household is to
die. When a cuy produces these omens of illness or death, most villagers kill the
animal, and this action apparently is thought to prevent the prediction from
coming true. If cuys are eaten by the household when they make offensive
noises, they may help to prevent illness among family members by providing
them with essential proteins. Possibly cuys' sounds are more closely monitored
when a household resident shows signs of sickness. Unfortunately, we have no
. z . . .
ntorm
Plenti
disease xcur in the ethnographic literature. Cuys have been referred to as the
"x-rays" of Andean Indians (Frisancho I970: 74-76) because of their use in
detecting the causes of illness. Disease is diagnosed by taking a live cuy, rubbing
it over the patient's body, sacrificing the animal, and examining its interior. It is
believed that the part of the cuy's body corresponding to the diseased organ of
the patient will show signs ot disease, e.g., discoloration. The curandero who
carries out this procedure can then proceed to recommend treatment. In some
communities, this technique is thought to involve more than diagnosis. It may
be used to extract the disease from the patient. At times, the cuy is rubbed over
the patient's body and then released out-of-doors to run away, carrying the
disease with it.
People in Santa Barbara claim that while these techniques are known in the
region, they are rarely used. CDertainly, if protein is needed, as we argue, the
techniques described above would appear to be unreasonable or wasteful.
However, informants reported that when these techniques are employed, the
cnas (young) are the best cuys for the purpose. Only if there are no young ones
would a person use an adult cuy to diagnose and cure disease in this magical
fashion.
The meat of black cuys is believed to be an excellent remedy for chest pains
possibly associated with pneumonia, bronchitis, and tuberculosis (costado).
Usually the meat is eaten, but some villagers apply it externally. A single meal
of black cuy meat iS considered sufficient to cure cowxdo. A few informants also
suggested that eating raw cuy meat cures scarlet fever and prevents future
conception when consumed shortly after giving birth. Others indicated that cuy
meat could be used to restore the appetites of sick children. Cuy fat is used to
help extract bits of thorn or splinters that have entered the skin. Rubbing the
affected area with the fat helps to bring foreign material out. Likewise fevers
can be reduced by rubbing the patient's body with cuy grease.
Beyond their uses in curing, cuys promote their owner's well-being in other
ways. In particular, they figure ln rituals carried out to prevent harm from
falling on humans. One such ritual involves the prevention of hail. When storm
clouds are approaching, especially if they appear to contain hail that might fall
and ruin the crops, some vtllagers grab a cuy and run outside, wave it about, up
and down and back and forth, and make it cry. The crying is thought to be its
pleading for the hail to pass by. More significant, perhaps, is the fact that cuys
are used in annual offerings made to the Earth Mother and to the Spirits of the
Mountains. Dried cuy fetuses are burned along with other items during these
rituals. The earth and spirits are dangerous when hungry; they punish those
who neglect them. Therefore it is necessary to feed the spirits regularly. By
propitiating the deities, human health and well-being are preserved. Only
fetuses are used in these rituals. When slaughtering takes place late in the
season, undoubtedly many fetuses are found. Sometimes fetuses are eaten; but
240 E THNOLOGY
when they are tiny and hairless, they are hung up to dry out and then are
employed in rituals. Thus, only insignificant amounts of protein are "wasted,"
i.e., not consumed by humans.
CUYS AS A SOURCE OF PROTEIN
How important, then, is the raising of cuys for supplying people with
proteins? Let us calculate the amount of protein obtained from this source. From
Table 2 we deduce that the average weight of cuys at the time of slaughter is on
the order of 600 grams (an overestimate). Luna and Moreno (I969: 88-89)
estimate that hair and blood constitute 8.5 per cent of the total weight, viscera
26.5 per cent, and the carcass 6s.o per cent. The bones contain I3.5 per cent of
the weight of the carcass. Therefore, the edible portion of the average cuy
consumed in Santa Barbara weighs approximately 496 grams. Since the chem-
ical composition of cuy meat is 70.6 per cent water, 20.3 per cent protein, 7.8 per
cent fat, and o.8 per cent minerals, an average cuy should provide I00 grams of
protein. If an individual consumes six whole cuys per year, his protein intake
from this source would be about 600 grams. FAO and WHO (Passmore et al.
I974: I7) recommend daily intake levels of o. 57 gm. of high quality protein (i.e.,
milk or eggs) per kg. of body weight for males, and o. 52 gm. for females. Under
normal conditions, these levels are considered "safe" for the maintenance of
health. Amounts need to be increased for growing, lactating, and pregnant
individuals and when not all protein in the diet is derived from high quality
sources. The average weight of adult Indians in southern Peru is approximately
55 kg. (Thomas I973: 44). We believe that a minimal estimate of the protein
requirements for the typical Santa Barbara adult is 30 gm. per day (I0,950 gm.
per year) if one assumes all high quality protein. Because most protein in the
Andean dietary pattern comes from vegetable sources, Santa Barbara adults
probably require 44 gm. (mixed diet similar to the one found in the United
States) or more (high carbohydrate diet such as the one found throughout the
Andes) per day.
Since we have been generous in our estimates of the amounts of cuy meat
eaten per person per year and since we know that a high percentage of all
proteins in the Andean diet generally are derived from vegetable sources, it is
likely that cuys provide only 3-4 per cent of the total amount of proteins
consumed in Santa Barbara. Quite clearly, what matters is not how much cuy
meat is consumed but when it is consumed. To appreciate the importance of
cuys, we must analyze more closely the relationship between the flock size cycle
and the ritual cycle.
THE CUY FLOCK CYCLE

