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

state clearly either alludes to a shamanic transfiguration or
animal/human duality, or describes metaphorical powers and
traits borrowed from the animal realm that serve to reinforce
the wearer's rank, role or special qualities.
Scholars have made progress unraveling the connotations of
recurrent symbols (although there is not always consensus
about their meanings). The motifs are all the more cryptic
for the paucity of cultural and historical information, and
the incomplete archaeological record. But as highlighted in
the individual captions in this catalogue, they include stylized
plants, human trophies and objects or materials imbued with
special magical or spiritual properties for Andean peoples (such
as feathers or fire).
Among the most significant of these visual signs are ones
codifying the sacramental plants with hallucinogenic
properties—San Pedro cactus and Anadenanthera colubrina—
that were crucial to Andean ritualism and the altered states
of mind such rites promoted. Similarly, another hitherto
mysterious motif is now understood to represent the heart,
lungs and trachea of a person who has been ritually killed or
decapitated, usually in connection with fertility cults. 2
The deciphering of this arcane symbology is far from complete,
and will add immensely to our understanding of Wari culture
and ritual as it proceeds. The abstract Wari aesthetic, on the other
hand, is more readily analyzed for its unique formal properties,
which were rigorously observed and creatively manipulated by
Wari weavers. Despite the modern viewer's appreciation for this
virtuoso geometric aesthetic, Wari abstraction is intellectually
and perceptually challenging.
The ordering of the figures and the organization of visual space
are generally predetermined by Wari artistic canons, which
nonetheless admit some variety, as well as locally derived ideas
about format and theme. The large, squarish tunic generally
consists of two rectangular panels, folded in half and sewn
together in the center and at each side. This plane is generally
The Staff-Bearing Attendant on the Gateway of the Sun at Tiwanaku.
Adapted from Anton 1984, 109.
37