Shapes 1 and 2: 3D Letters: El Dorado and Guatavita
Here you can scan the QR of the 3D Letters of the El Dorado and Guatavita. These letters form the introduction to my installation.
Additionally, I want to tell the audience that the Muisca were a very artistical society with goldsmiths who worked with gold and tumbaga (an alloy of gold, copper and silver). A curious fact is that the Muisca were the only tribe that offered more than half of their gold production to their gods. One of the most representative votive pre-Columbian figures is the Muisca Raft. It represents the ceremony of the Legend of El Dorado, which used to take place at the Lagoon of Guatavita.
Shapes 3 and 4: Poporo
The Poporo is a pre-Columbian piece of art from the Muisca, Chibcha and Quimbaya cultures. It is exhibited at the Gold Museum in Bogota. The poporo is a device used by indigenous cultures to store small amounts of limestone (calcium) produced from burnt and crushed sea-shells. It has two pieces: a storage container for limestone and a pin that is used to carry the limestone to the mouth, while chewing dried and crushed coca leaves. For the indigenous culture, chewing coca leaves was considered sacred and it was used in all ceremonial rituals. The poporo gave power and social status amongst the members of the culture.
Shapes 5 and 6: Nariguera
Nariguera was a very famous piece of art in many Colombian indigenous cultures: Tayrona, Muisca, Sinú and others. This piece is an earring that was used by the indigenous people in the little hole that divides the two nostrils. Additionally, the narigueras were considered as offerings to the gods and they were used in the ceremonies to reflect the light of the sun.
Shapes 7 and 8: Crocodile
For the indigenous culture the crocodile was considered part of their beliefs, rituals and symbols. The deities that presented elements alluding to the crocodile as part of their clothing were related to the aquatic symbolism, fertility, creating, earth and death.
For the indigenous cultures the man wasn´t considered the center of the Universe, he was an integral part of the cosmos. The indigenous value system was focused on nature.
Shape 9: Mask of a man chewing coca leaves
For the indigenous culture chewing the leaves of coca was not only to use the substance and its effect to care for the body, it also involved a social function.
Song played on guitar by José Martínez Wilches.
Song: El cóndor pasa.