Earlier we presented empirical data on eight cuy flocks at one stage in their
annual cycle, early May. Integrating that data with informants' assertions about
local environmental constraints on cuy raising and with basic information on cuy
growth and reproduction patterns, models of flock cycles can be developed.
These models enable us to validate our estimate of the amount of cuy meat
consumed and to elucidate the relationship between cuy flocks and the ritual
cycle in Santa Barbara.
We ground our model-building efforts on the following assumptions:
GUINEA PIGS, PROTEIN AND RITUAL 24I
A. Environmental conseraints on flock size.

I. Maximum size. During the rainy season flocks c
until they occupy the available space in kitchens. T
animals, but minor fluctuations around this numb
2. Minimum size. During the dry season an optimal number of cuys to
maintain is three, two females and a male, the foundation for the following
year's flock. More cuys cannot be kept during this season because of a lack of
suitable food. To retain fewer animals would entail the risk of having no flock
the next year should any die during the winter months when low temperatures
and inadequate diets weaken the animals. All but three animals, therefore,
should be slaughtered in June, before the coldest months.
3. Housing. Cuys can be raised adequately only in kitchens (reasons discussed
above).
B. Physiological constraints on flock growth.
4. Sex ratio. An average litter contains half male an
and Moreno I969: 94).
5. Litter size. Female cuys produce a mean of two viable young animals per
mating. While litters tend to be between two and three in size, using two take
into consideration occasional abortions, accidental deaths, and the occurrence of
sterile females.
6. Sexual maturity. Cuys mature sexually by the age of two months.
7. Gestation. Gestation is ten weeks. Disagreement exists over the length of
gestation (cf. Gade I967; Luna and Moreno I969; and Gilmore I950). Inform-
ants in Santa Barbara report a period of two to three months.
8. Care of young. Offspring are capable of caring for themselves within a
few days of birth.
9. Fertilization. Ovulation and copulation occur shortly after a female has
given birth. Both our respondents and Luna and Moreno (I9X: 42) point out
that lmpregnation takes ptace again within a day after parturition.
I0. Mating. One male ls suicient to impregnate a larger number of females,
indeed, an entire flock the size of those found in Santa Barbara. Given this fact
and given the tendency of adult male cuys to hght, only one mature male should
be kept.
II. Growth. Cuys can be eaten even as fetuses. However, they reach a plateau
in their growth curve after two months of age, and the optimal time to slaughter
them is between two and four months of age.
We can now discuss three models of the growth of cuy flocks. The first two
are hypothetical but nonetheless instructive. The third, we believe, approximates
real conditions in Santa Barbara.
Model I. Maximam Protein Prodt4ction

How could a campesino maximize the amount of protein that he could obtain
from his cuy flock in a year? If he did not have to worry about environmental
constraints on flock size and composition, he could obtain a maximum of protein
by permitting his flock to multiply until the end of June, killing none until he
slaughtered the entire flock (minus three holdovers). By this strategy, he would
produce I8,546 gm. of cuys (live weight), I5,343 gm. of edible meat, and 3,II5
gm. of protein, i.e., 623 gm. of protein per person, assuming an average family
242 E THNOLOGY
of five members. This model is unrealistic, however, because a campesino must

take into consideration the eleven constraints outlined above. But Model I iS
valuable because it provides a calculation of the maximum amount of cuy
protein that could be produced per person in Santa Barbara if some constraints
on cuy flocks were inoperative. This calculation, 623 gm., leads us to conclude
that our original estimate of 600 gm. was too high. As a result, we can be
confident that we have not underestimated the amount of cuy-derived protein
consumed in Santa Barbara.
People do not employ the production strategy indicated in Model I. While
this strategy, were it feasible, would produce the largest amount of protein, it
has the disadvantage of providing all the protein at one time. Instead of
spreading consumption over a longer period, all the meat would have to be eaten
at once unless a good system of preservation could be invented. In any event, we
can infer that one production goal is to distribute the harvest of this source of
protein (see Table +).
Model 2. Maximum Protein Spacing

One way to insure a steady, evenly-spaced flow of protein would be to allow
the three starter cuys to reproduce at regular interYals and to harvest their
offspring as they attain maturity. This model has the virtue of not violating any
assumption discussed above and for that reason alone is to be preferred over
Model I. A further attraction of this model is the number of cuys remaining in
the flock in late May, precisely seven. This figure coincides with those found
empirically by questioning informants (X = 6.95) and by examining flocks (X
= 7.75). And at no point under this model does the number of guinea pigs
exceed the desired limit of fifteen. But this production strategy tends to produce
a minimum of protein: 7,736 gm. of biomass, 6}399 gm. of edible meat, I,2
gm. of protein per household, or 260 gm. of protein per person.
The people of Santa Barbara maximize neither total production nor protein
spacing. Rather, we suggest that they follow a mixed production and spacing
strategy, as illustrated in Model 3 (see Table 5).
Model 3. Mixed Production Strategy

