IMAGESPTE n Vers Reena The ancient Andean universe was alive wich myth and pulsing with animate energy. In pre-Columbian traditions, nature and culture were inseparable—a belief that found ies richest expression through intense symbolic identification with the animal world ‘Andean societies incorporated animals and animal inmsgery into ceremony and costume, ritual space and experience, social ifeand economy. Animals peoples’ vision of themselves, and of their shamans and ified prestive, spiritual power, and contact with the super EU ne SU econ ee eee cn of the southern sky, as characters in myth and! folklore, and in acts of CN eee ene ete ers een thas Animal Myth and Magic explores the central place and See eee eee ete ene wren ficance of ani- hropology, natural history and mythology. Illustrated with 155 marvelous images from pre-Columbian textiles, this unique anthology discusses over forty-five species, from the hummingbird and butterfly to the llama and! jaguar. The depictions—fom susteal to natu ralistic, awe-provoking to whimsical abstract to toremic—span a diversity Sint P Othe mmat tae! Ree) Key themes emerge: the feline, bird and snake shamanic archetypes; a fascination with magical transformation; a preoccupation with water and ene eect ee eee etn intricate visual code based on the signs of the fang, claw, spotted pelt, whisker and wing. This compelling information, and the extraordinary inventiveness and variety of mammals, hints, fish, reptiles, and insects rep eon Pet Sent Sent ert era eae eee et intrigued by animal symbolism, Native American art, and the vitality and creativity of the pre-Columbian imagination, 155 Color Plates, 10 Line Drawings ‘cover: Nasca Spectral Cat (detail), page 29 ements De Cor ere e oan ated Book and dustjacker designed by Shore Desig, Brisbane, CaliforniaANIMAL MYTH AND MAGICPublibed by OLOLO Frew PO. Box S47 Lrksp, Cans 94977 Frist ction 1,000 copies priced 2005 Copyighc ©2005 by OLOLO Fs ‘Alig ered wnderieerational cpmiht conventions Not ofthe conte of hi bck maybe repoiced or lia in any frm o by any mens digi, etree, inladng by sy infrmation storage ar eval ses, who the mien pein of OLOLO Plato All images: private collection ‘Book Designed by: Shore Design, Baisbane, California Povoraphy by: Don Tatl, Ralph Koch Project Coonlinator: Vanessa Drake Monit “Text Edie Lawrence Krauser LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Moraga. Vines Dake “Animal My and Map: Lmages ee Pre-Columbian Texte by Vanesa Drake Morag Trclaes blogs heal fences se inde ISuNos7e7TT404 1, Ande tex 2.PrColuaan exter 3 Anil in arin the asent Amerie 4 Anal lin the Ande, Pred and bund in Hong KoANIMAL MYTH AND MAGIC IMAGES FROM PRE-COLUMBIAN TEXTILES VANESSA DRAKE MORAGAANCIENT ANDEAN CULTURES Referred to in this bk doy Landen Kaj 290), A S194), RB (190) a Ee (952) 2500nc I 20008c 4H 15008c TF 1o00nc I s00BC sooap Ht 1000aD Huaca Prieta UHC Noth Cont (Chics Vale) Chavin "apd oC Nota Hans (Chad Hae) and ae Cupisnique {00060 Nook Ca (Mh ld Karwa 70-500 Sowth Cae (Palade ness Paracas 0010082 Sth Cae Parc Pia, Pca Ville) Barly Nasca IGORC—500AD South Cae (Panes Pell Rio Gide Nasa Drs) Nasa 5 ROOAD Suath Cae (ie Grande Nasa Diag, Kos) Sihusss O02 20D Far Sash Cn (Maje Vile) Recuay ‘MAG S040 Nah Coat nd Highs Pukara 20006 20AD Southam High Le Taine) ‘Tiwanaku 250-=AO0A Saha Hine Moche 10H = TOOAD Noh Cane Wari C0 10Q0AD Hii and Com Chima 100 176A Noth Ca (Chen Ch) Lambayeque 100-1764 Noh Coe Pachacamac uO) 1476AD Cel Coa (Ginscind Lin Ville Chaneay 1000 154aD Cal Cont Inka 1000153440 Southern Hide (Cae Ma Pet) aden CotA etre a petraTABLE OF CONTENTS ‘Timeline of Pre-Colambin ANIMAL MYTH AND MAGIC IN THE ANDES EARTH THE SACRED FANG Je Puma Pampas Car Auean Fox Fingal Coatt Monkey Lama, Alea, View, Guanaeo Deer (Ouet, Seal, Sea Lion WATER THE CULT OF THE SEA Killer Whale snd Whale Shark Pacific Bonito and Tiambollo ‘Sea Cats Pfr Fish (Tamborin) Cab) (Cony and Shrimp Jellyfish Reptiles & Amphibians ‘Anaconda andl Other Skes Caiman Iguana and Othe Liars ‘Toad and Frog SKY THE LANGUAGE OF THE BIRDS Raptors Harpy Eagle Aplomado Falcon. Andean Conor Noctuenal Binds Onl Band-Winges Nightae Nectar, Frit & Seed Eaters Hurmmingbied Macaw, Parakact, Pano Conings Water & Shore Bide (Guanay Cormorant Inca Tern Opstercatcher and Silt Duck Insects & Arachaids Bartefly and Caterpillar Bee Sper and Scopian Notes Bibliography and Sources Tine B " ry 24 al 6 51 9 61 a B n 3 5 3 89 ” 93 100 105 109 15 17 120 ird bs ry 1 135 136 Maz Ma us 150 133 135 17 150 161 64ANIMAL MYTH AND MAGIC IN THE ANDES he Andean universe is alive with myth and pulsing with animate enensy. This vital current connects past and present, the ancestral dead and their descendants, the visible world and the spirit realm. Coursing through all living chings and nat- ural phenomena, it manifests in human beings, animals and plants—but no les so in the forces shaping land, water and sky. The living cosmos breathes through rushing wind and volcanic fire, turns and shudklers in earthquakes and floods, is veined with water and metal, fertilized by rain and sun. Mountains, rivers and stars are personified as sacred ancestors, deities and animal spirits. In turn those mythie presences reveal themselves across the landscape as icy peaks, eccentric boulders, blackwater lagoons or in ephemeral chunderclaps and flashes of lightning. The concept that nature and culture are one was fundamental to the pre-Columbian worldview. And it had no richer expression than the intense symbolic identification with the animal world that forged the metaphors of Andean ritual, myth and art. ‘Andean peoples incorporated animals and animal imagery into ceremony and costume, both literally and figuratively. Their priests and leaders were resplendent in fox skins, jaguar pelts, plumed headdresses, bird-shaped diadems and whiskered masks wrought from gold, or garments pattemed with real and mythological creatures. At different times in their history they sacrificed lamas and guinea pigs in fertility and water rtess practiced divination with snakes and spiders; read animal behavior as supernatural omens of death and calamity, or as favorable signs forecasting weather, harvests and other natural events. The emperor and a sacred ama “sang” together during an important Inka festival. Cosmic animals appeared among the stars: ama and fox, toad and serpent, condor and rinamou, a golden cat. Another celestial cat climbed the rain- how and threw hail and ice. ‘Animal forms lent themselves to monumental architecture and to other ceremonial and funerary spaces within the landscape. Effgies of potent, terrifying predators were sculpted in stone to shield the entrances of sacred pyramids, or be enshrined in their deepest sanctums. Temple and palace walls were wrapped in carved and painted friezes depicting intricate tableaux of jungle and marine creatures Colossal animal shadows are fixed on the landscape at Nasca, etched directly into the sandy floor of the fampas. From spider to whale, lizard to cormorant, all are emblematic in some way of water, vitality or regeneration, A Chavin temple stairway “roars” like a jaguar as water rushes underneath; a Wari tomb is cut into the ground in the form of a lama; the Inka city Cuzco |is builtin the outline of a puma and a nearby rock outcropping hewn with serpentine channels, for ritual liquids. In the Andean cosmovision, animals are simultaneously of the environment and in it. They are both symbolic of the world and a direct vehicle for human engagement with it. ‘The trove of animal images created by pre-Columbian artists over 5000 or mote years reflects the extraordinary diversity of habitat and fauna that constituted their known world. The region is an eco-mosaic of distinct terrains and extremes of climate. The multiple ranges of the ‘Andes mountains define its topography, isolating the narrow stretch of arid desert bordering the Pacific coast from the high, cold steppes of the altplano and the vast tropical forests of the ‘Amazon hinterlands Ancient life in the rain-shadow of the Andes was made possible only by a pattern of rivers that cut across the dry coastal plain. These rivers are fed by summer snowmelt from the sierra—a seasonal and often unteliable source. In time, this unpredictability gave rise toa fervent preoccupation with the availability of water, and a corresponding fixation on the animals thought to signify or be auspicious of its plentifulness. Yet paradoxically, the Peruvian ocean isthe richest in the world, yielding a bounty of fish and other marine life that had a profound impact on pre-Columbian