At home, especially in the summer season, the ladies of Lima dress lightly and even negligently. For visiting, or going to the theatres, they adopt the French fashion. When walking in the streets, attending church, joining religious processions, &c., they appear in a very singular costume, peculiar to Lima, and consisting of two garments called the Saya and the Manto. Of the saya there are two kinds. The one called the Saya ajustada, was formerly in general use, but is now seldom seen. It consists of a petticoat, or skirt of thick stiff silk, plaited at top and bottom, in small fluted folds, drawn very close together at the waist and widening towards the ankles, beneath which the saya does not descend. It is tight to the form, the outline of which it perfectly displays, and its closeness to the limbs naturally impedes rapid movement. When wearing the Saya ajustada, the ladies find it no very easy task to kneel down at church, and at the termination of every genuflexion, they are obliged to twist and twirl about for a considerable time before they can again stand on their feet.[17]
The other description of saya is called the Saya culeça, or the Saya desplegada. It is plaited close at the waist, and from thence downwards it stands out like a hooped petticoat. This sort of saya is made by first being plaited both at top and bottom like the Saya ajustada; but, afterwards, the lower plaits are undone to form the Saya desplegada. The saya is always made of some dark-colored silk, black, green, blue, or cinnamon color.
The Manto is a veil of thick black silk fastened by a band at the back of the waist, where it joins the saya. From thence it is brought over the shoulders and head, and drawn over the face so closely that only a small triangular space, sufficient for one eye to peep through, is left uncovered. A rich shawl thrown over the shoulders conceals the whole of the under garment, except the sleeves. One of the small, neatly-gloved hands, confines the folds of the manto, whilst the other holds a richly embroidered pocket-handkerchief.
At first sight this costume has a very singular effect, and it is long before the eye of a foreigner becomes reconciled to it. The narrow saya is by no means graceful; the wide saya, on the other hand, is very becoming, and sets off to great advantage a good figure and elegant deportment. When I first arrived in Lima and saw the ladies closely muffled up in their mantos, and carrying embroidered cambric handkerchiefs and nosegays in their hands, it struck me that the nuns enjoyed greater freedom in that country than in any other part of the world. After vespers, that is to say half-past seven in the evening, the police regulations prohibit any woman from appearing in the streets dressed in the saya.
As this garment may be worn over a dress of the ordinary kind, it is found to be very convenient, inasmuch as it saves the trouble of a careful toilette. During short visits the ladies do not take off the saya; but when making long visits they usually lay it aside.
The Saya y Manto are found to be very useful auxiliaries in the numerous intrigues in which the Limeñas frequently engage.
A Tapada[18] indulges in a vast deal of freedom when in the streets, and scruples not to make satirical observations on anybody or anything that strikes her as strange or ludicrous. The veil, or manto, is sacred, and should a man attempt to remove it by force, he would run the risk of being severely handled by the populace.
In intrigues of gallantry the Saya y Manto play a conspicuous part. A lady has been known to arrange an assignation with a gentleman in the street, whilst her husband, standing at the distance of a few yards and conversing with a friend on some matter of business, has little suspected that the Tapada whose graceful figure he admired, was his own faithful better-half. It frequently happens that Doña Mariquita obliges Doña Merceditas, or Doña Panchita, with the loan of her saya, for the purpose of hood-winking the Argus-eyes of a jealous husband;—the lady being well convinced that her kind friends will render her the like service in similar circumstances. Sometimes a lady may be seen in an old tattered saya, such as scarcely the poorest female might be expected to wear; but the costly shawl, the worked pocket-handkerchief, the silk stockings, and satin shoes, betray the rank of the Tapada, and plainly denote that she has sallied forth on an adventure. It is difficult, nay almost impossible, to recognize a lady thus muffled up. The one eye alone visible, is, as may be supposed, a very uncertain token of identity, and the figure and walk may be easily disguised.
It will readily be supposed that these concealments sometimes occasion mortifying mistakes. On beholding a tall slender figure whose symmetrical contour is discernible even through the unwieldy saya, and a bright dark eye beaming beneath the folds of the manto, one may be induced to imagine that the charms of a Hebe are concealed beneath the disfiguring garb. But how great is the disappointment when an accidental movement of the manto discloses the wide mouth of an ugly mulatta grinning from ear to ear.
Most foreigners who marry Limeñas stipulate that from the time of betrothal, their wives shall no longer wear the saya y manto. The condition is agreed to; but how far it is faithfully observed the husbands best know. Many, no doubt, lull themselves in the confidence of their wishes being implicitly obeyed; but female ingenuity readily devises opportunities for deception. The women of Lima never willingly renounce the saya y manto, for it is inseparably associated with customs to which they are, heart and soul, devoted.