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

Caiman divinities were also represented in the painted hangings
found at Karwa on the south coast of Peru, i.e., the very region
that subsequently developed a relationship with the Titicaca
Basin cultures.
In this unique shaped, talismanic weaving, 1 which abounds
with inexplicable, surrealist details, the caiman has been
integrated with a staff or spear-carrying human figure. A
macabre headdress composed out of two severed human arms
with oversized grasping hands, and jaguar markings around the
fanged mouth, confirm an inner rapacity. The fusion speaks of
shamanic conversion and dangerous powers.
While the elongated form and tail fin of the plant-laden Chavín
icon are echoed in this design, the vertebrae of the spinal
column, as well as the joints, are re-interpreted as skulls. Other
fleshy heads stud the creature’s body like so many kernels or
fruits. The conjunction of the two motifs connotes life out of
death, for in pre-Columbian Andean thought, bone and seed
are visual and symbolic analogies. More tellingly here, an
element attached to the slings hanging from the elbow and
etched on the cheek appears to refer simultaneously to the
trance-inducing vilca plant and a corncob (signifying both a
food crop and a fermented beverage drunk ceremonially).
1 William Conklin, "Pucara and Tiahuanaco Tapestry: Time and Style in a Sierra
Weaving Tradition." Nawpa Pacha 21 (1983): 1–44.
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