cultural icons andl themes. ‘The sierra itself is a tapestry of contrasting landscapes capped by glaciated peaks and voleanoes. Each zone—the foggy lomas foothills; the rocky, sparsely vegetated upper slopes; the ‘puna grasslands and highland lakes; the patches of cloud forest falling away into leafy jungle— supports a very different range of wildlife. Moving east and north along the base of the Andes into the large tropical rainforest, moreover, the number of native animal species explodes. With se ral million species recorded to date, and new ones added to the register every year, the variety is astounding, The Peruvian Amazon and the tropical Andes, for instance, contain the highest species diversity on earth, accounting for more than 20 percent of the world’s birds and 10 percent of its mammals and repels ‘This exotic store of snakes, caimans, iguanas, jaguars, monkeys, eagles, and butterflies took vivid hold of the pre-Columbian imagination. Though the distances are daunting, the conlillera forbidding, and the forests almost impenetrable, ideas and goods nonetheless flowed across them from the earliest periods of Andean history. The Inka roads linking the four remore comers of the Tawandsuyo empire are the greatest evidence of the exchanges that continuously took place between north and south, east and west, jungle and coast, in the millennia predating the Spanish conquest of 1535. The maritime underpinnings of early Andean civilizations are counterpointed by the recognizable influence of Amazonian peoples, flora and fauna, By 1000 1c, the highland cult at Chavin de Husntar had fully assimilated the rituals and animal icons of the tropical forest. Availing themselves of magical vines and other plant intoxicants from the jungle, Chavin’s caste of priests evidently experienced altered states that inspired their vision of the supematural and kindled their artistic creativity. This shamanistic knowledge coursed through subsequent cultures as well.2 Sued Spn-Aninal (coineiher fish nor foul) Ealy Nasea culture 1 high Cae tthe fe van scinalhie ited, winged, fonds ucla beat “Ths fines squalene in Andean highland legend poaite—the own fine wich sev unde the nese oe ce deity, Ta, the x take power dat cxmmanded the foes of thunder Mie ig, ain ad ail, Indeed, animism in the Andes was rooted in archaic shamanic tradition. Shamanic concepts similarly inflect Andean use of animal metaphor and allegory. Feline, bied, snake— universal archetypes, deeply embedded in the human mind, that can be liberated from the subconscious by taking hallucinogens—comprise the very trilogy that dominates pre-Columbian iconography. These primal figuees are endlessly recast and renewed in art and myth, acquiring new gradations of meaning and local identity asthe historical context unfolds Felines, the incamation of feral instinct, are enduring icons of prestige and divinity to this day. Birds, elevated to the role of celestial companions and winged attendants, stimulate a primordial fascination with the mystery of flight. Serpents remain preeminent under- world characters too, even as they wend between the levels of the universe or arch rainbowlike across the heavens, Collectively, the three personify the Andean cosmos through the mediums of earth, sky and water. They also endow shamans with animal traits that allow them to traverse the Otherworld without harm. Native Andean understanding of the fluid relationship between man and animal is, dramatically expressed through the shamanie theme of magical transformation. The reputations of shamans, sacrificers, warriors, lords and other dignitaries were articulated primarily through. animal references. Costumes and masks project this symbiosis dynamically, none more so than the fantastic guises worn by animal impersonators for cult spectacles and rites, ‘The inward iden fication of shamans with specific animals—supposedly experienced during trances or in the aferlife—is « more elusive concept to illustrate. Such states of spiritual metamorphosis can be inferred from figures that are half human and half raptor, cat, monkey or other beast. Conversely, many species were viewed as possessing shamanic qualities: jaguars and otters among the mammals, for instance, parrors and owls among the birds. No matter how realistic the depiction, such creatures are sometimes best understood as shamans or supernatural entities moving about in animal form. Not all pre-Columbian animal iconography is explicitly shamanistic, of course, and animals enact a multitude of themes in the region's oral and visual traditions. Animal behavior is consistently anthropomorphized to illuminate human mores and activities. And their place in the natural world, descriptive as it can be of speifie seasons, environments, plants of food, certainly significant. Animals thar were bred, hunted and eaten, or were otherwise essential todaily life (such as alpacas and lamas), are frequently pictured. Rich sources of metaphor were similarly discovered in the striking changes in animal appearance wrought by metamorphosis, shedding skin or molting feathers. Transformations ofthat kind acknowledge the existence of magic. Prehispanic systems of animal classification reveal nuances that are not yet fully defined, but they were clearly of a different onter from European models. For one, they reflect Andean notions of the dynamic relationship between this world—the here and now, kay pacha—and the dimension of time and space occupied by cosmic deities and ancestral spirits. In che highlands, farmers and herders elaborate upon the obvious distinction between wild (salga) and domestic twa) by further categorizing beasts according to the supematural beings who “own” them, Foxes, 1d to be the “pets" and livestock of the mountain gods, Apus, much as dogs and alpacas belong to people eer and pumas are cons Since relatively few species were domesticated in this New Workd, most fauna represented in ancient imagery are inevitably “wild.” While the majority can be grouped under the domains of earth, water and sky, native symbolists especially singled out those creatures capable of bridg- ing natural boundaries: the marine mammals that slip between land and sea; the ocean birds that plunge deeply into the waters the snakes that uncoil from trees and hunt in jungle rivers. Such in-between figures had special mythological value. Danger was another compelling factor to the image makers. Again, a natural opposition is implied between hunter and hunted. Man may have been a hunter for most of prehistory; he was nevertheless prey to the big cats, crocodilians, sharks and snakes that loom menacingly in the imagery. Surely this vulnerability explains a widespread preoccupation with iconographic themes involving mythic personages battling such monsters or even more improbable and terrifying composites of the major predators. This primal ambivalence, a mixture of fear and reverence, suffuses the art. (On the other hand, the perils embodied in certain species could be manipulated. Native ‘American tribes possessed arcane knowledge of the poisons or hallucinogens that detive from fish, amphibians and reptiles, just as they understood the boranical sources. Seventeenth-century texts report the use of venomous toads and snakes in “witchcraft; the ability to induce trances and temporary deathlike states was clearly a vital aspect of shamanic perfomance and control. Presumably, any creature that provoked such inexplicable effects acquited a strange aura of its own; some icons must commemorate this secret knowledge. All characteristics that marked an animal as extra-ordinary drew notice oF awe. Conspicuous beaks and noses, toxic spines and stingers, alarming canines and claws, eryptic or exquisite coloring, noctumal habits and peculiar sounds: all anomalies could be construed 3s otherworldly, or wak'a. The attributes of prestigious animals conferred the greatese mystique. Mottled pelts, fangs, whiskers, talons, antlers, feathers, and spectacted or teat-streaked eyes enhanced the charisma of all characters—human or otherwise—who borrowed them. These elements form the basis ofa visual code that is shared and perpetuated by different Andean cultures. Even as the motifs are progressively abstracted (as in Wari art), or simplified (asin later regional styles), they communicate an essential animal power and otherness. For pre-Columbian artists cultivated thenotion that animals are, as John Benger states, “both like and unlike us." That play of difference inspired animal imagery of astonishing inventiveness ‘A conception of the wildof the animal