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

229
Band
Coati/Fox/Feline
Chimú or North-Central Coast culture,
Huarmey Valley?
AD 1000-1476
Cotton, camelid wool; plain weave,
supplementary weave (brocade)
22" x 8"
The Andean habitats of the ring-tailed coati include enclaves
of highland tropical forest fringing the upper Lambayeque
Valley of northern Peru. That ecological zone lies in proximity to
the regions that were historically occupied by the Recuay, Moche
and Chimú cultures. Feasibly, that lively, racoon-like animal was as
much a source of inspiration for the enigmatic motif employed here
as the fox, feline or monkey, to which it is frequently compared.
The blocky, geometricized design undoubtedly reflects the
constraints of the weave technique employed (which also gives a
very slight relief to the fabric surface). Indeed, the subtle textural
difference between the white plain-woven ground cloth and the
red supplementary threads that define the motif help delineate the
image within this perceptually challenging composition.
Small stepped diamonds and knots scattered across the animal's
body (cosmological symbols?) are similar to motifs incorporated
into a related textile (cat. 228). Some scholars have interpreted
this “cross" as an ancestral symbol representing the architectural
layout of the ceremonial space in which the mummy bundle of
the founder of the Chimú royal lineages was enshrined. 1 In any
case, it is equally evocative of platforms built within certain types
of north coast compounds and temples. As thus, the form may
have carried connotations of sanctity and power.
1 Luis Cornejo, “A Garden in the Desert: A Metaphor,” in Museo Chileno de Arte
Precolombino, Chimú: Laberintos de un Traje Sagrado (2005): 51-55.
202