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

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Fragment from a Garment
Bird Handler with Captive Birds
Chancay culture
AD 1300-1476
Cotton; tapestry weave
4½" x 4½"
Andean people trapped, bred and kept many kinds of birds captive—not solely as sources of
food, but also for religious sacrifices as well as for ritual and aesthetic purposes. Prime among
these were birds with striking plumage such as the Muscovy duck and the macaw parrots, whose
feathers were plucked to adorn ceremonial textiles and artifacts.
Unlike most individuals portrayed in Andean iconography, who usually project elevated or
supernatural status, the Bird Keeper depicted here is clearly of ordinary rank. Nevertheless he wears
a tie-dyed, patterned shirt and headband, and his role must have been sufficiently important to
Chancay society to merit being recorded in a textile design.
The brown-and-white color scheme is typical of the Chancay aesthetic, which exploited the graphic
possibilities of contrasting undyed or naturally colored cotton yarns as much as those achieved with
more vivid colors.
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