kingdom—as a place equally mysterious and. sacred, alien and farnil mnifies this compendium. Spanning 2000 years and a diversity of cule tures rom Chavin to Chancay, sierra to coast, the images range ftom naturalistic to fantastic. But all are allegorical in some sense, alluding to fundamental myths, religious ideas and social rela- tionships. Almost all the original narrative accompaniment is lost, however; what docs survive is fragmentary and distorted by time and human impulse. This is due largely to the dili- gent efforts of the Spanish conquerors and priests who sought to destroy all indigenous traditions after gaining control of the Andes in 1535, Accordingly, the interpretation of pre-Conquest animal symbolism draws on a combina- tion of sources and analogies from near and fi, historic and modem. Colonial descriptions of Inka religion, customs and daily life mention the varied roles of animals in the Andean sphere. Many contemporary Quechua and Aymara people preserve the core beliefs and worldview of their ancestors as well. Their sky and animal lore, their ideas about the pattems of the natural world, enlighten us as to which specific animals might have been symbolic in the past—and why. The fact, oo, that many of the same birds, mammals, reptiles and insect fe prominent actors in tropical forest cosmologies opens a further avenue for the exploration of animal magic ‘and meaning. Those distant indigenous societies evidently influenced Andean civilizations and. aesthetics! While cultural links between the two regions are speculative, Amazonian beliefs, ceremonies and legends—alive and intact into the 21* century—clearly resonate with the themes, reflected in pre-Columbian imagery “Zoology informs myth," declares the anthropologist Peter Roe. In the end itis the habits, environments and appearances of real animals that divulge whae might have caught the interest of early Andean peoples. This, after all, is where the first artists and storytellers hegan. For animals were their original, and essential, metaphors.Fonged Head Karwa Chavin, South Coast one ‘A human face aes he inning nce ofthe aoe ange pedce Tis Chavo ad Parca imagery the agar grimace commands reverence od ea ‘The arched eyebrow cites the wings of yng bn ining ofa vidonary expensnce The ipl ae of metamorphism human fie ding recta rance stained hy he nchion opin cca mot elo the head Ths sign fr the pyehonetive Son Ped acts the esse an hallucinogen in Anan danas, which can anspor thse who ‘ake on a journey through pera ime and pce.THE SACRED (Unidentified regional thon fe. 1100-1400 pee atint at iy This emer fice dle th let rp sts bok FANG olossal feline heads with bared fangs stood guand over many of the earliest Andean, pyramids and temples. Painted in vivid colors the ferocious sentinels stared out from, walls and stairway inspiring and intimidating, One sacred enclosure was actually an open snarling jaw. At the mountain cult center Chavin de centered throu Hoi is carved on a fang-shaped obelisk piercing the t/a major deity flaunting the mythic incisor floor of an underground crypt, and stone reliefs depicting eats with spotted coats appeared through shows that the feline assumed ‘out the sanctuary. The imagery, conceived at least 3000 years center place in the Andean cosmovision, as it had throughout the pre-Columbian Americas. Felines portrayed in Andean art, mythology and ritual refer to any of several species of pampas cat and ocelot wild cats native to the region and its different terrains 1, pum phic distinctions between them are subtle, and their features, notably pelt markings, a cat may also entirely lack often overlap. Cross motifs describe the spots, such as a puma, or sport banded lim jynamic “feline” was always active. Even naturalistic representations ats are not merely animals. They can be transfigured humans, supernatural allies, paramount deities. And they invariably express funda- mental cosmological ideas ae A hoe6 “The Ancherypes Karva Chavin ‘Giyp 4f high “his pion mul fo Here the alco ‘nen rca in white ech pt hat cl he8 Jaguar Efiey Tiseale 2 high Puke cine The crouching es ened bck ae crm nha feds eminent of csr ea om ede Haat cred frm sone and coveted with Moca wate odin capa rest pres sch ponder ae ll "he ino ther wid ete ilar JAGUAR @amers oncad Feline mystique is powerfully embodied in the New World's largest predator, the jaguar. Fiercely beautiful, dangerously skilled in hunting, and omnivorous, this shadowy hunter is the dominant presence in the tropical rainforest flanking the easter se of the Andes. The paradigm of stealth, size and strength, its round luminescent eyes glinring disconcertingly by night, the jaguar attacks from all ditections, on land and in. water. It devours small and giant game with ‘equal avidity—birds, fish, anacondas, otters, deer, caimans—seising its quarry by the neck, violently piercing the skull with is incisors, and lapping the blood. Revered by societies throughout South America, for whom this carnivore has always been the avatar of leadership and spiritual potency, the jaguar has a commanding role in cultural stories and traditional beliefs. In Amerindian narratives, jaguar beings are ancestral and shamanic heroes. They manifest as the Master of the Animals, protecting game and ensuring fertility and also linked with death, the underworld success in hunting. But on a darker note, these cats and sacrificial rites, The jaguar theme is pervasive in Andean art, even along the coast where the species does ‘ot exist. This is explained by the influence of fundamental cultures like Chavin, which borrowed the animals of Amazonia for artistic models just as they apparently adapted the beliefs and ritual practices of rainforest peoples. Like jungle hunters and shamans who sport jaguar pelts, skull, fur pouches and teeth necklaces, mythological figures were endowed by pre-Columbian artists with feral traits: claws, fangs, snouts and spors. Their own priests and leaders must have been similarly attired in skins and talismans, for the visual and ethnohistorical record coincide emphatically on cone point: ancient Andean shamans, like their counterparts in the selva, enjoyed an extraordi nary connection with jaguars ‘The affinity between shaman and jaguar is honored in the many local languag. the same teem for both. The notion that some jaguars are actually cransformed shamans or sorcerers is widely held. Potent catalysts for shape-shifting are found among the vast store of hallucinogenic plants endemic to the continent and known since prehistoric times. The n Pedro cactus consumption and effects of magical snufis and brews extracted from th (Trichocereus packanoi), the bean pod known as vilea (Anadenanthera colubrina), and a vine called ayahuasca (Banisteriopsiscaapi) are intima J by pre-Columbian art Felines are repeatedly juxta posed with cacti motifs (either the entite stalk or a cross-section of it). Mortars, and other kinds of drug paraphernalia fashioned from wood or stone, are shaped like felines or ecched withtheir image, Many cats are presented with their heads eraned unnaturally backward, a con: tortion exhibited by shamanic figures, and thought 10 be code for stares of altered consciousness and transcendence” By definition, Jaguar Shamans acquire all the real and imaginary attributes of the animal: supernatural vision and powerful ease in all domains. Jaguar nature, therefore, is its aggressivi alive in sacrificers and warriors. This is vividly signified by the trophy heads displayed by such characters, Since Andean cultures perceived blood sacrifice as fertilizing and regenerative, these grim icons simply reinforce the jagua’s role as a symbol of vitality and shamaniec prowess.9 Cosmic Deity Flanked by Weeping Felines (left) “Tiwansku or Pukara calere Loy a7 “The othe major cry the sate igh sd wh col overt eat epee: ou such sighing and ‘Hoorn by core fehl pe ‘itp This coi ever appears inthe pena acat eth sted de nd hide. Stylz ward synling wate Bw fom Invesesan tho of his line tendon inl werping nd pleating were a taal np of te nk a ‘Thoah par ate eocally csr wih Metin ‘As ees ll the ews winavi pet a ci widen cles seulcnnecra eth deste forces The Kewic blamed be Tali the ced al a ete rps and Jesuoy ening haves PUMA (Felis cancel) ‘The only American wild cat sill widely known by its original Quechua name, the tawny puma is a natural fol for the jaguar in Andean myth and culeure. Though lacking the jungle cat's striking foliate patterning, this sleek, sinewy mammal has distinctive facial markings and coloration. Its fur, eddish brown to silver in tone, offsets