Shamans, Supernaturals & Animal Spirits: Mythic Figures From the Ancient Andes

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Fragment
Snarling Face with Fangs and Egg Tooth
Unidentified regional culture (Chachapoyas?)
Circa AD 1100-1400 (radiocarbon dating by Rafter
Laboratory, New Zealand)
Cotton; tapestry weave
5" x 13"
The visceral shock and fear induced by the fang of the predator (feline, snake or
caiman) was translated into a spiritually charged sign that had perennial meaning for
Andean cultures. Its connotations—divinity, prestige, power—imbue this mesmerizing
face with supernatural potency.
This textile was woven 2000 years after images of imposing feline and caiman deities
were enshrined in early Andean ceremonial centers—not only at Chavín de Huántar,
but in many temples built along the coast. Yet this 12th- to 13th-century motif bears
a striking, if inexplicable, visual relationship to that archaic iconography. It is certainly
unlike either Wari or Inka traditions, which had some impact on the artistic styles of
the isolated, northeastern Amazonian region of Chachapoyas, where the weaving was
produced.
The theme may have been deliberately revived by local artists, somehow inspired by
their greater proximity to Chavín’s location in the eastern cordillera. Or it may be that
the notion of this icon, derived from jungle fauna, had never really vanished from the
cultural memory.
The angular face is composed with trapezoidal and triangular elements, offset by
circular earrings and jagged fangs. The conspicuous center tooth may allude to the
raptor's beak; it could also represent the egg tooth that baby reptilians, such as caimans
and snakes, use to break out of their shells. The canines are not realistic—clearly it was
the total effect that mattered.
A stepped, abstract motif, inset between the eyes, evokes a stylized human figure similar
to those depicted in the stone friezes decorating Chachapoyas architecture.
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