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

210
Panel from a Tunic or Hanging
Sacred Mother Llama and Calf
Chimú culture
AD 1000-1476
Cotton, camelid wool; slit tapestry weave
7" x 11"
Literature
Kajitani and Nakajima 1980, fig. 5.
de Lavalle 1988, 227.
A
fascinating visual narrative, replicated in several Chimú
textiles, integrates multiple symbolic themes reflecting
the profound importance of the camelid to Andean peoples.
The animal is inherently associated with the weaving arts, of
course. The availability of alpaca fiber greatly spurred creative
expression and the development of textile technologies across
the region. Llamas also had a significant place in sacrificial and
calendrical rituals, as recorded in the Inka period.
This unique scene, however, celebrates life rather than death or
sacrifice. It portrays a female llama, with distinctive markings,
giving birth. Her human attendant wears an unusual doublecrescent
headdress that indicates exceptional status. Other
cult priests or figures, wearing llama headdresses, surround
the birthing pair. Fluttering butterflies place the moment in a
season of growth and florescence, possibly spring or summer.
The various fleece patterns and colors seen on camelids
had specific names, connotations and symbolic applications.
The dark and light piebald markings of the mother llama,
for instance, may describe the scattered spotting and brown
tonalities of the paqomuru llama.
Multicolored llamas were especially associated with rain rituals
and sacrifices in Inka religion. But this rare image also evokes
the Andean “dark cloud" constellation, Yakana. This celestial
llama, which crosses the Milky Way accompanied by her
suckling calf, is considered to be the creator and guardian of
the flocks. 1
The design thus celebrates animal fertility, elevating a natural
event to a moment of rich ceremony and cosmological
significance.
1 Gary Urton, At the Crossroads of the Earth and Sky: An Andean Cosmology (1982):
185-188.
170