a whitish belly and muzzle delicately couulined with black stripes. Lightning reflexes, muscular hindquarters and a long tal equip it to be a superlative runner, leaper and climber. While it ranges far, across open plateaus and valleys to the high peaks with which it is especially identified in the Andes, the supple sient puma is elusive and rarely sighted. This setting, markedly different from the jaguar’, is matched by a contrasting set of symbolic associations. As the Jaguar Shaman's spiritual equivalent in the sierra, the puma is regarded as a pago, a ritualist specialising in divination and healing, Here, the wel-being of the community takes precedence over vision seeking, Pumas, lik ‘eders)” are accorded great respect, despite being dreaded as ravagers of livestock by herders and farmers. The killer claw is always feared. ‘Andean traditions recorded shortly after the conquest of the Inka empite indicate that ‘pumas were linked with water and earth cults, Inka harvest and rainmaking rituals emphasized puma symbolism. Men decked in puma headdresses and pelts oversaw the initiation rites oF noble youth, which were timed for the December solstice and the onset of fertilizing rains. Their drums resoundld like thunderclaps. The correlation between the feline’s roar and the sound of water can, be traced to the ancient Chavin shrine where rushing water was channeled behind a ceremonial stairway to generate a thunderous noise.” (Curiously, the Andean subspecies isthe only mountain lion in the Americas that roats.) At the close of the Inka ritual and agricultural calendar, by contrast, it was he young women who were clad in puma skins in order to impersonate the female cearth deity Pachamama for the harvest celebrations. Local lore deseribes the pura as the “child of the earth” with dominion overall animals said to be born in mountain springs, especially baby Hamas and vieuas. Indeed, in recognition of their preferred prey, pumas are venerated with Hama sacrifices. In the 16% century, only the owners of llama herds could elaim the prerogative to dance in puma skins during harvest festivals This storied access to subterranean spirits and water sources resonates in verbal andl visual metaphors. In Inka symbolism, puma heads are equated with openings in the earth where suns o rainbows emerge like springs. (Rainbows, of course, also evoke the mythical serpent amaru, the sign for flowing water.) In the imperial city, Cuzco, two streams converged at a place named Pumachupa, “The Tail of the Puma.” During the annual breaching of the irrigation channels, when dammed waters were released to rejoin the turbulent rivers, ceremonies were capped by a dance called Chupay Hull ("Swinging the Tail’). The sacrificial ashes of Hamas, cloth and evea leaves, cast into the rain-swollen river that symbolically issued from the puma's tail at Pumachupa, were followed downstream for miles. This Inka ritual clearly celebrated the water ‘eycle that was so critical to their agricultural success, ritual life and social cohesion."Such practic for understanding the ser- pentine ea tif in Andean art (Plate 10 rainbow s line and sometis hind and ry early (nc fea 400 BC-500 AD). Thi a puma’ tail and their sources creatures, therefore, were used This confluence of themes was al: achuay. Worshiped as “L identified with a sn: convention for natue that animated them,aff norms ecrc aace exes 12 Abstraced Feline Nasea-Watt care 20 16" The Wat pogrsion theater ereANDEAN MOUNTAIN OR PAMPAS CAT (Felis colecolo) (On the coastal plain, where pumas made only rare appearances and jaguars were probably no more than a remote cultural memory, artists based feline imagery on a smaller, more benign Tocal species, the gato montés. Although it may be glimpsed occasionally in the misty Andea foothills (lomas) and the high plateau (puna), the sturdy pampas cat is mainly found among the extremely rugged landscape of the upper conilera. Strewn with boulders and rocky outcroppings, this arid zone provides an ideal habitar for large colonies of this cat's preferred prey—the moun- tain vizeacha and the now neatly extinct chinchilla. Lustrous pelts patterned with clusters of erratically shaped, rusty-colored florets recall the jaguar’s coat, Bur the pampas cat’ flanks, limbs and chest are banded with conspicuous dark stripes; the long, thick tail is ringed as well. This distinctive appearance is eaptured in Paracas and Nasea imagery where the pampas cat occupies a symbolic niche similar to that ofthe fox Pampas cats, like foxes, are predominantly associated with agricultural themes. The skins of both animals are worn in the same style: over the wearer's back, with the creature's head peek- ing over his own. Some human figures (deities or ritualiss!) ate even shown carrying the animal in their arms or draped around their necks (Plate 16). Perhaps such characters represent the lords of the rivers or patrons of the earth, bringing the cubs doven from the mountain springs where they were bom, along with the fertilizing warers needed for farming this parched region. Tconographically, pampas cats are often linked with plants, especially the sacred bean. As the first crop cultivated in the Andes, the jack bean (Canavalia ensifrmis) has enormous symbolic significance, In many depictions of this appealing wildcat, its spots are replaced by bean or peanut motifs, or tendrils and pods sprout from its head and body. The vegetative metaphors apparently transform it into a kind of nature spirit 14 Pampas Cat with Henan Prey Paracas Nasca sul rien aoe tks ankle wth li tmokey or ier whiskers miata Hooking ates ‘at dap! in an ale of clthing The mane isomer wih the end nd das ae sve a uty cf dai mt tevin ek asp ken ce is it pedis pointes coogcky ipa espenabarWe . j q ge ! a ee 2)Jaguar Set in Gecmetic Bil Friese (Coastal Wart eultare THx8H Hunan ies ae sways low the sere ann aloe he rational ratreof ene oral etn: ms ext nt ane pn etn,28 Soyled Jaguars (ib) Wari eultare each 2 lng 29 Cat with Exmavagant Whiskers (blow) CChaneay cltre ones30 ‘Spored Feline Seng Trophy Head (shove) Chin cule Lei 20" 31 Felin wih Exaggerated Jaw (ih) (Censral Coast euture (Chancay?) Sire" “Thee two Ie ages eserne an eel Chat ‘nce the earivorou aw a ipermaruligwith Cake Fae (below)37 Andean Foxes (shove) (Central Cost culture 2" bigh ‘The mad pameming of these iit, these: (echelS ceb sof tay rb and vey ks cen othe Andean specs Tala ymbolic teri the Ares and aly enc elat ow te fox ried inte Hck tiped tra (Gar), In one myth the staly luo fx be lst ‘animal take eae on the ‘nly peak ting above a rial loo. Camped ferro, the fo tl Nas dm oto the wots ming Nek ad pa In another ae the ox 6 called upon to Bld an lngion canal fo king ater down te people of Huarcki. But nan funtion the ‘aves cu the wats so oper up the sng, This yi event none flowing thre asc pn ANDEAN OR PAMPAS FOX (Pscudalopex culpseus) In the high Andes today, the “younger brother” of the puma is not another wildcat ‘as might be expected, bur the intelligent and voracious fox. The epithet attests to the linger ing influence of prehispanie animal classification, Feline and canine overlap symbolically in pre-Columbian imagery too, though the latter can usually be distinguished by its alert expression, pointed ears, long muzzle, and bushy tail held aloft. Colored foxes are abundant in all Andean terrains. A light-colored species, the zomo sechira, which brandishes the black-tipped tail featured in many folk tales is adapted to the northern desert coast; the more common rufous or brindled culpeo fox roams across the open grassy puna and mountain slopes up to heights of 11,000 fet. The natural ambivalence surrounding any predator scems to be particularly acute with regard to the fox. Though it feeds chiefly on hares, birds and rodents (and surprisingly large quantities of berries and grass), this keen but solitary nocturnal hunter presents a notorious threat to small or enfeebled livestock.” Like foxes the world over, i is widely reviled in myth and by reputation as a thief and trickster. In one of the earliest recorded tales, the creature is cursed for failing to asist a major deity, Camivaya Viracacha. In striking contrast to the rituals accorded the venerable puma, its hide is derided as utterly worthless and the god decrees that no llama will ever be sacrificed in its honor. Yer the fox has a beneficent aspect too, 2s befits its kinship with the puma, Both, indeed, ace “sons of the earth” with control over animal or plant fecundity. A cosmic fox is alleged in myth to be the original source of all essential crops grown in