The art of being Diaguita
- A little history
- Chino Dances
- Ways of “being Diaguita before the Inka period
- The origins of Diaguita art and culture can be found in Las Ánimas
- Several ceramic styles coexisted in the Norte Chico, representing different modes of “being Diaguita”. One of these was the Fourth Style.
- Like many pre-Hispanic peoples, the Diaguita felt a need to represent themselves in their ceramics
- Color was not the only way in which the Diaguita expressed their identity
- Diaguita ceramics exhibiting bird, feline and reptile faces
- Diaguita tricolor vessels and their shamanic geometries
- Identities in transformation
- The textiles of the Angualasto culture give us an idea of how their Chilean contemporaries, the Diaguita, dressed.
- Objects found in graves prove that Diaguita identity transcended death
- The Diaguita also had fertility cults
- Sounds and melodies accompanied Diaguita ceremonies and rituals
- Shamanic trance played a central role in “being Diaguita”
- By consuming hallucinogenic substances, certain individuals acquired the identity and powers of their guardian animals
- Ways of “being Diaguita” in Inka times
- After the Inka conquest, the Diaguita modified some elements of their culture
- The Diaguita served as agents of the Empire during the Inka expansion into Chile’s Central Valley
- As allies of the Inkas, the Diaguita helped with the administration of the Copiapó Valley
- The Diaguita and the “red metal”
- The Diaguita’s emblematic stone fascinated the Inkas
- The Norte Chico today: Diaguita, in their own way
- Epilogue
- Créditos
The Diaguita served as agents of the Empire during the Inka expansion into Chile’s Central Valley
This anthropomorphic jug is a local version of the Inka aríbalo or maka, and represents a fusion of several different styles. It combines the eye-spots of the kestrel, the arms and neckline of the tunics often found on duck-shaped pitchers, Inka motifs decorating the body of the vessel, and the orange background characteristic of the Aconcagua culture of Central Chile. Inka officials used these aríbalo jugs to store the fermented corn beverage that was distributed among the imperial subjects to compensate them for their labor.