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

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Band from a Tokapu Tunic
Butterflies and Flowers
Inka culture
AD 1470–1532
Cotton, camelid wool; interlocking
tapestry weave, selvedged on one side
5½" x 6½"
During the Inka period, tunics of the finest-quality
tapestry weave—known as qompi or cumbi—were made
exclusively for the emperor. Several classes of specialist weavers
(including cloistered young women dedicated to the ruler as
well as the wives of regional and local lords) were obligated to
produce such high-status cloth for tribute, tax payments and
royal attire. In turn, the Inka bestowed imperial-style textiles
on the nobility and administrators of regions that had come
under Inka domination.
Certain styles—notably the famous checkerboard-design
tunics—were worn by the Inka's battalions and guards. These
magnificent garments played an important role in promulgating
Inka cultural and aesthetic values, weaving diverse peoples into
the unity of the vast Tawantisuyo Empire.
These emblematic textiles were standardized in size, format
and composition (although the archaeological record has also
yielded unique examples in addition to provincial styles). The
tunics with the greatest prestige were patterned with single
bands or multiple rows containing abstract, geometricized
motifs. Known as tokapu, these designs were configured in
squares or rectangles, and repeated in sequences that give the
appearance of a visual code or language. 1
The understanding of the significance of the tokapu emblems
has continued to evolve from initial, more conservative
speculation that such patterns at best represented a sort of
"heraldic" device conveying information about rank, lineage,
royalty or place of origin. Today, however, there is growing
recognition that the icons must have been pictorial and abstract
signs that probably encoded sacred, esoteric or cultural ideas
and knowledge, particularly relating to the mythic history and
worldview of the Inkas and their royal dynasties. 2
Two of the tokapu motifs incorporated into this design
are rendered with soft, fluid lines that suit their naturalistic
sources, i.e., the butterfly and the bell-shaped kantu flower. In
Inka iconography both motifs are sometimes conflated with
depictions of noblewomen wearing mantles draped like wings.
Butterfly imagery was also painted on the walls of sacred
shrines and ceremonial beakers. The elements are juxtaposed
with a stepped form that evokes mountains or Inka structures
such as ritual platforms and water fountains.
Given the highly ritualized conceptions of landscape, water and
seasonal cycles, it is probable that this juxtaposition alluded to
a specific place or time (surely spring or summer). The lushly
forested eastern slopes of the Andes (called Antisuyo) held great
symbolic significance to the Inkas. Not surprisingly, this region
swarms with one of the richest diversities of butterfly species
in the world.
1 John H. Rowe, “Standardization in Inca Tapestry Tunics,” in The Junius B. Bird
Textile Conference 1973, ed. Ann Pollard Rowe, Elizabeth Benson and Anne-Louise
Schaffer (1979): 239-264.
2 Ibid., 239-264.
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