the Andes (see Plate 39). The animal also figures in lore as the “guar 17h ‘of newly planted fields. A drawing made by the entury native historian Guamén Poma de Ayala illustrates young Inka men (arardhuas) enacting this role by donning fox skins to scare off seed ting birds and real prowling foxes. The custom can be traced even further back to Peru's south coast where, 2000 years ago, similarly attired figures were portrayed in Nasca iconography and shamanic artifacts incorporating fox fut and tails were buried in Paracas tombs. Fox tails and penises are still actually valued as talismans and fertility amulets by Andean natives today. Another widespread perception ofthis animal as the “dog” or *messenget” of the Apus (ancestral spicts embodied in high mountains) conveys its supernatural status within the cultre. The fox is considered «shaman or divines, whese “speech” and patterns of behavior predict the rainyseason. upon which successful harvests depend" Foxes do communicate with a range of complex vocalizations such as howling, yelping and growling. Andean farmers interpret the various tones as premonitions: loud fox howls heard during the sowing period bode well; faint calls, con- versely, ignal late rains and palery crops. Moreover, the Aymara examine fox seat, or track the creature's movements up and down the valleys, for signs of what to plant in a particalar year The fox’s reputed powers of divination not only have practical application; they secure it a place in the night sky. [n native astronomy, the Fox constellation, atog, is discerned as an amor- phous “dark cloud’ in the Milky Way, nipping at the heels of a celestial Llama, Its trajectory moves in tandem with the real animal’s breeding cycle: the mating season is inaugurated by the ‘winter solstice, while the cubs are born just around the time the astronomical Fox rises with the sun, a few days after the December solstice. Since this event also coincides with the month when seedlings sprout and rains begin, itis inherently meaningful to local sky watchers. A fox oracle had a powerful presence on the central coast in an earlier ert too. But there—in contrast to the male persona envisioned in the sierra in post-Inka narrative—the mythological fox had a female aspect. Spanish chronicles hint of an important cult dedicated to a vixen deity named Tantanamoc: A golden fox effigy was enshrined in the ewilight of an. inner temple atthe pilgrimage center of Pachacamac, where oracles were consulted for hundreds of years. Close to the sanctuary, the mummified body of a vixen, a sacred wal’, was venerated with sacrificial foxes. Here the animal’ connections to night, the lower world and female energy are strongly felt. And as the legendary figure responsible for bringing crops to eacth, it joins a constellation of life-creating female deities that includes the “mothers” of the fish, the seabirds and the edible plants!” 38 Foor Feline? Paracas elre 3 hich Ie ei eeaeate shy al lg ewe spec alls fr ile ing an nl revere es pede conver the conversion Pens Oclte Cain tv ampitine ‘© onal weaning41 Blue Conti Nasca-War cule Si ide The Xn linge int the enero breach hen catchers ‘cect hit meine RINGTAILED COATI (Naua nana) 11 in surreal or abstract forms—can be identified Most fauna pictured in Andean att— by general class if not specific species. However, one stylized animal portrayed in north const imagery eludes ready recognition. This enigmatic figure is always seated sideways, paws outstretched, as ifto draw attention to its exceptionally long snout and tail. Its attributes, however, seem to be taken from different creatures—the monkey’ coiling tail, the fox’s muzzle, the feline’s spotted coat and claws—pethaps with their attendant symbolic connotations, Yer this bizarre conflation docs have a likely source in nature, in the coatimundi, co cashuma as itis called in Quechua. Coatis thrive in moist woods and arid sctublands alike, £0 their Andean habitats include the enclaves of highland tropical am elevation of 4,500 fe forest fringing the upper Lambayeque Valley. The close proximity of this zone to the cultures that historically occupied the region, such as the Recuay, Moche and Chimu, bolsters the possibility thar this lively, rccoonlike mammal was the prototype for the mysterious hybrid figure honored in their imagery Indeed, such depictions usually emphasize the coats most telling physical traits: the pointed, flexible snout with its upturned, mobile nase for foraging: and the tapering furry tail, banded with concentric dark and light rings, which is carried erect with the tip coiled. Coati ears, set back on the small, faintly spotted head, and their strongly recurved claws, are usually noted as well Active by day, coatis move noisily in large family bands across their territory, scurrying, up and down trees, probing crevices and rotting logs with their sensitive noses for fallen fruits,beetles es, frogs, snakes and lizards, They are adept climbers—in fact, they sleep in ants, centip trees, gripping the trunks with their blunt claws and balancing with their prehensile tals ‘The coati’ significance for pre-Columbian societies is unknown, But the animal's reversil ankle joints, which allow it to clamber down trees head first, hint at why it may have acquired widespread cult status. The oral traditions of people living in the vast rainforests east and north. of the Andes mention “nose-hears.” intimating that the coati may have had a shamanic role, For these tribes, backward-tuming feet are the type of outlandish trait only exhibited by nat spirits living in an upside-down, inverted world. The Campa people of the Peruvian montara endling like the coati, in believe, for instance, in a forest ogre who walks sideways up trees. [ . therefore would have carried otherworldly connotations. Coatis also produce the kind of whistling, geunting and clicking sounds that are uttered by shamans in trance states. They are reputed to have a strong stench—a powerful repellant and the mark of animals who usher the dead on their final journey.” And, of course, they are found in the rainforest, an exorie place identified with shamans, jaguars and magical plants Indeed, the Jivaro think of coatis as transfigured sor cerers, capable of bewitching with their ‘The Campa also refer to coatis as the “dogs’ of jaguar shamans. This idea recalls the fox who holds he same position in relation to: mountain deities in the Andean highlands. Like the fox, the coati 1 linked with divination practices. A drawing by sulting various animal oracles, among them a fox with croll emanating from its mouth. An analogou: lyph” implying speech or soun: the mouth of a coati-being in a coastal Wari textile lccts the blend of animal traits typical43 Tee Comis (2) (right) (Coastal Wari culate wee 44 (Oracular Coa (below) Coastal Wan culture48 ‘Monkey Shaman with Spine De (le) Paracas culture esi A spertsl fae enawed welhoverlneamcential ‘ing ees and ain rnouth appear stun forms inthe Pace pantheon line bie ee, or athoprnrgh, Here this mula bing ‘renvisnged as a monkey sth the henge bm ‘ound ees anes, and stented proportion of thepecies “The ersten ance dst ce cura eo wth ronnie ower so wc the weap of the ute an the shan, Tiangulr knives atcha tthe etd ee resemble the bidan lds tect in oth ont eae on ter ethered amo rapt evoke compurion wil he maga dats that Protect Amann shamans Reiser id ater os foes Bodh thes seem teh een nid by cmtact wth distr tropical foe raion, which ae ‘ea sil endings teak et of war age sion and mana of prema egal rity MONKEY (Cebidie) Spider Monkey (Ara nica) Woally Monkey (Lamhe ive) Howler Monkey (Alan Squirrel Monkey (Si Capuchin Monkey (Cakscins Clon) The giant bestiary drawn on the floor of the Nasca desert around 200 AD includes the lanky form of a monkey with a curling tail. Etched into the earth's crusty surface, the spiral was likely a ceremonial pathway trodden in watersummoning rites, But it also identifies the primate as one of the cebid monkeys from a green, humid world far beyond this parched coastal plain. The larger members of this extensive family, including spider, howler, and woolly monkeys, have dex- terous grasping tails which they manipulate like an extra hand and usually carry tightly coiled. The trait is unique to New World species, (Gregavious acrobats ofthe tropical forests of Antigo and the northem highlands, monkeys are prominent even in visual and mythic narratives from the Pacific coast and its hinterlands, (Offerings found in elite coastal tombs indicate that monkeys were kept as exotic pets there, and incorporated into ritual