Peru Social Life and Customs

Effective family research requires some understanding of the society in which your ancestor lived. Learning about everyday life, religious practices, customs, and traditions will help you appreciate your ancestor and the time he or she lived in. This information is particularly helpful if you choose to write a history of your family. Research procedures and genealogical sources are different for each area and time period and are affected by the local customs and traditions.

The Family History Library has collected few sources that discuss the social life and customs in Peru. Others may be available through public and university libraries. The following publications will help your understanding of colonial Peru:

Descola, Jean. Daily Life in Colonial Peru, 1710–1820. New York: Macmillian Co., 1968. (FHL book 985 H2djd). This is the English edition of La Vida Cotidiana en el Perú en tiempos de los Españoles. (FHL book 985 H2dj.)

Martin, Luis. Daughters of the Conquistadores: Women of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1983. (FHL book 985 H2mL.)

Mayer, Enrique, and Ralph Bolton. Parentesco y matrimonio en los Andes (Relationships and Marriage in the Andies). Lima: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 1980. (FHL book 980 H6p.)

Sociedad, Cultura y Economía en 10 áreas Andino-Peruanas: Asillo, Chumbao, Chuyas-Huaychao, Huata y Quito, Julcamarca, Layo, Pirapi, Soras, Taraco, Yancao (Society, Culture, and Economy in 10 areas of Andean Peru: Asillo, Chumbao, Chuvas-Huaychao, Huata y Quito, Julcamarca, Layo, Pirapi, Soras, Taraco, Yancao). Lima: [s.n.], 1966. (FHL book 985 H6s.)

Books and records about social life and customs are listed in the Family History Library Catalog under:

PERU - SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS

PERU, [DEPARTMENT] - SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS

See also the “Minorities” and “Native Races” sections of this outline.