By judiciously managing a flock, an owner can increase the amount of protein
produced while maintaining consumption throughout the period from Decem-
ber to June. He can skew his consumption toward the early segment of this
period, thus reducing the total protein produced, or toward the end of the
period, thereby increasing the total. An optimal strategy for balancing protein
maximization and spacing goals would involve an emphasis on consumption in
the midrange of the period, during March and April. Table 6 shows one feasible
mixed strategy. This flock owner produces IO,696 gm. of biomass, 8,848 gm. of
edible meat, and I, 796 gm. of protein, or 359 gm. of protein per family member.
The total production of Model 3 is only 58 per cent of the total for Model I, but
it iS I38 per cent of the total produced under Model 2. Model 3 iS superior to the
other two because it yieIds more protein than Model 2 and a better distribution
of protein than Model I.
What we know of flock management techniques and the environmental and
physiological constraints imposed on the growth of flocks suggests another
TABLE 4
Production Data for Model I
Weight Weight
Litter Date of Number of Age Per Arlimal Total
Number Birth Animals (gm) (gm)
1 September 22 4 9.50 m 751 3004
2 December 1 7 m 624 2496
3 January 26 4 5 m 431 1724
4 February 9 4 4.75 m 426 1704
5 April 5 8 3 m 471 3768
6 April 19 4 2.50 m 410 1640
7 June 14 12 170 2040

.SO m
8 June 28 85 85
2 d
(Three cuys retained as the foundation of following year's flock)
PREVIOUS STOCK: 13.50 m 695 2085
Number of Animals Slaughtered: 44
Total Live Weight: 18 C 546 gm Weight of Edible Meat: 15, 343 gm

Weight of Hair and Blood: 15 74 gm Weight of Proteins: 3115 gm
Weight of Bones: 1627 gm Weight of P/C Proteins: 623 gm
Weight of Viscera: 4915 gm
Weight of Carcass: 12, 055 gm
(Note: all animals under mode] #1 are killed at the end orc June. )
compelling argument in favor of Model 3. Specifically, the timing of the harvest

of cuys 1S relevant, perhaps fundamental in importance. One cannot permit a
flock to grow in the manner proposed under Model I because assumptions #I (a
maximum size of fifteen cuys) and #Io (a maximum of one adult male) are
violated. Such a flock would not be viable. Under Model 2, the flock never
achieves what people consider to be the critical size, nor are there too many
adult males except at one point in the cycle. As a result, cuys tend to be
slaughtered before any such action would be required to keep the flock within
244 E THNOLOGY
TABLE 5
Production Data for Model 2
Litter Date of Date of Number of Age Weight Weight

Number Birth Slaughter Animals (gm) (gm)
1 Septexr.ber 22 December 25 4 3 m 471 1884
2 December 1 February 23 4 3 m 471 1884
3 February 9 April 17 3 2.25 m 379 1137

June 9 1 4 m 411 411
4 April 19 June 9 1 1.67 m 321 321
(lhree cuys retained as the foundation of following year's flock)
PREVIOUS STOCK: April 17 1 11.25 m 709 709

June 9 2 13 m 695 1390
Number of Animals Slaughtered: 16 Total Live Weight: 7736 gm Weight of Edible Meat: 6399 gm
Weight of Hair and Blood: 658 gm Weight of Proteins: 1299 gm
Weight of Bones: 671 gm Weight of P/C Prote$ns: 260 gm
lVeight of Viscera: 2050 gm
Weight of Carcass: 5028 gm
the limits imposed by constraints on the size and composition of

Model 3, in contrast, slaughtering takes place only when necessar
flock near the optimal size and with the proper composition. Tab
the dynamics of flock size for the three models, using the same h
TABLE 6
Production Data for Model 3
Litter Date of Date of liumber of Ag Weight Total

Number Birth Slaugheer Animals (gm) (gm)
1 September 22 December 25 1 3 m 471 471

April 17 3 7 m 624 1872
2 December 1 February 23 4 3 m 471 1884
3 January 26 April 17 3 2.75 m 441 1323

June 9 1 4.50 m 421 421
4 Februarv 9 April 17 4 2.25 r: 380 1520
S April 5 June 9 3 2 m 349 1047
tOne cuy retained as part of the foundation of following year's flock)
6 May 31 (Two cuys retained as part of the f oundation of f ollowing year ' s f lock)
PREVIOUS STOCK: December 25 1 7.50 m 656 656

February 23 2 9.25 m 751 1502
Number of Aninxals Slaughtered: 22 Total Live Weight: 10,696 gm Weight of Edible Meat: SE48 gm
Weight of Hair and Blood: 658 gm Weight of Proteins: 1796 gm
height of Bones: 939 gm Weight of P/C Proteins: 359 gm
Weight of Viscera: 2834 gm
Weight of Carcass: 6952 gm
TABLE 7
The Dynamics of Cuy Flock Size
NUMBER OF CUYS IN A FLOCK

DATES
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
September 20 3 3
September 22
December L ll
ll ll
December 22 11*
11* 11*
December 25 (-2)
11* (-4)
December 26 9
11* 7
January 26 13
15*+ 7
February 9 17+
19*+ 11
February 23 (-6)
19*+ (-4)
February 24 11
lg*+
ApriL 5 15+
27*+
April 17
27*+ (-4) (-10 )
April 18
27*+
April 19
31*+
May 31 1
31*+
June 9 (-4) (-4)

