CUCA.
Where Grown—Sustaining Power of Cuca—Early Mention of it, and Methods of Preparing and Using it—Cowley on Cuca—Its Modern Manufacture and Cost—Its Medicinal Properties—Cocaine and its Dangers.
Cuca or Coca (Erythroxylon Coca) is now used as a drink, the leaves, hitherto, having been masticated. It has very valuable medicinal qualities, one of the chief being the ability to sustain fatigue by those who use it. It grows in the valleys of the eastern slope of the Andes, in Bolivia, and Peru; wild in many places, but that in use is generally cultivated. It has been known ever since the Conquest of Peru, notices of it being very early; and, considering the length of time this knowledge has obtained, it is marvellous that it is only of very late years that our scientific men have interested themselves in its medicinal properties, and that an infusion of its leaves has not come into common use.
The earliest mention to be found of it in English is in a[134] translation (1577) of a book written by Dr. Monades of Seville.
“Of the Coca.
“I was desirous to see that hearbe so celebrated of the Indians, so many yeares past, which they doe call the Coca, which they doe sow and till with muche care and diligence, for because they doe use it for their pleasures, which we will speake of. The Coca is an hearbe of the height of a yerd, little more or lesse, he carrieth his Leaves like to Arraihau, somewhat greater, and in that Leafe there is marked another Leafe of the like forme, with a line very thinne, they are softe, and of Coulour a light greene, they carrie the seede in clusters, and it commeth to be so redde when it is ripe, as the Seede of Arraihau, when it is ripe. And it is of the same greatnesse, when the hearbe is seasoned, that it is to be gathered, it is knowen in the seede, that it is ripe, and of some rednes like to a blackekishe coulour, and the hearbe beyng gathered, they put them into Canes, and other thinges, that they may drie, that it maie be kepte and caried to other partes. For that they carrie them from some high Mountaines, to others, as Marchaundise to be soulde, and they barter and chaunge them for Mantelles, and Cattell, and Salte, and other thinges whiche doe runne like to money amongest us, they doe put the seede into Almaciga,[135] and from that thei do take them up, and set them in another place, into Earth that is wel laboured or tilled, and made as it is convenient for to put them, by their lines and order, as we doe put here a Garden of Beanes, or of Peason.
“The use of it amongest the Indians is a thing generall, for many thinges, for when they doe travail by the waie, for neede and for their content when they are in their houses, thei use it in this forme. Thei take Cokles or Oisters in their shelles, and they doe burne them and grinde them, and after they are burned they remaine like Lyme, very small grounde, and they take of the Leves of the Coca, and they chawe them in their Mouthes, and, as they go chawyng, they goe mingling with it of that pouder made of the shelles in such sorte, that they make it like to a Paste taking lesse of the Pouder then of the Hearbe, and of this Paste they make certaine small Bawles rounde, and they put them to drie, and when they will use of them, they take a little Ball in their mouthe, and they chawe hym; passing hym from one parte to another, procuring to conserue him all that they can, and that beyng doen, they doe retaurne to take another, and so they goe, using of it all the tyme that they have neede, whiche is when they travaill by the waie, and especially if it be by waies where is no meate, or lacke of water. For the use of these little Bawles doe take the hunger and thurste from them, and they say that they dooe receive substaunce, as though that they did eate. At other times thei use of them for their pleasure, although that they labour not by the waie, and thei do use the same Coca alone, chawing it and bringing it in their mouthes, from one side to another, untill there be no vertue remainyng in it, and then they take another.”
Garcia Lasso de la Vega, who wrote his Commentarios Reales in 1609, gives a fine description of Cuca—which is taken from his translator, Sir Paul Rycaut.
“Of the pretious Leafe called Cuca.”
