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

219
Sash with Tab Ends (fragmentary)
Deity
Chimú culture
AD 1000-1476
Cotton, camelid wool; tapestry weave,
supplementary weft
12" x 3"
Chimú and Lambayeque textile iconography and design focus primarily on a
personage wearing a crescent (moon) headdress who seemingly portrays a
major mythological or historical character—possibly the founding ancestor of the
culture, or one of the many dynastic rulers who were believed to descend from
him.
Although it can be assumed that military conquest and turmoil played a large
part in the pre-Hispanic history of this region, most of these images project a
static and rather benign quality. By this epoch the icons have been reduced to
conventionalized motifs that decorate numerous sorts of garments and textile
accessories. The figures are depicted with remarkable consistency, varying only in
small details, such as the geometric design of a tunic or the striping or coloration
of a headpiece. Whether such variations represent artistic license or stylistic shifts
and changes that occurred over time or place is difficult to gauge without precise
provenience or radiocarbon dating.
The deified ruler or ancestor (waka) is shown standing in a presentation or display
pose; the arms are sometimes positioned in the attitude of reverence with the
palms face-up.
The usual symbols of power and aggression may be noted. Many figures carry
trophy heads and knives or batons, or feature jaguar markings that speak of
predatory, sacrificial and bellicose acts.
These two panels appear to be parts of costume accessories, such as sashes or
textile pendants. The curious, hybrid bird/fish motif repeated in the woven tab
fringe of cat. 219 manages to allude to both shore and sea, i.e., the two domains
that shaped ecology and symbolism on the north and central coasts. When viewed
sideways, the fish's fins or "arms" and tiny decapitation knives recall the mythical
headhunting sharks and killer whales that appeared in earlier Paracas and Nasca
iconography.
185