31*+
June 10 3
31*+
June 14
43*+
June 28
47*+
June 30 3
(-44)
Ju ly 1
3
3
( ), number of animals slaughtered; * too many adult males (over 3 months);

+ too many animals for available space and resources.
in Tables 4, 5, and 6. If the first litters (one for each of the two fema
born on September 22 the boundaries of the system are reached for floc
under all three models by December 22. They continue to be overst
Model I for the duration of the year; for Model 2 ehis is the only time
the constraints on size and composition of flocks are approached and exc
essence, the strategy of cuy raising associated with Model 2 fails to uti
full potential offered by the environment. Model 3, on the other hand,
eicient. In this case, we find that flock limitations are reached thr
during the cycle, i.e., prior to the first three harvest periods. In late D
there are too many adult males, and in February and April there are to
animals in the flock. These conditions trigger slaughters which bring t
back within permissible limits.
246 E THNOLOGY
THE RITUAL CYCLE
Almost every Andean ethnographer who mentions cuys stresses the impor-
tance of cuy meat as a special dish generally reserved for rttual occasions. But
which comes first, the ritual or the cuy? The people of Santa Barbara do not eat
cuys because there are fiestas, but rather they have major fiestas when they do
because there is cuy meat to eat. It is not fiestas that lead to the slaughtering of
cuys; cuys are killed because of the need for protein in the diet and because of
the conditions of the flock just prior to fiestas.
Our informants emphasized the relation between rituals and the eating of
guinea pigs, listing four main events or event clusters when cuys should be
eaten: Christmas, Carnival, Easter, and Corpus Christi While several inform-
ants claimed that cuys could be eaten at any time, older, more traditional
informants did not: they focused on the above-mentioned fiestas. We have
suggested that the timing of consumption is likely to be more signficant than
the amount of meat ingested, since the total protein derived from cuys appears to
be rather slight. By limiting consumption to these four periods, an individual
distributes his consumption of cuy meat throughout the season from December
to June. This pattern of consumption is intriguing because of the precision with
which it spaces the meals at equal intervals during the period.
Calculating the length of intervals exactly is diicult as a result of two
complicating factors: first the existence of alternative dates for consuming cuys
during two and perhaps all four periods; second, the movable nature of three of
the four periods. Carnival celebrations last longer than a week, and cuys may be
eaten on one of several days. The most popular day seems to be Thursday of Co-
Mothers (Jueves de Comadres), the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. Other
appropriate days include Carnival Sunday and the Thursday preceding Thursday
of Co-Mothers (Juetoes de Compadres, Thursday of Co-Fathers). There are two
preferred days around Easter, Easter Sunday and the following Sunday, Quasi-
modo (Segunda Pascua). Lesser importance was attached to alternative days at
Figure 1: The Timing of h/lajor Fiestas in Santa Barbara
a CHRIST?fAS< 4 'CO?IPADRES< bCOMADRESx ACARNIVAL 6 *EASTERe- 'QUASIMODOh 53 bCORPUS CHRISII
b CHRISTMAS< XCO?IPADRESf 63 bQUASIMODOz 53 aCORPUS CHRISTI
c CIIRISTMAs f 54 CO?IADRESe 56 AQUASI?IODO >CORPUS CHRISTI
d CHRISTtlAS < > CARNIvAL < 53 ' QUASIMODO * 53 ' CORPUS CHRISTI
e CHRISTMASX 'COIIPADRESz 56 sEASTER 60 >CORPUS CIlRISTS
f CHRIST?IAS 4 > COMADRES < A EASTER < 60 > CORPUS CHRISTI
K CHRISTtWlAsf 57 ACARt;IVAL- 46 'EASTER 60 'CORPUS CHRISTI
Standard Pattern
h CHRIST!4AS * b CO?ISADRES < 56 > QUASIMODo < 53 > CORPUS CHRISTI
Generalized Pattern
i EVENT 1 t 52 7 > EVElIT Z 53 8 > EVENT 3 e 56 5 ' EVENT 4
the beginning and the end of the consumption season, New Year and the Fiesta
of the Cross (May 3) respectively. With the exception of Christmas, the major
fiestas are movable over a 35 day range, although extreme dates occur more
rarely than central ones. The length of the intervals between movable feasts,
however, always remains unchanged, while the distance of the movable feasts
from Christmas varies. In all our analyses, we have employed a date in the
middle, specifically with Easter falling on April I0. For the years I954 through
I989, 88.9 per cent of the time Easter occurs within thirteen days of April I0
(between March 29 and April 22). By examining Figure I, one can appreciate
the pattern of distribution. We believe that the standard pattern involves Christ-
mas, Comadres, Quasimodo, and Corpus Christi. The intervals in this pattern