“But above all we must not omit to discourse at large of the Herb which the Indians call Cuca, and the Spaniards, Coca, being that which is, and hath been a considerable part of the Riches of Peru, and such as hath yielded great benefit to the Merchants. And, indeed, the Indians did justly esteem it for the rare Virtues and Qualities of it, which the Spaniards have not onely approved, but have also discovered several other specifick and medicinal Qualities belonging to it. Blas Valera, who was a very curious Person, and one who had resided many years in Peru, and came from thence thirty years after my departure, hath wrote Very largely of the many Virtues of this Herb, and such as he hath found out by his own experience. His words are these, ‘The Cuca is a small, tender Tree or Bind, about the height and biggness of a Vine; it produceth not many Branches, but is full of delicate Leaves, of about the breadth and length of a Man’s Thumb; it is of an excellent smell, and very fragrant; the Spaniards and Indians do both give them the name of Cuca; the which is so much esteemed by the Indians, that they prefer it before Gold, or Silver, or Pretious Stones. They plant and manure them with great art and diligence, and gather them with great care, pulling them leaf by leaf, and then lay them to dry in the Sun, and so the Indians eat them dry.
“‘The Virtue and Benefit of this Cuca is plainly observable in labouring Men, who, having eaten it are much refreshed, and often labour a whole day in the strength of it, without any other nourishment. The Cuca moreover preserves the Body from many infirmities; and our Physicians make use of it, being dried and beaten to powder, to ease and assuage the Inflammation, or swelling of any Wound; it is good to strengthen bones which have been broken, and expell colds from the Body, and to prevent them; it is good also to cleanse great Wounds of Worms, and heal them; nor is the Virtue of it less, being taken inwardly, than it is by outward applications. Besides all which Virtues, it yields a great benefit to the Bishop and Canons and other Dependents on the Cathedral Church of Cozco, the Tithes of the Leaves of Cuca being their greatest Revenue; it is also a great commodity amongst the Merchants; notwithstanding all which good Qualities of the Cuca, there are many, who being ignorant of its Virtues have wrote against it; for no other reason, than because the Gentiles, in ancient times, did, by their Diviners and Wizards offer this Cuca to their Gods in Sacrifice; and, therefore, having been abused to Idolatry, they conclude that it ought for ever to be esteemed abominable and prophane. This Argument might be available, if it had been the custome to offer this Herb onely to the Devil, but, in regard that both ancient and modern Idolaters have made their Corn, and Fruits, and whatsoever grows above or beneath the earth, their Drinks and Water, their Wool and Clothing, their Flocks and Herds, and all things else, the matter and subject of their Sacrifices; we may argue from the same foundation, that all those things are defiled and rendred as abominable and unclean as the Cuca; but to the clean, all things being clean, let us teach them to abhor and forsake their superstitious and idolatrous Worships, and let us, using our Christian Liberty, receive those Blessings with moderation and thanksgiving.’
“Thus far are the Words of Blas Valera. To which we shall add thus much farther, that this little Tree is about the height of a Man, in the planting of which they cast the seed in its green shell, and when it grows up, they then hoa and open the Earth for it, as they do for Vines, supporting the tender twigs with stakes; and in planting, they take great care that the tender roots be laid streight in the Earth, for with the least doubling they dry and wither; they take likewise the Leaf of every sprig by itself, and, holding it between their fingers, they cut it with great care till they come to the Bud, but do not touch it, for then the whole branch will wither; both the outside and inside of this Leaf in the greenness and shape of it, is like the Arbuteus, onely the Leaves are so thin, that three or four of them, being doubled, are not so thick as that of the Arbuteus....
“When they gather the Leaves they dry them in the Sun; but care is to be taken that they are not over-dried, for then they lose much of their Virtue, and, being very thin, soon turn to powder; nor will they bear much moisture; for they soon grow musty and rotten; but they lay them up in Baskets of slit Canes, of which many fine ones are made in the Antis. With the Leaves of those big Canes, which are about the third of a yard long, they cover the top of the Baskets, to keep Moisture from the Leaves, which is very prejudicial to them; and to consider the great pains and care which is taken to nourish this Cuca, and the provisions of all things which are made for it, we ought rather to render thanks to God for his abundant blessings in the variety of his Creatures, than to believe or conclude that what we write is fabulous or incredible; if these fruits were to be planted or nourished in other Countries, the charge and labour of them would be more than the benefit.