life from an early date. Since they were not indigenous to the area, the animals must have been obtained from jungle areas via the prehistoric trade networks criss- crossing the Andes. Tree-dwellers by nature, monkeys cavort and scramble through the mid and upper canopy in troops of varying sizes, nourished primarily by forest fruit, leaves, nuts, seeds and nectar. (Somme species may take to the forest floor, or eat different foods like eggs and lizards.) If not always visible within the leafy hal-light, they are certainly among the noisiest of the forest creatures, contributing deafening sereeches,hollers, barks and yips to the dawn and dusk chorus, But they can also fall uncannily silent and still. Of the sixteen cebids occupying different ecological niches in the Amazon and the tropical Andes, the individual characteristics of at least five species can be recognized in pre-Columbian figuration The small capuchins and saimitis, which commonly travel and forage together, are the most plausible sources for the facial pattemings borne by many simian and anthropomorphic beings in textile and ceramic art: The sole species actually found today in the western and southern, inclines of the Pacific watershed,” the predatory and clever capuchins (Cebus capueinus, C. albifrons) are named for their dark cowl, and the wedged brow which cuts deeply between their eyes (Plate 48). The similarly heart-shaped, pale face of the squirtel monkey (Salmi sciureus) bas in addition a blackish muzsle and ringed eyes, which presumably inspired the whiskered mouth smashs displayed by Paracas and Nasca characters (Plate 51). For south coast cultures to have been familiar with the breed, however, this animal must have been imported from the wet forests of the Amazon headwaters in southeastem Peru The higuer spider and woolly monkeys exhibit the long spindly limbs and prehensile tail ‘caprured in the Nasca geoglyph and diverse textile images (Plate 49). With marvelous ality, allfive appendages are used interchangeably to hook, swing and jump from branch to branch. Even the spider monkey’s atrophied thumb does not hamper its enviable ability to climb and leap Many representations record this anomaly and the way in which che four functional fingers are permanently crooked (Plates 50, 51). When transferred to human characters, moreover, this paw serves to indicate states of metamorphosis. Black spider monkeys (Aces paniscus) are widespread throughout the Amazon basin, but the thicker-set, yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrx flavicaula) is endemic only to the high cloud forest of the northeastern sierra. This frut-eater has chick, brown shaggy fur with a stik ing, lighter triangular patch around its mouth. Perhaps the markings depicted in Plate 56 derive from this feature; they could also refer to the beard of the mantled howler monkey (Alowata palliata) which is found west of the Ans in northern Peru Howlers are known for deep, raucous roars that ean be heard up to two miles away, and are as ferocious as the jaguar’. This coincidence, and the fact that the primate possesses a long, curved fang similar to the feline’, assures its status within the pantheon of awve-provoking beasts, ‘Could the howler’s roar be implied by the abstract motif emerging from the mouth of a Monkey Deity in Plate 532 This Wari tableau has much in common with an earlier Chavin stone plague (citea 1000 AD) portraying a monkey personage playing a Strombus shell, This sacred conch had an important fonction in Andean ceremonies. The thunderous blare produced when iis blown may have recalled the animals how as amplified by its enlarged, vibrating larynx. ‘The noise was probably also associated with water. In Amazonian cosmology, howler monkeys are underworld/underwater creatures, linked to the booming of thunder and waterfalls; perhaps Andean cultures shared this perception.” Indeed, it is often observed that howlers make their greatest din before the onset of rain. Furthermore, when wet, the coat of the red howler, 1 closely related lowland species, changes color from red to orange and yellow: This “magical” ability, together with the disquieting howls, might be said to predict wet weather—a perennial concem for Andean societies Aside from their great communicativeness, the primates’ quasi-human faces, anties and social behaviors foster the projection of human qualities and personae upon them. Visual ats tmitror the metaphoric interchangeability of monkey and man, Human figures are feinged with long hair or sport tails and wide nostrils (Plates 48, 50, 55). Monkeys, in tur, adope the costume and bearing of rulers and priests; they wear headidresses and ear spools, and carry staffs (Plates 53, 54). Monkeys, according to the Canelos Quichua people, “have human souls.” ‘The betief that monkeys are ancestral beings is prevalent in rainforest and coastal mythology. ‘The Cashibo of the easter Peruvian montaia regard the spider monkey as their mythic primogen- itor. And in a creation myth collected in the central Andean conlillera, the cosmic deity, Ken, turns the first men and women into monkeys and foxes, respectively. In the pre-Columbian world, monkeys were apparently afiliated with shamans and ritual headhunters. As with nature spirits and demons who ate visualized as hairy men, hairiness isa requisite attribute for rainforest shamans.” The idea had a parallel among Inka shamans who wore their own hair long and unkempt. It may also be implicit in a Paracas Necropolis deity (Plate 48),49 a type of monkey shaman with tufts, bristles, and cascading tresses of hai, who wields the darts and blades of che trophy taker. Monkeys are frequently combined with severed heads in Andean iconography (Plates 51, 54,56). The connection is pointed, for the ritual practice of decapitating and displaying the heads of enemies and conquered peoples is thought to have originated in the very regions where mon. keys are naturally encountered. (Of course, they are the creatures hunted in that landscape—not only by man but by the great haspy eagle.) However, since blood shed in ritual was seen as life-giving, these motifs reaffirm the notion that monkeys embody an instinctual and itrepressible vitality50 Spoued Morley (above) Cente Coast eure (Chaneay?) 7" all 51 Monkeys Descending with ops Hends (lett) Paras cule ree52 Three Dimensional Monkey Eaing Fra cig) North-Central Cont eaure (Chima) 2 high 53 Monkey Lend with Anders cand Notched Staff (helo) Coastal War culate exou54 Monkey with Crescent Hleadéress (eight) North-Central Coast cole (Chima?) 4H x6 55 CCavoring Monkeys and Binds (below) (Chancay culture, HoH" g | AnimaL myTH ano asic56 Woolly Monkey with Moon-Headdress North-Central Cos culture (Chim!) OrSacre Lama with Calf Several input Asean theses ae ntl im thine eal mart, ig ih ted by acl ret weaning lame brads. Bute tering aroun the or early umn the seen when cmc are hon in che Andere of ewe and gow. The nage eves the ia tnn Yas cele rotor and vente the right er wth he ania ity and the ince of the Hock, elevating aco ich in ham meaning and ere herdsmen woud probably describe the ster evel dak an light markings pgm mar fx sant apo). The mele peta cor and sage, exh sgn u the brown colo lal other comin Bt tral Ree egg len rope unidnitisd bjt which ii be explain by acces an annual lama dance once eld nthe cea cones the ania ft ‘Sy During dhe dines, Chon elien would wring alexa end ane the mered The ioe in ef, eres total elo drain eget adeno concep of myth also, nal shy andthe wae yl, teocted thigh «pend and ancient relationship with the camelLLAMA (lama ghma) ALPACA (Lama pcos) VICUNA (Weugna vicugaa) GUANACO (Lama gunices) ‘The New World chronicles give ample evidence of the fascinating complexity of native astronomy and its cosmological implications. An essential aspect of the Inka system was docu- mented by early histor s such as Polo de Ondegardo, who noted in 1571 that all the animals and birds on earth had a “likeness in the sky” charged with their procreation and protection:* Among the celestial animals projected onto the night sky are a Hama and its suckling lamb. The two shapes are discerned in large, dark clouds of interstellar dust visible against the luminous band of the Milky Ways the lambs eyes are suggested by the bright stars Alpha and Beta Centauri, Quechua highlanders also describe another stellar configuration as Llama Cancha (lama corral, and relate spots in the moon to the male llama, calling both ur.” Such inter- pretations reflect the abiding cultural bonds Andean peoples developed with the camelids, surpassed only