are very close to being equal in length. The same holds true if one averages the
period distances. Surely this timing of consumption 1S not accidental. And it 1S
not possible to sustain the position that the fiestas determine cuy flock phases.
The latter are clearly environmentally determined. Thus the timing of major
hestas must be a response to the cuy cycle. To be sure, certain days are
designated as suitable for the consumpton of cuy meat; they have been
institutionalized. But the choice of dates when feasts would be held did not
involve a random selection from the calendar. Possible objections to this
conclusion need to be examined.
First, it is obvious that not all female cuys will produce their first litter of the
rainy season on September 22. Some litters will be born earlier and others later.
Consequently, there may exist some fluctuation in the dates when environmental
limits on flock size and composition are approached and exceeded. But there
need not be much fluctuation, especially if a flock owner's strategy matches the
one outlined in Model 3. The Model 3 flock is basically self perpetuating with
only minor oscillations. In our example, the subsequent year's first litter set
would be born on October 4, twelve days later than in the sample year. Model 2
produces more ample cyclical swings; in the example, the following year's first
litters would be born on August 23, an entire month earlier. By utilizing some
variant of Model 3, a campesino can create a flock system in dynamic equilib-
rium. Moreover, the availability of alternative dates gives the system the
flexibility to deal with the problem of fluctuations from one year to the next.
A second objection is that we are dealing with Christian ceremonial dates and
these dates cannot conceivably be related to the Andean cuy cycle. Of course,
the names of these events are drawn from the Catholic panoply of feasts. The
people of Santa Barbara are nominally Christian, but they have Andeanized the
imported religion, choosing certain feasts for emphasis, ignoring others. They
do not stress Ash Wednesday and Easter. Instead, they celebrate more in-
tensively earlier and later dates respectively. If our theory is correct, further-
more, preconquest rituals should be even more closely related to the cuy flock
cycle. The "veil of syncretism" (Brownrigg I973: II) and the introduction of
Old World sources of protein can only obscure the relation between cuy cycles
and ritual periodicity. On preconquest Peru, Rowe wrote: "It may be of interest
to add that Garcilaso de la Vega, writing of his boyhood before I560, also says
that ordinary people in Peru ate guinea pigs only on festive occasions" (Editor's
preface to article by Andrews I975: I29.) Although we do not have much
evidence about the timing of fiestas in rural areas of the Inca Empire, informa-
248 E THNOLOGY
tion on Inca festivals generally suggests that rituals were concentrated between
December and June in a manner parallel to what we find in Santa Barbara (see
Molina I943). In February cuys were sacrificed to the Sun (Rowe I946: 309),
but we do not know whether this ritual occurred only in Cuzco or in rural
communities as well. One ritual that seems to have been important only in the
capital involved offering I,OOO CUyS to the Frost, Air, Water, and Sun (Rowe
I946: IIO). This event took place in August, placing it outside the December
through June period; but this fact does not constitute contradictory evidence for
our argument, which is concerned with rituals at the level of the rural commu-
nity in areas of marginal protein intake, not with rituals in an urban or elite
context. The August festival was an urban phenomenon. Cuys were provided by
the provinces for the ritual; given the size of the Empire, only a few cuys would
be needed from any one community to collect the large number apparently
sacrificed. Further, gathering up so many cuys in August would not deprive local
populations of their major source of protein in times of need, since by August in
most areas of the Andes crops have been harvested and dietary intake is at a
peak. A ritual of this sort would have been detrimental if held much earlier or
much later than August or if it required the collection of many cuys from each
village.
Our three models produce different amounts of protein per capita at different
times in the December-June period. In Table 8 we offer estimates of the per
capita amounts of protein available for the four ritual events mentioned by
informants. Under Model 3 more protein is consumed during the Carnival and
Easter periods than during the early and late hestas. This pattern coincides with
the greater frequency with which informants reported eating cuys on these
TABLE 8
Ritual Events and Protein Availability
AMOUNT OF PROTEIN AVAILABLE

