República del Perú
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República del Perú |
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Peru is situated in the west of South America - it is in fact its most westerly point. It is bordered by Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the east and south, and Chile to the south. The area was first settled by humans - hunter-gatherers - around 14,000 BC. By the 10th millenium the Caral–Supe culture had arisen in the north of the region - the first civilization in the Americas. Sucessive cultures followed, culminating in the vast Inca empire from the 13th century AD. .More about the Incas and their predecessors below. The Portuguese explorer Aleixo Garcia was the first European to make contact with the Inca Empire in 1524 but folllowing disputes between Spain and Portugal over South America, the pope ruled that the eastern half of the then known territories should belong to Portugal and the western half to Spain. (Because of the deficiencies of the maps at that time, the Spaniards did rather better out of this). So the Spaniads conquered the country between 1532 and 1572, forcibly converting the population to the Catholic faith and destroying their culture. The conquistadores soon discovered that Peru had huge reserves of gold and silver, and these were a majot source of Spain's wealth during the colonial period. Peru also prospered, with a new capital at Lima. (The former capital Cusco/Cuzco was too far from the sea for the Spaniard's needs.) The first university in the Americas, the National University of San Marco, was founded in 1551, before the conquest was even complete. |
The Incas practised circumcision, and so did their predecessors the Moche, so it seems safe to assume that this was the norm in all the pre-Columbian civilizations of Peru. The Spaniards went to great pains to stamp it out. In many Latin-American countries, such as neighbouring Brazil, it has become quite popular among the more affluent members of the community, but that does not seem to have happened in Peru, and circumcision seems to be rare. World Population Review gives the rate as 3.7%.
The Incas
The Inca Empire was the largest state in pre-Colmbian America, extending, at its peak, northward into Ecuador and the tip of Colombia and southward into Bolivia and Chile. This was achieved without the wheel, and without iron, which seems amazing to us. They had no written language though they did have a system of record-keeping using knotted string (which nobody now can decipher). They didn't have a currency, or even much organized trade. Yet they had complex cities and grand palaces and temples.
The Inca banner - snakes, rainbow and sun
The Incas practised male circumcision but I have been unable to find whether there were any specific rites associated with it. Unlike the Maya (see our Central America page) they had no prohibition on pre-marital sex. After puberty and before marriage boys and girls could have sexual relations but could mot become parents. I've no idea how they managed that. Did they not go 'all the way' or did they have some method of contraception? Or maybe any children at that age belonged to their parents, Marriage age was typically 20 for men and 16 for women. Marriages would often begin with a trial period, after which they could separate if they felt it was not working out. Once the marriage was final there was no divorce unless they found they were unable to have children.
High-ranking men could have more than one wife but the ordinary folk could not. Once married, women had clearly assigned roles - looking after the home, growing crops and tending to the chickens. Modern feminists would have a fit but as recently as 100 years ago that would have seemed normal in Western society.
The Moche
Moche culture flourished between 1 – 800 AD (quoted dates vary). Their capital was just called Moche and was near present-day Trujillo. They were really more of a culture than an empire – each little area had its own ruler. The defining feature of their culture was a vast network of irrigation canals which allowed agriculture to expand substantially. But their art shows us that there was a lot more to their culture.....
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and very tightly circumcised, penis. |
- and so presumably a common practice. |
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probably does show anal intercourse. |
Males were circumcised – very thoroughly if their artwork is to be believed. Even on a (rare) depiction of a flaccid penis (top left) there is no sign of any free skin. They also seem to have been very open – and very versatile – where sex was concerned. This is covered in our history page so please see that. Amusingly a sculpture shown on that page of a couple about to engage in conventional sex in the 'doggy' position was interpreted by scholars as showing anal sex – apparently the learned gentlemen (and a lady) were quite unable to conceive of intercourse other than in the missionary position. This was centuries before any missionaries arrived! However, some ceramics probably do show anal intercourse (lower right). Fellatio (upper right) was a popular topic, and so presumably a popular practice. Of course both this and anal sex could have been used for contraception. Hand jobs (lower left) seem to have beeen just foreplay. According to Tannahill these ceramics were made by women so they presumably reflect female views on sex.
A fascinating culture, and we are lucky to have so much of it left.
>Contributions about the current state of circumcision in Peru would be very welcome - please contact us.
Wikipedia
World Population Review
Reay Tannahill, Sex in History. Hamish Hamilton, London, 1980 480pp
Jack and Jill Travel for Moche ceramic images