by their overriding economic significance to the history of the region. Llamas and alpacas, the animals most evocative of highland traditions, are the descen- dans of two camels still present in the wild, Recent studies have proven, after long debate, th the genetic ancestor of the alpaca (Lama pacos) is the skittish, graceful vicufia whose terrain is confined ro remote, cold and extremely high grassy areas of Peru, northem Chile, and Argentina.” ‘The lama (Lama gama), however, derives from the much hardier lorg-necked guanaco, which ranges from the central Andes to Patagonia, across ll sorts of environments from forest to open brush, In the six thousand or so yeats since the two species were entirely domesticated, around 4500 BC, each has been reared for a distinct purpose Llamas are the quintessential utilitarian animals. For Andean societies that never imagined the wheel, they were pack animals, trained to transport goods over immense distances andl formidable conditions. Geoglyphs extending along canyon walls in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile depict the long-distance llama caravans that traveled in all directions between coast, altiplano, sierra and jungle—which over time enabled the movements of people and the expansions of empires such as those of the Tiwanaku, Wari and Inks, Llamas also supply wool and sinew for the weaving of practical irems like bags, ropes and slings; fresh and dried meat; and dung for fuel and ferclize. Yer cheit privileged role in sacred rites and ceremonies perhaps eclipses all chese functions. The alpaca, specially bred and renowned for the superb texture ofits wool, has contributed inva fundamental sense to the richest artform developed in the Andes: the extraordinary textile tradition spanning the pre-Columbian and colonial periods. This camelid is shorter, lighter and less adaptable than the llama, requiring the moist, green pastures of the puna in order to thrive and promote its luxuriously shaggy coat. The increasing availability of alpaca fiber during certain epochs (such as in the Paracas period) greatly spurred creative expression and the development of textile technologies. ‘Andeans discriminate between two kinds of alpacas: suri, which yield long, Iustrous strands; and wakayo, which produce a shorter, less silky fiber. The distinction is the most basic of the elaborate catego + of naming and classifying camelids by color, patteming and the quality and properties of their fleece” This nuanced, precise vocabulary for describing the diverse appear ances of their herds, which persists in moder Quechua and Aymara communities, is a legacy of the prehispanic past.| Before the Conquest, astringent selective breeding and symbolic color-coding system was at the heart of the Inkas'rreatment of the vast flocks of camelids within their domain. In addition. to the abundant yam they provided for weaving, the animals were vital to Inka ceremonial practice. Religious observance regularly entailed the sacrifice of incredible numbers of llamas to the super- natural powers. ‘As decreed by the ritual calendar, camelids were sacrificed during the solstices, equinoxes, and fall moons. Each color and trait was significant and bound to a different month, season, calendrical event or divinity. White Hamas, the color of sacred snow, belonged to the Sun, Inti, and influenced the rains; Viracocha, the creator, demanded 1000 brown Hamas and wild ‘guanacos to protect the young maice crop; Ilapa, the Thunderer, was placated during the harvest by 100 multicolored llamas.” The wak’as (deities) and temples even possessed their own flocks. ‘The emperor had a noble llama “double” who joined in eule activities and public events, dressed like the divine ruler in red cloth, gold ear spools, and a seashell necklace. As its name, pako (priest or shaman), implies, every ounce of the animal was potent. [Llama fat was burned for ancestral offerings. Llama blood propitiated earth deities. Digestive stones from the stomach had curative and talismanic purpose. Diviners examined llama hearts and organs for portents and signs, especially in times of was” These magical properties were inten sified by the water symbolism surrounding the animal in local beliefs ‘Woolly creatures are linked with high, watery places throughout the Andes. Vicufias, for instance, are thought to be born from mountain springs and lagoons. The | Teh-century Aymara word for “fleece” enjoyed the double meaning of wet or water” This analogy is be in the Quechua myth of the heavenly llama and the flood. ‘The llama is the Yakana constellation, which travels across the celestial river Mayu, as the uvifally expressed galaxy is called. The movement of the dark cloud constellation from its 2enith to its nadie charts the water eycle as it was mythologized and ritualized by ancient Andeans. In the allegory, the thirsty animal drinks from the rising ocean in onder to avert a flood, taking the waters up into the ‘cosmic river so that they will rain down on the highlands and fill the empty rivers. (On the astronomical plane, the llama’s descent is that moment when the constellation, actually disappears from the sky in October, just after the fields are sown, when rain is due. The Inkas marked this anxious dry period by causing a black llama to “weep” for rain by denying it water and food. The rains were then symbolically inaugurated with a pure white llama kicking over a beaker full of liquid, soaking the ground. Six months later, when the constellation had reached its height atthe onset of the harvest season, the Inka emperor himself emerged to chant the *song of the rivers” with his napa llama whose red livery symbolized the muddy, fecund waters rushing back down to the mother sea. ‘As Bemnabé Cobo concluded in the Hist del Nuewo Mundo (1653), llamas and alpacas did indeed represent “the greatest riches” of the mountain Indians. This wealth was not only material, but included the beliefs vested in these invaluable animals—traditions apparently shared by the major cultures, including the Nasca, Moche, Tiwanaku, Chimu and Inka, who collectively represent camelids in every role and context important to Andean society58 Tassel with Winged Llama (eh) War culture 2x9 Lam oi Rehan the big wi the analogy Andes deve Neoween fecce ad plana ts mde ede i ancient spe ‘War ve the ania’ cont infin feather By ares ation, the sheen flaca ier al he (cones of ether we cxnrlect dnd 5 ete wa forthe Anes ee ‘ona an ferry ees The wine! aaa ese nny be rated with the Yoder he eecadel othe her pice smog thea However, Agmta startles from cera villages of rohem Chile and Boivin ao tll ofa mythical dock, ‘hada, Low or aes fring naa ind eel i 59 Llamas with Bag (argh) Lite Wai culture Pat A posi explanation forthe sles spend from the neck ofthis tiny cme maybe Gund inthe Que tion selected anon one Iighland eon ring sal beso sh ete or ccs lees dod the necks of Tams and alpacas”60 Young Guanacos or Views Ciena o Chaney cule Each 6 high Slender proportions short neck, extended era ring pes dee « young cme oombly the wid vicuta or gana, Guanacau have lghtercelored fleece on tet belly ich angles over theiramp hich ike these ga marking er here ‘Tog never domestic, iui were riz for thee ot fine wook which was woven ft loch forthe sole of nk myles Evored ables ‘As mere animal belnging” tthe moun ile U nove bekil, t they were ear ned there and ened bck nthe wl x prem tar promoted a sestunale rooce4x12" (oght)DEER (Cervidae) White-Talled Deer (Oseoien visas} Taruka Deer (higocnetn sens Brocker Dece (Maan p) Historic accounts dating ftom the Spanish conquest marvel at the staggering abundance of game in the high Andes. Great ceremonial hunts organized by the Inka reportedly trapped tens ‘of thousands of wild animals ata time. Presided over by the emperor, these festive events involved thousands of “beaters” to flush out and drive guanaces, vieufas, deer, pumas and foxes into nets, corrals and narrow gullies” Vital to the subsistence of early huntergatherers, deer had been hunted for food and skins across the region since prehistoric periods. The animal had shamanic connotations for such groups, vestiges of which may have survived among Paracas people (300 BC—100 AD) who incomporated deerskins into the burials of shamans and others of high starus. But the symbolic meaning of the animal comes into true focus with the rse ofthe northern Moche civilization between 50 and 800 AD. The Moche elevated the deer hunt into a ritual activity of paramount importance, leaving a detailed pictorial recond of it in painted and modeled ceramics, “The species