RITUAL EVEN T
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Christmas --- 63 38
Carnival --- 63 114
Easter --- 62 158
Corpus Christi 623 71 49
(Per capita f igures for graxns of protein intake)
occasions. Indeed, the rank orders are identical: Easter > Carnival > Corpus
Christi > Christmas. More important, it seems, is the fact that the cuy
consumption curve is the mirror image of the total caloric intake curve. Dietary
surveys in highland communities (Thomas I973) have generally found that
caloric intake is highest in July, after the primary harvests of tubers and grain
crops. Gradually, the amount of calories consumed declines as food supplies
dwindle, reaching a minimum level in April. As a result, of course, the amount
and quality of proteins derived from vegetable sources deteriorate as well.
Tschopik (I968) refers to the period between November andJune as one of food
scarcity in communities in southern Peru. During these months, then, high
quality protein in small quantities is substituted for the protein from vegetable
sources consumed during the remainder of the year. By spreading consumption
of cuy meat over the period of scarcity and by eating greater quantities of the
meat at those times when food intake is lowest, the people of Santa Barbara and
probably elsewhere in the region undoubtedly procure the maximum possible
benefit from the resources at their disposal.
From Model I and the necessity of killing most cuys before the onset of the
coldest months, we deduce that there should be a major fiesta associated with
cuys in June. And there is one. The Escobars (I976) have clearly underscored
the importance of cuys as the main food in the festive meals that occur during
Corpus Christi celebrations. In Cuzco, Corpus Christi without cuys would be as
unlikely as Corpus Christi without processions. Moreover, Corpus Christi re-
placed a major Incaic fiesta, Inti Raymi, also inJune. Implicit in Model 2 iS the
occurrence of four fiestas made possible by the four sets of litters that can be
born to a trio of cuys between September and June. Implicit in Model 3 is the
conclusion that the middle fiestas, i.e., Carnival and Easter, should be of greater
importance than the others.
At a minimum, the ritual cycle optimizes the consumption of protein during
the time of greatest need. Fiestas institutionalize the process of protein regula-
tion, perpetuating a beneficial pattern of consumption based on the ecology of
guinea pig flocks.
CONCLUSION
Our argument in this paper parallels the one offered by Rappaport for New
Guinea rituals.3 We suggest that the ritual cycle among the people of Santa
Barbara serves to distribute protein, making it available at times when it will be
maximally beneficial for the maintenance of health in the population. Ritual
mechanisms provide for optimal distribution of cuy meat both temporally and
spatially. The meat is eaten on specified occasions during the season when
dietary deficiencies are likely to be greatest. It is distributed among the entire
population, flowing from those with surpluses to those suffering deficits. Fur-
thermore, cuy meat is used in curing illnesses. The resemblances of cuys in the
Andes to pigs in New Guinea are striking. In spite of the small size of cuys,
when one compares the data provided in this paper with Rappaport's data, one
Snds that the cuys of Santa Barbara may provide as much protein as do
Tsembaga pigs.
There are differences, of course, between the two cases. First, while Andean
rituals regulate the cuy population they are unrelated to problems of degrada-
250 E THNoLoGY
tion of the natural environment. 4 Failure to slaughter cuys would merely lead to
population control processes internal to the IHocks. Second, the Andean case
appears to be more closely linked to the annual climattc cycle and to be more
directly determined by environmental constraints. Salisbury (I975) argues that
for the Tsembaga, feasts determine pig cycles, not the reverse. There is no
evidence to indicate that fiestas can determine the cuy flock cycle. Third, the
Andean cycle is geared to shorter time periods that may reflect the seasonal
variations in protein availability from vegetable sources.
But the underlying rationale is the same. Suicient quantities of high-quality
protein are necessary on a regular basis to allow the human organism to respond
to stress, for example, to produce antibodies required for protection against
infectious diseases. When protein levels are low, a population becomes much
more susceptible to the ravages of infectious diseases (Dubos (I965: I5I)).
To be sure, Andean peoples did not hgure this out and create fiestas
deliberately to promote health and well-being in this manner. They did not have
to do so since the system was generated largely by the environmental possibilities
related to the raising of guinea pigs. But the wisdom of traditional practices in
this instance is evident. Not only are many Andean curing techniques and
prescriptions highly eflicacious, but cultural practices as remote from health
concerns on a conscious level as rituals are definitely eufunctional. We would
underscore the fact that Andean peoples have been able to adapt successfully to
a harsh and inhospitable environment. To do so, they had to evolve mechanisms
that would permit them to cope with the limitations imposed by that environ-
ment. One limiting factor, apparently throughout much of South America
(although this is subject to debate), is amino acid availability. By institution-
alizing the consumption of high-quality protein, fiestas have contributed to the
optimal use of amino acids available to Andean peoples.
It should be possible to extend the theory developed in this paper to the
timing of fiestas generally, not only in the Andes but elsewhere as well. We
would expect the theory to hold under analogous conditions, that is, in societies
where protein sources are scarce. Contrary to the view that fiestas tend to be
extravagant events that are wasteful of resources, we suggest that fiestas perform
essential physiological functions by regulating the intake of protein. A more
general form of the theory would state that the timing of fiestas is determined by
patterns of availability of whatever the limiting factor is in the diet. In societies
in which dietary deficiencies do not occur, the theory would not apply, although
fiesta timing in such societies may reflect a history of past deficiencies for that
culture and earlier food production patterns.
NOTES
I. This research was carried out as part of the Andean Cultural Adaption Project sponsore
Pomona College, the San Antonio Abad National University of Cuzco (Peru), and the Pe
Institute for Educational Development (I.P.F.E.). I wish to express my appreciation toJo
Flores Ochoa for access to a prepublication version of the I976 article by Gabriel and
Escobar; to Linda Calvin, Charlene Bolton, Linda Seligmann, Zaida Oviedo, and Robyn Bem
assistance in the field; to Robert Murillo and Julie Simon for help in reviewing the A
