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

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Fragment from a Tunic
Ritual Sacrificer with Captive
Wari culture, South Coast?
AD 600-1000
Cotton, camelid wool; tapestry weave
9¼" x 11"
Pictorial compositions involving several figures, and simultaneously capable of
imparting a sense of action or the passage of time, are always rare in the static
dimension of Andean textile design. This compelling scene has both qualities, and despite
the slightly "rustic" rendering, is equally valuable for fleshing out details of the Sacrificer
narrative that was an important aspect of Wari religious and state mythology.
The design records an event of ritual sacrifice enacted by a demonic decapitator wielding
a double ax. While it is not obvious whether this gruesome ritualist is supernatural or a
mythicized characterization of a real individual, his victim (or victims) are unequivocally
human.
The difference between the clothing and locations of two prone figures implies a
sequence of events rather than multiple participants. One male figure, sprawling on the
ground as if recently killed, is still dressed in a white breechcloth and clutches a club
or weapon, although his head has been severed at the neck. A second, naked corpse is
shown either laid out within a tomb, or shoved upside-down into a shaft or ceremonial
structure.
It is feasible that the two figures portray the same warrior at different stages in the ritual
or battle, i.e., being killed, stripped of his gear, and subsequently transformed into a
trophy head, like the one dangling from the Sacrificer’s elbow.
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