Shamanism in Moche Art and Iconography - Maya Exploration Center

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headdress such as the one displayed in Figure Si;(Figures 7-9).There is, however, another contest in which the same headdress isworn by a deity(Figurrs 1Ct-13).This deity has charactel-isticswhich separate him from the depictions of shamans.Round eyes,elongated fangs, wrank:le lines an his face, snake earrings andthe jaguar headdress are his principal elements. The "FangedUeity" is Elizabeth Benson '5 term for this Deity (Denson 1972;27) ..In the same way as the deity is the master 0.f the spiritrs, theShaman emulates him in costume to identify himself as a humanmaster of spirits.The Desana say that a deity named Viho Hahse was placed intne Milky Way by the Sun a5 an intermediary between the worlds.'iHis name comes from the word Viha which means hallucinogenicsnuf.f.He is lord of the spirit world whom the Deeana payesvisit during trance(Heiche1-Dolmatoff 1968; 411). It is also saidthat th19 Sun created the jaguar as his representative onEarth (ReicheX-Dolmatoff 1968; 28).~ukdreds bf milea to the southin Bolivia, Aymara is the name of a great feline deity that isboth a protector and a destroymr(Hadingham 1987;247).Modernlil~lechua sick are said to suffer from attacks by Ccok, flying.-feline minions of the Mountain/wcather Deity (liadingham 1987; 248).All of these beliefs may well be relatmd to concepts aboutshamanism and the other-world that developed long before Incasociety began.Music is another component of ritual well known to be
connected to shamanism and the calling out of spirits.Many ofthe individuals playing flutes or horns displayed in Moche artcan be seen wearing the jaguar headdress(Figure5 14-16).Musicians are most often shown in ceremonial or processionalscenes.Fj.gure '17 shkws a Yanamamo shaman playing a set o.F pipes, .over three piles of Banisterapsis vines, a hallucinogen boiledinto a drink used during healing rituals all over the fimazon.Tb!-!.u_r,!e_rrThe Runners are a frequent theme in Moche vessel paintinge.The 5tandard runner scene shows a singe file row of men runningI.across a landscape of cactus and pllnts(Figures 18-20).tanalternate sccne is one in which the men are replaced byanthropomarphs(Fig~~res 21-24). In both versions nf the scenemost of the runners wear the jaguar headdress of the shaman.Some marly rcholars connected them td ths iniza and chimumessengers who ran along the roads(Way1e 1965;67).Othersbe1 ievad them to be warriors (Ubbclohde-.,Doering 1992; 183).Elizabeth Benson suggested the bags the runners carry may holdLima bvans ~tsed for divination purposes (B@!nson 1972; $13).. .The bagof herbs found on the Nesa de Erujn of the modern Moche s.hamansis anothmr possible eandidwte(Gill in 1947;23).The landscapeitself indicates the runner are indeed shamans, as Wensonimplied.The plant epocics depicked may once again be identified
Page 1: &RH 395Spring 1994
Page 7: that Elizabeth Nenson called the Fa
Page 12 and 13: individuals as the individ~~als on
Page 15: At 10,200.Ft, the site of Chavin de
Page 21 and 22: other indicators.Henson notes that
Page 23 and 24: scenes of prisoners in the process
Page 25 and 26: skeletal death figures(Henson 19723
Page 27 and 28: depicted in association with shaman
Page 29 and 30: that part of the coast.he sacrednes
Page 31: caught in the head.Once trapped, th
Page 35 and 36: 1947 -- Moche - A Pert-~vian Coasta

Shamanism in Moche Art and Iconography - Maya Exploration Center

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