ethnographic literature; and to Eugene Anderson, Larry Cohen, Gordon Douglass, and Ben
Orlove for comments on an earlier draft of this paper. I am grateful to the people of
Barbara who patiently answered our questions and graciously permitted us to invade the priva
their cuy flocks for the unusual, even amusing, purpose of weighing and measuring their anim
GUINEA PIGS, PROTEIN AND RITUAL 25I
A final draft of this article was prepared during my I978 residency as a scholar at the
Bellagio Study and Conference Center, Bellagio, Italy. I thank the staS of the Villa Serbelloni
and the Rockefeller Foundation for their kind hospitality during my stay at the Villa.
2. In this research, we interviewed approximately 25 individuals in Santa Barbara, both Indians
and mestizos, and we conducted a group interview and discussion session with third-grade
children in the local school. A fuller account of the ethnography of cuys, written in collaboration
with Linda Calvin, will be published under the title "E1 Cuy en la Cultura Peruana Contempo-
ranea."
3. A somewhat different interpretation has been suggested by Larry Cohen (personal communica-
tion). He suggests that fiestas, by bringing people together, increase the possibilities of spreading
contagious diseases throughout the population simply because of the enhanced contact. Addition-
ally, the excitement and exertion may lead to a decrease in immunological responsiveness (cf.
Stein et al. I976), and the drinking may produce acute hypoglycemic reactions (O'Keefe and
Marks I977), including behavioral changes that might disrupt the fiesta (Bolton I972, I973). A
way to compensate for or prevent these developments is by eating suflicient high-quality protein
during the fiesta period. This interpretation is not incompatible with our own.
4. By killing off cuys when they become too numerous, the people of Santa Barbara may prevent
their personal environment from becoming filthy and unlivable, since cuys produce enormous
quantities of urine and excrement (Eugene Anderson, personal communication).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andrews, D. H. I975. On the Ethnozoology of the Guinea Pig. Nawpa Pacha I972-74: IO-I2,
I29- I34.
Anonymous. I965. Indians in Misery: A Preliminary Report on the Colta Lake Zone
Chimborazo, Ecuador. Andean Indian Community Research and Development Project.
Department of Anthropology, Cornell University. Ithaca.
Bolton, Rw I972. Aggression in Qolla Society. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation1 Cornell Uni-
versity.
I973. Aggression and Hypoglycemia Among the Qolla: A Study in Psychobiological
Anthropology. Ethnology I2: 227-257.
Brownrigg, L. A I973. A bIodel of the Andean System of Time: Dispersed and Congregated
Ritual Calendars. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Anthropologi-
cal Association, New Orleans.
Carter, W. E. I964. Aymara Communities and the Bolivian Agrarian Reform. University of
Florida Monographs, No. 24.
I977. Trial Marriage in the Andes? Andean Kinship and Marriage, eds. R. Bolton
and E. Mayer, pp. 177-2I6. Washington.
Donald, L., and D. H. Mitche}l. I975. Some Correlates of Local Group Rank Among the
Southern Kwakiutl. Ethnology I4: 325-346.
Drucker, P., and R. F. Heizer. I967. To Make My Name Good: A Re-examination of the
Southern Kwakiutl Potlatch. Berkeley.
Dubos, R. I+5. Man Adapting. New Haven.
Escobar, G., and G. Escobar. I976. Observaciones etnograhcas sobre la crianza y los usos del
cuye en la region del Cuzco. Antropologloa Andina I-2: 34-49.
Frisancho Pineda, D. I970. Medicina popular e indigena. Puno.
Gade, D. W. I967. The Guinea Pig in Andean Folk Culture. The Geographical Review
57: 2I3-224.
Gilmore, R. M. Igso. Fauna and Ethnozoology of South America. Handbook of South
American Indians, Vol 6, ed. J H. Steward, pp. 345-464. Bureau of American Ethnol-
ogy, Bulletin I43, Smithsonian Institution. Washington.
Holmberg, A. R. Igso Nomads of the Long Bow: The Siriono of Eastern Bolivia. Smith-
sonian Institution, Institute of Social Anthropology, Publication No. IO. Washington.
Lanning, E. P. I967, Peru Before the Incas. Englewood Cliffs.
Luna de la Fuente, C., and A. E. Moreno Rojas. I9*. E1 Cuy. Departamento de Produccion
Animal, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. Lima.
Molina (E1 Cuzquento). I943. Las cronicas de los Molina. Lima.
Morris, E. W., L. A. Brownrigg, S. C. Bourque and H. P. Dobyns. I968. Coming Down the
Mountain: The Social Worlds of Mayobamba. Socio-Economic Development of Andean
Communities, Report No. IO. Department of Anthropology, Cornell University. Ithaca.
252 E THNOLOGY
O'Keefe, S. J. D., and V. Mark. I977. Lunchtime Gin and Tonic a Cause of Reactive
Hypoglycemia. The Lancet (June I8): I286-I288.
Orans, M. I975. Domesticating tfie Functional Dragon: An Analysis of Piddocke's Potlatch.
American Anthropologist 77:3I2-328.
Passmore, R., B. M. Nicol, and M. Narayana Rao, in collaboration with G. H. Beaton and E. M.
DeMayer. I974. Handbook of Human Nutritional Requirements. Geneva.
Piddocke, S. I969. The Potlatch System of the Southern Kwakiutl: A New Perspective.
Environment and Cultural Behavior, ed. A. P. Vayda, pp. I30-I56. Garden City.
Rappaport, R. A. I967. Ritual Regulation of Environmental Relations Among a New Guinea
People. Ethnology 6: I7-30.
I968. Pigs for the Ancestors: Ritual in the Ecology of a New Guinea People. New
Haven.
Revilla C., A. I966. Rites of Passage. The Indians of Colta: Essays on the Colta Lake Zone,
Chimborazo (Ecuador). Department of Anthropology, Cornell University. Ithaca.
Rosman, A., and P. G. Rubel. I97I. Feasting with Mine Enemy. New York.
Rowe,.J. H. I946. Inca Culture ae the Time of the Spanish Conquest. Handbook of Sou
American Indians, Vol. 2, ed. J. H. Steward, pp. I83-330. Bureau of American Eth-
nology, Smithsonian Institution, Bulletin I43. Washington.
Salisbury, R. F. I975. Non-Equilibrium Models in New Guinea Ecology: Possibilities o
Cultural Extrapolation. Anthropologica I7: I27-I47.
-Stein, M., R. C. Schiavi, and M. Camerino. I976. Influence of Brain and Behavior on t
Immune System. Science I9I: 435-440.
Stein, W. I96I. Hualcan: Life in ehe Highlands of Peru. Ithaca.
Suttles, W. I960. Affinal Ties, Subsiseence, and Prestige Among the Co
Anthropologist 62: 296-305.
I+2. Variation in Habitat and Culture on the Northwest Coast. Proceedings of the
34th International Congress of Americanists. pp. 522-537. Vienna.
I968. Coping with Abundance: Subsistence on the Northwest Coast. Man the
Hunter, eds. R. B. Lee and I. Devore, pp. 55-68. Chicago.
Thomas, R. B. I973. Human Adaptation to a High Andean Energy Flow System. Occasional
Papers in Anthropology, No. 7. Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State
University. University Park.
Tschopik, H., Jr. I968. Magia en Chucuito: Los Aymara del Peru. Ediciones Especiales, No.
50. Mexico.
Vayda, A. P. I96I. A Re-examination of Northwest Coast Economic Systems. Transaceions of
the New York Academy of Sciences, Series 2, 23: 6I8-624.
View publication stats