“The Herb is gathered every four Months, that is three times a year, and in the manuring of it care is taken to weed it often; for the Country being hot and moist, the Weeds grow apace, and the Herb sometimes increases so fast, that the season for gathering of it advances fifteen days; so that sometimes they have four Harvests for it in a year; the which, a certain covetous Tithe-gatherer observing, in my time, farmed the Tithes of all the principal and rich Inheritances and Possessions about Cozco, and, taking care to keep them clear and clean from Weeds, he so improved his Revenue, that the year following, the Farmer of the Tithes made two thirds more than what had been made in the preceding years; which caused a Law Suit between the Farmer and the Proprietor, but what the Issue was of it, I that was then but a Boy, did not much remark.
“Amongst many other Virtues of this Cuca, they say it corroborates the Gums, and fortifies the Teeth, and that it gives strength and vigour to any person that labours and toils, onely by carrying it in his mouth. I remember a Story which I heard in my own Countrey. That a certain Gentleman, both by Bloud and Vertue, called Rodrigo Pantoia, journeying once from Cozco to Rimac,[136] met with a poor Spaniard (for there are some poor there, as well as here), travelling on foot, carrying a little Girl of about two years of age in his Armes; and being an acquaintance of this Pantoia, he asked him how he came to give himself the trouble of carrying that burthen; to which the person that was on foot, replied, that he was poor, and had not money to hire an Indian to carry it.
“In this discourse with him, Pantoia observed that his mouth was full of the Cuca; and it being, at that time, that the Spaniards abhorred all things which the Indians did eat or drink, because they had been abused to Idolatry, and particularly they hated the Cuca, as a base and stinking Weed, which gave cause to Pantoia to ask him farther, why he, being a Spaniards, did use those things which the Spaniards hated; for his necessities could never be so great as to compell him to Meats or Customs unlawfull. To which the Souldier replied, that though he abhorred it as much as the Spaniards, yet necessity forced him to imitate the Indians therein; for that without it he could never be able to travell and carry his Burthen, for that holding it in his mouth, he found such refreshment and strength, that he was able to carry his Load, and perform his Journey with chearfulness. Pantoia wondring at this Report, related to many others, who, afterwards, making the same experiment thereof, found that the Indians made use of it rather for their refreshment and necessity, than for any pleasure in the taste, which in itself is not very pleasant or agreeable.”
A plant having such manifold and beneficent properties must needs have a supernatural origin, and the Indians had a belief that the goddess Varischa first introduced the Cuca plant into Peru, and taught the inhabitants the use thereof. Abraham Cowley sang thereof in his Latin poems, “Sex libri plantarum,” and use is made here of the translation by Nahum Tate, of the fifth book, published in 1700. The Indian Bacchus challenge the other deities to judge between the fruits of the two worlds.
...
“But Bacchus much more sportive than the rest,
Fills up a Bowl with Juice from Grapestones drein’d,
And puts it in Omelichilus hand;
Take off this Draught, said he, if thou art wise,
’Twill purge thy Cannibal Stomach’s Crudities.
He, unaccustomed to the acid Juice
Storm’d, and with blows had answer’d the Abuse,
But fear’d t’engage the European Guest,
Whose Strength and Courage had subdu’d the East.
He therefore chooses a less dang’rous fray,
And summons all his Country’s Plants away:
Forthwith in decent Order they appear,
And various Fruits on various Branches wear;
Like Amazons they stand in painted Arms,
Coca alone appears with little Charms;
Yet led the Van, our scoffing Venus scorn’d
The shrublike Tree, and with no Fruit adorn’d.
The Indian Plants, said she, are like to speed
In this Dispute of the most sterile Breed,
Who choose a Dwarf and Eunuch for their Head.
Our Gods laugh’d out aloud at what she said.
Pachamama defends her darling Tree,
And said the wanton Goddess was too free,
You only know the fruitfulness of Lust,
And therefore here your Judgement is unjust,
Your skill in other offsprings we may trust,
With those Chast Tribes that no distinction know
Of Sex, your Province nothing has to do.
Of all the Plants that any Soil does bear,
This Tree in Fruits the Richest does appear,
It bears the best, and bears ’em all the year.
Ev’n now with Fruits ’tis stor’d—why laugh you yet?
