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

Imagery from assorted textiles offers a glimpse of the variety
of birds depicted by—and evidently significant to—coastal
peoples.
Despite the artistic stylization and the sometimes selective use,
or interspecies mix, of details, each motif is endowed with traits
that clearly refer to specific birds associated with particular
habitats or ecological zones along the Peruvian coast.
264
Fragment from a Garment
Stocky Bird (Heron, Egret, Burrowing Owl?)
Central Coast culture (Chancay)
AD 1000-1476
Cotton; tapestry weave
7" x 17"
The imagery ranges in its degree of realism. An angular, graphic
black-and-white motif repeated in cat. 265 possibly represents
a pelican, although, incongruously, the bird grasps a lizard in its
bill—prey more suited to a land bird than to waterfowl. Pelicans
do feature abundantly in Chimú iconography and mythology,
and the bird’s extended beak and neck pouch seemingly derive
from that common species. The serrated, triangular headdress
may acknowledge the bird’s plumage—or refer to the plumed
crown or headdress worn by important Chimú personages.
A stocky bird depicted in cat. 264 is equally ambiguous,
although more naturalistic in form. Its hunched but upright
stance describes the body shape or hunting posture of several
endemic species, including a heron, egret or burrowing owl.
265
Fragment from a Garment
Birds (Pelicans?) with Lizards
North Coast culture (Chimú)
AD 1000-1476
Cotton; brocade
7½" x 16"
Literature
Amano Museum 1979b, fig. 123.
244