Guinea Pigs Protein Ritual

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Guinea Pigs Protein Ritual

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

Guinea Pigs, Protein, and Ritual

Article in Ethnology · July 1979

Valerie Hoffman View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Guinea Pigs, Protein, and Ritual

University of Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education is

Increasingly, anthropologists have become aware of the importance of under-

ethnographic rather than theoretical: to investigate the role of the

Santa Barbara is situated astride the Salcca River, in the province

GUINEA PIGS IN ANDEAN CULTURE

THE SIZE AND COMPOSITION OF CUY FLOCKS

Number of Number of Cuys Number of Preferred Size

achieve, not because of faulty informant memories or deception, but because of

2 2 d 85 85 8S 4.5 5.0 4.0 12.0 13.0 11.0 11.3 12.5 10.0

2 3 d 85 85 85 4.0 4.0 4.0 11.0 12.0 10.0 10.5 11.0 10.0

THE CONSUMPTION OF CUY MEAT

Animal HEIGHT LENGTH WEIGHT CIRCUM-

*Starred female cuys were reported to be gestating.

when cuys will be consumed. Furthermore, those choices are c

CUYS AS A SOURCE OF PROTEIN

THE CUY FLOCK CYCLE

A. Environmental conseraints on flock size.

Model I. Maximam Protein Prodt4ction

of five members. This model is unrealistic, however, because a campesino must

Model 2. Maximum Protein Spacing

Model 3. Mixed Production Strategy

1 September 22 4 9.50 m 751 3004

2 December 1 7 m 624 2496

3 January 26 4 5 m 431 1724

4 February 9 4 4.75 m 426 1704

5 April 5 8 3 m 471 3768

6 April 19 4 2.50 m 410 1640

7 June 14 12 170 2040

(Three cuys retained as the foundation of following year's flock)

PREVIOUS STOCK: 13.50 m 695 2085

Number of Animals Slaughtered: 44

Total Live Weight: 18 C 546 gm Weight of Edible Meat: 15, 343 gm

compelling argument in favor of Model 3. Specifically, the timing of the harvest

Litter Date of Date of Number of Age Weight Weight

1 Septexr.ber 22 December 25 4 3 m 471 1884

2 December 1 February 23 4 3 m 471 1884

3 February 9 April 17 3 2.25 m 379 1137

4 April 19 June 9 1 1.67 m 321 321

(lhree cuys retained as the foundation of following year's flock)

PREVIOUS STOCK: April 17 1 11.25 m 709 709

the limits imposed by constraints on the size and composition of

Litter Date of Date of liumber of Ag Weight Total

1 September 22 December 25 1 3 m 471 471

2 December 1 February 23 4 3 m 471 1884

3 January 26 April 17 3 2.75 m 441 1323

4 Februarv 9 April 17 4 2.25 r: 380 1520

S April 5 June 9 3 2 m 349 1047

tOne cuy retained as part of the foundation of following year's flock)

PREVIOUS STOCK: December 25 1 7.50 m 656 656

NUMBER OF CUYS IN A FLOCK

June 9 (-4) (-4)

( ), number of animals slaughtered; * too many adult males (over 3 months);

THE RITUAL CYCLE

Figure 1: The Timing of h/lajor Fiestas in Santa Barbara

a CHRIST?fAS< 4 'CO?IPADRES< bCOMADRESx ACARNIVAL 6 *EASTERe- 'QUASIMODOh 53 bCORPUS CHRISII

b CHRISTMAS< XCO?IPADRESf 63 bQUASIMODOz 53 aCORPUS CHRISTI

c CIIRISTMAs f 54 CO?IADRESe 56 AQUASI?IODO >CORPUS CHRISTI

e CHRISTMASX 'COIIPADRESz 56 sEASTER 60 >CORPUS CIlRISTS