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

241
Ceremonial Sling
Winged Human Figure and Parrot
North or Central Coast culture
AD 1200-1476
Camelid wool; braiding, cross-knit looping, fringes
13" long
Certain ornamental slings decorated with figurative tassels
apparently served a storytelling purpose as much as a
ritual or devotional one.
Each of these examples displays three-dimensional human
figurines and parrots applied to the ends of beautifully patterned
cords. The articulated hands, feet, wings and other features of
these small adornments affirm that no detail or effort was too
minor or inconsequential for Andean textile artists.
While the bird imagery makes a sly allusion to one of the most
common functions of the sling (i.e., catching birds), the human
figures are presented in different postures that do not suggest
that they are engaged in hunting or trapping.
One personage (cat. 242) is portrayed in the same Andean
attitude of veneration seen in cat. 240. This standardized ritual
gesture, which was assumed in front of a waka or lord, involved
raising both arms at an angle and bowing slightly.
In another sling (see cat. 243), a pair of birds perch on the
shoulders of two matched figures dressed in black-and-white
tie-dyed tunics. The naturalism of this portrayal contrasts with
the more surrealist connotations of the figure attached to
the sling in cat. 241 (right). In that case, the human character
has actually metamorphosed into a bird and sprouted wings.
The theme of supernatural transfiguration underscores the
repurposed role of these artifacts as burial or votive objects
rather than utilitarian ones.
219