Behold how thick with Leaves it is beset,
Each Leaf is Fruit, and such substantial Fare
No Fruit beside to Rival it will dare.
Mov’d with his Countries Roming Fate (whose Coil
Must for her Treasures be expos’d to toil)
Our Varicocha first this Coca sent,
Endow’d with Leaves of wondrous Nourishment,
Whose Juice succ’d in, and to the Stomach ta’en,
Long Hunger and long Labour can sustain;
From which our faint and weary Bodies find
More Succour, more they cheat the drooping Mind
Than can your Bacchus and your Ceres join’d.
Three Leaves supply for six days march afford,
The Quitoita with this Provision stor’d
Can pass the vast and cloudy Andes o’er—
The dreadful Andes plac’d ’twixt Winter’s store
Of Winds, Rain, Snow, and that more humble Earth,
That gives the small but valiant Coca Birth;
This Champion that makes war-like Venus Mirth.
Nor Coca only useful art at home,
A famous Merchandize thou art become;
A thousand Paci and Vicugni groan
Yearly beneath thy Loads, and for thy sake alone
The spacious World’s to us by Commerce known.”
Dr. Von Tschudi says that the Coca plant is regarded by the Peruvian Indian, as something sacred and mysterious, and it sustained an important part in religion of the Incas. In all ceremonies, whether religious or warlike, it was introduced, for producing smoke at the great offerings, or as the sacrifice itself. During divine worship the priests chewed Coca leaves, and, unless they were supplied with them, it was believed that the favour of the gods could not be propitiated. It was also deemed necessary that the supplicator for divine grace should approach the priests with an Acullico in his mouth. It was believed that any business undertaken without the benediction of Coca leaves could not prosper; and to the shrub itself worship was rendered.
During an interval of more than 300 years, Christianity has not been able to subdue the deep-rooted idolatry; for everywhere are found traces of belief in the mysterious power of this plant. The excavators in the mines of Cerro de Pasco throw masticated Coca on hard veins of metal, in the belief that it softens the ore and renders it more easy to work. The origin of this custom is easily explained, when it is recollected that in the time of the Incas it was believed that the Coyas, or deities of metals, rendered the mountains impenetrable, if they were not propitiated by the odour of Coca. The Indians, even at the present time,[137] put Coca leaves into the mouths of dead persons, to secure to them a favourable reception on their entrance into another world; and when a Peruvian Indian, on a journey, falls in with a mummy, he, with timid reverence, presents to it some Coca leaves as his pious offering.
Markham[138] also says, “The reliance on the extraordinary virtues of the Coca leaf, amongst the Peruvian Indians, is so strong, that, in the Huanaco province, they believe that, if a dying man can taste a leaf placed on his tongue, it is a sure sign of his future happiness.”
He also gives an account of the modern cultivation of the plant. Sowing is commenced in December and January, when the rains begin, which continue until April. The seeds are spread on the surface of the soil in a small nursery or raising ground called almaciga, over which there is generally a thatch roof (huascichi). At the end of about a fortnight they come up; the young plants being continually watered, and protected from the sun by the huascichi. The following year they are transplanted to a soil specially prepared by thorough weeding, and breaking up the clods very fine by hand; often in terraces only affording room for a single row of plants, up the side of the mountains, which are kept up by small stone walls. The plants are generally placed in square holes called aspi, a foot deep, with stones on the sides to prevent the earth from falling in. Three or four are planted in each hole, and grow up together.
In Caravaya and Bolivia the soil in which the Coca grows is composed of a blackish clay, formed from the decomposition of the schists, which form the principal geological features of the mountains. On level ground the plants are placed in furrows called nachos, separated by little walls of earth, umachas, at the foot of each of which a row of plants is placed; but this is a modern innovation, the terrace cultivation being the most ancient. At the end of eighteen months the plants yield their first harvest, and continue to yield for upwards of forty years. The first harvest is called quita calzon, and the leaves are then picked very carefully, one by one, to avoid disturbing the roots of the young tender plants. The following harvests are called mitta (“time” or “season”), and take place three and even four times in the year. The most abundant harvest takes place in March, immediately after the rains; the worst, at the end of June, called the Mitta de San Juan. The third, called Mitta de Santos, is in October or November. With plenty of watering, forty days suffice to cover the plants with leaves afresh. It is necessary to weed the ground very carefully, especially while the plants are young, and the harvest is gathered by women and children.
