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

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Shaped Votive Panel
Trambollo Fish
Pachacamac-Rímac culture, Central Coast
AD 1000-1476
Cotton; interlocking and slit tapestry weave
10" x 22"
Literature
Taullard 1949, 144.
Brinckerhoff 1999, fig. 54.
Woven in the silhouette of a trambollo fish, this Pachacamac panel is a spectacular
example of shaped weaving, dyeing and patterning. The unusual dimensions and
contoured form (achieved with a scaffold weave technique) suggest these extraordinary
tapestries were made for display or tribute.
Possibly the cloths were symbolic substitutions for the great quantities of live
fish deposited daily in front of a cult idol installed in the main ceremonial plaza of
Pachacamac. Most certainly, the weavings celebrated the abundance of fish found in the
cold Peruvian waters.
The theme communicates the coastal Andean people’s dependence upon these rich
marine resources. This aspect found expression in ritual practice as well as in myth—
one of the best known concerned the role of the Andean female deity Urpay Huachac,
who was widely venerated as the mother of the fish and seabirds.
Equally striking is the fact that these are not renderings of generic fish. Details noted
in each depiction actually pinpoint the specimen represented with uncanny accuracy
(despite some visual overlapping with other closely related species).
Here, for example, a medley of abstract motifs evokes the variegated markings of the
trambollo, a kind of blenny that is plentiful along the central and south coast. The fish’s
most conspicuous features (facial spotting, a darkly outlined mouth, long pelvic fin rays
in front of the pectoral fins, a paddle-shaped tail) are also delineated clearly. Though
edible, the trambollo sometimes produces an effect of stupefaction or sleepiness in those
who consume it—an attribute that likely had shamanistic application or connotations
in the ancient context.
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