the Moche hunted so avidly and ceremonially was the common white-tailed deer (Odocoieus virginizmus), which tolerates a range of habitats from open scrub and desert dunes to lightly wooded areas in the fogey Andean foothills. Natives of the sierra, on the other hand, ‘would have encountered the taruka or huemul deer (Hippocamelus antisensis), which lives only among the high peaks and grass plains of the Andean highlands—appropriate for a creature described as “belonging” to the mountain ancestor, ot apus.” Early texts, hacked by archaeological excavations, also mention the presence of the small Brocket Deer (Mazama sp.), though this species appears to be now mostly extinct outside areas of tropical rainforest: The whitetail’s varied terrains are accurately illustrated by Moche artists, who set the , Flocks so that [they] extend over a distance of more than two leagues from the first bi the last, [flying] in such close formation that one could not see through the mass of them.” Three centuries later in 1840, the Sw orer and naturalist Tschudi reported the existence of “millions” of birds on the Chincha Islands. That cluster of rocky, guano-encrusted islands lies thtly north of the Paracas peninsula, one of the major staging areas on the Pacific flyway for migratory bieds heading north or south to es pe the winter season in their native hemispheres. Brimming with shoals of anchovies, sardines and other fish, the Pacific ocean sustains massive colonies of ocear ins, including cormorants, boobies, pelicans, terns, penguins, 1 Bitds are also abundant at the water's edge, where tidal petrels, albatrosses, asprey mud flats, sandy and sandpipers, grebes, coots, ducks, herons and flamingos. This diversity is nowhere more than around the Bay of Paracas, a noted sanctuary, where aver 215 different species have been documented,134 Conmorant ot Stormer! (2) Early Nasca culture Exch bird: 1 igh “The boron posi of shi sal abil eal ccommeca in igh ye che pronounced notch rail and the wea shaped mark over is ump ls res thea ana epee stonm peel (Oxeroioms, (oui), which dive cx the uo ns sd ‘ones her dep ‘certains Nera etl conve of walking dncing on the watt by skimming he srice wth ites Te might be said that pre-Columbian artists took little advantage of the pictorial oppor- tunities presented by this staggering variety of bind life. Comparatively few kinds of waterbirds are actually pictured in the ieonogeaphys some never appear at all, such as penguins and flamingos (whose rosy plumage did, however, adorn ceremonial textiles). Consequently, those binds that were selected must have been intensely symbolic, Avian behaviors and pattems were often seen to parallel human activities. And pre-Columbian fishing peoples obviously Kdentified strongly with certain birds, especially those that directly competed with them for river shrimp, crayfish, oysters, mussels or fish. Even today, pelicans are associated with fishermen—and not merely because they linger around fishing boats and piers The thythms of birds’ lives also held meaning. Courship displays, nesting and breeding periods, departures and returns, and changes in appearance all marked time and season. Ancient fishermen could, moreover, rely on seabirds to help them track the location and plentifulness of fishing grounds, or monitor the effects of the El Niio current,g | sumac mere wp wacie Foremost among coastal birds are the trio of guano birds: the guanay cormorant (Phalacrocoraxe bougainvilii) (Plate 133), the Peruvian booby (Sula vaviagata), and the pelican (Pelacanes thagus). Nesting on the ledges and promontories of dozens of uninhabitable islands and. ‘outerops, these binds are the chief producers of the white dung that coats the rocky surfaces with a thick, hardened crust that is often likened to a cap of snow. Over thousands of years, guano deposits from millions of birds built up to incredible heights—150 feet high in some spots. Beginning in che mid-nineteenth century, this accretion of n sural fertilizer was depleted by intense mining, fueling the “nitrate boom” that cteated the South American fortunes of the period. But for earlier Andean societies, who fully understood the need to enrich the soil for «essential crops like com, the guano was a precious resource that could only be obtained by under taking a perilous trip across rough seas to the bird islands. The numerous guano islands were sacred places in the Andean cosmos. Revered 8s gods and ancestors, these places were worshiped with ritual offerings of gold, silver and wood, and many human sacrifices. Maritime cultures timed their annual pilgrimages to the ocean wakias 0 coincide with the collection of large quantities of bird dung, which was ferred back to the main- land on precarious reed crafts. The rites and festivities framing these events included petitions to Huamancantac: “He who causes the cormorants to gather.” Early seventeenth-century Spanish accounts hint of a north-coast cult of this Lord of the Guano, who enjoyed special powers over the seabirds and their valuable product, and was apparently envisioned as 2 hawklike seabird similar to the migratory osprey (Pandion haat) that visits the region during the austal summer! 135 & 136 Inca Tes (?) ith For Enly Nave eultre fights 1" high below 4x 7 “The mont esl rn ha can berks ang the Frc com ef So rein ithe enc ter (Latene fa), which hs la, gh Hee flmestcfa the foes Ute naay the bid ving cheep Inka ters fed sly onrmcicey, bot cially recente ‘sch mg rhe abe He pope a el SaSEETSS138 Crested Bd (Central Coast culture g | wana ieaea awe eer141OYSTERCATCHER AND STILT 142 Osstercatcher and Suit (Central Come (Chaney?) culure Preach per catcher (Hama cots the se dicta hth lag i ed ils alee ecaching bacon The edad yellow lis are put, however While visalychesv, the colorichene emer aprorie ro th ang Phone) which wus atong he inland masher and sl lat fhe other Psi om “Anthe Iiky wadig bin! share thing pte (below); bt che cy longue ea alps instead sues the les-comuon Mack-necka se (at hey ths ese Bid may be perdi che hallow water sd suet147 Buazefies and Flowers from 4 Tokapu Band Tinie Inks culture Deral 5f¢ x28"INSECTS AND ARACHNIDS The microcosmic world of insects, spiders and other tiny aicn creatures that erawl, flit or creep about the earth—specifically those whose general appearance, lifecycle or behavior pattems exemplified key cultural themes—vas not beyond the notice of Andean artis. In this respect, the arachnids and butterflies make for a provocative juxtaposition, with the former representing the world of death and ritual; the lacey, transcendence and renewal BUTTERFLY AND CATERPILLAR (Lepidoptera) A vast chasm of cultural time and space separates a homed Nasca caterpillar, dating from about 100 AD (Plate 148), from a butterfly decorating an Inka tunic, circa 1450 AD (Plate 147). Yet even though they do nor document the same species or bio-region, given the archetypal metaphors that can be spun from the life cycle of the volatile butterfly, the images are mutually resonant: ‘The lushly forested slopes ofthe eastem Andes swarm with the richest concentration and. diversity of butterflies in the world (more than four thousand species recorded to date)" Ie is therefore surprising that these scintillating creatures are so rarely the subject of pre-Columbian art before the Inka period. Fewer lepidopterans can withstand the harsher environmental condi tions prevailing in other areas, but a variety of coastal and mountain butterflies exists nonetheless, including painted ladies (Vanessa carye), milkweeds, and monarchs (Danais sp.) In fact, the eye spots and scallop patterning of the pansy, Junonia vestina, which is restricted to higher altitudes of the southern highlands, are a possible source for the Inka motif shown here. silver butterfly, Argyrophorus argenteus, whose ‘metallic wings play tricks with the light, creating the impression that itis vanishing and reap- pearing in the ar. The gorgeous, electric blue morpho (Morpho), often seen around the Vilcabamba ‘Valley and the Inka city of Machu Piechu, has the same eerie ability to disappear from sight when ‘This region is home, too, to the mes it folds its iridescent wings to reveal their drab gray-brown undersides. PPechaps this kind of optical illusion Ted the Inkas to consider some butterflies unlucky, as ‘Guamén Poma alleges in his Letter tothe Spanish King (1613). The people of Antisuno, the forest region downstream from the Inka heartland, still fear the cryptic morpho as a forest demon; is vivid blue sheen is the color most linked to the underworld and noctumal spits."