The green leaves, called matu, are deposited in a piece of cloth which each picker carries, and are then spread out in the drying yard, called matu-caucha, and carefully dried in the sun. The dried leaf is called Coca. The drying yard is formed of slate flags, called pizarra; and when the leaves are thoroughly dry, they are sewn up in cestos, or sacks, made of banana leaves, of 20 lbs. each, strengthened by an exterior covering of bayeta, or cloth.[139] They are also packed in tambores of 50 lbs. each, pressed tightly down. Dr. Poeppig (writing in 1827-32) reckoned the profits of a Coca farm to be forty-five per cent.
The harvest is greatest in a hot moist situation; but the leaf generally considered the best flavoured by consumers, grows in drier parts, on the sides of hills. The greatest care is required in the drying; for too much sun causes the leaves to dry up and lose their flavour, while, if packed up moist, they become fetid. They are generally exposed to the sun in thin layers.
The approximate annual produce of Coca in Peru is about 15,000,000 lbs., the average yield being about 800 lbs. an acre. More than 10,000,000 lbs. are produced annually in Bolivia, according to Dr. Booth of La Paz; so that the annual yield of Coca throughout South America, including Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Pasto, may be estimated at more than 30,000,000 lbs. At Tacna, the tambor of 50 lbs. is worth 9 to 12 dollars, the fluctuations in price being caused by the perishable nature of the article, which cannot be kept in stock for any length of time. The average duration of Coca in a sound state, on the coast, is about five months, after which time it is said to lose flavour, and is rejected by the Indians as worthless.
Cuca leaves can be bought in London, but up to the present time it has not come into much use as a beverage, yet it is supplied in Roots’ Cuca Cocoa, which is a combination of Cuca leaves, and the Cocoa bean.
There is no doubt whatever in Cuca possessing the qualities ascribed to it, and its application in medicine for many “ills that man is heir to,” is being diligently pursued by physicians all over the civilized world, with very beneficial results, and it is a valuable addition to our pharmacopœia. Johnston, in The Chemistry of Common Life,[140] speaking of the general effects of the Coca leaf, says that it “acts differently according to the way in which it is used. When infused, and drunk like tea, it produces a gentle excitement, followed by wakefulness; and, if taken strong, retards the approach of hunger, prevents the usual breathlessness in climbing hills, and, in large doses, dilates the pupil, and renders the eye intolerant of light. It is seldom used in this way, however, but is commonly chewed in the form of a ball or quid, which is turned over and over in the mouth, as is done with tobacco. In this way its action is more gradual and prolonged than when the infusion only is taken. It is also very different in its character, because the constant chewing, the continued action of the saliva, and the influence of the lime or ashes chewed along with it, extract from the leaf certain other active constituents which water alone does not dissolve, when it is infused after the manner of tea.”
It contains at least three different constituents; an odoriferous substance, a bitter principle, and a kind of tannic acid. When Cuca is imported into this country the leaves are coated with a resinous substance, like hops have, slightly soluble in water, but wholly in ether—which, on evaporation, leaves a brownish resin, which is powerfully odorous. This scent vanishes if it is exposed to the air for any length of time, and thus is lost one of the most important ingredients of good Cuca—rendering the leaf useless by keeping.
It contains a crystalline bitter principle which can be separated from it by alcohol. Like Theine, it is an alkaloid, and is called Cocaine; but it is not harmless, as, in many particulars, and in its physiological action upon the system, it resembles Atropine, the alkaloid of the deadly nightshade.
It also has a tannic acid, which gives a deep brownish green colour to the per salts of iron. So we see in its constituents it closely resembles the Thea Sinensis, only it is more powerful in its effects on the human frame, and, consequently, ought not to be taken in the same quantity as we now take tea, but it is invaluable in preventing, or greatly diminishing, the ordinary and natural waste which usually accompanies bodily exertion.
J. A.
