Land Mammal Imagery in Saladoid Ceramics

Whiskers, Claws and Prehensile Tails: Land Mammal Imagery in Saladoid Ceramics Lawrence Waldron CUNY Graduate Center Abstract: While early Conquest era accounts mention the importance of certain animal species in the iconography of the Greater Antilles, many other species appearing in Pre-Columbian Caribbean sculpture and ceramics remain un-deciphered. Chief among these mysterious symbols are the terrestrial mammals. From their numerous appearances, especially on Saladoid and Barrancoid pottery, land mammals are obviously of great importance in the symbolic repertoire of the ancient Antilleans. While most of the myths and folktales linking these animals to the ritual life of the Amerindians are lost, some important clues to the iconographic value of land mammals can be found in the study of their habitat and behaviors, and from their roles in the mythology of related groups living today. Résumé: Alors que des récits datant de la première période de la conquête espagnole font état de l’importance de certaines espèces animales dans l’iconographie des Grandes Antilles, beaucoup d’autres espèces apparaissant dans des sculptures ou sur des céramiques caribéennes précolombiennes restent encore énigmatiques. De première importance parmi ces symboles mystérieux sont les mammifères terrestres. A en juger par la fréquence de leurs apparitions, particulièrement dans la poterie saladoïde et barrancoïde, les mammifères terrestres prennent de toute évidence une grande place dans le repertoire symbolique des premiers Antillais. Alors que la plupart des mythes et des contes associant ces animaux aux pratiques rituelles des Amérindiens nous font défaut, quelques indices importants de l’intérêt iconographique des mammifères terrestres peuvent être retrouvés grâce à l’étude de leur habitat et de leur comportement mais aussi d’après leur rôle dans la mythologie de peuples proches des Amérindiens encore présents de nos jours. Resumen: Aunque los primeros narrativos de la época de Conquiste habla de la importancia de ciertos especies de animales en la iconografía de las Antillas “Greater Antilles”, muchos otras especies que figuran en la escultura y cerámica pre-colombinas quedan por descifrar. En esta simbología algunos de los más importantes son los mamíferos terrestres. Por su alta frecuencia sobre todo en la cerámica Saladoide y Barrancoide, queda claro que los mamíferos terrestres eran de gran importancia en la Antigua simbología antillana. La gran mayoría de la mitología y los cuentos folklóricos que conecta a estos animales con la vida ritual de los Amerindios se ha perdido. No obstante, hay indicaciones importantes del valor iconográfico de los mamíferos terrestres que podemos encontrar a través del estudio de los hábitos, comportamiento y del papel que desempeñan dentro de la mitología de las sociedades actuales relacionadas con la Antigua antillana. 556 The ancient ceramics of the Caribbean are notable for their modeled adornos and clever figure-ground reversals in white and red slip. Of the artistic conventions in the region’s pottery, it is the modeled tradition that persisted until the Conquest. Much of the sculptural treatments on ancient Antillean ceramics are dedicated to zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figuration. The images range from highly stylized representations (whose speciation is impossible to guess) to depictions of taxonomical accuracy. Conquest-era accounts of Amerindian ritual and myth suggest that some animals had religious significance, including turtles and bats. But many animals depicted on Antillean ceramics receive no mention in these early reports. With the exception of dogs, land mammals are almost completely neglected. But armadillos, opossums, coatis, monkeys, peccaries and even anteaters can be seen clearly on the handles, rims and walls of Saladoid pottery. Few of these species were retained in the later Taíno pottery. The habitats of the actual animals extend from South America to the Windward and sometimes the Leeward Islands, many of them not endemic to the Greater Antilles. Most Amerindian land mammal depictions likewise do not extend beyond the Leewards. Thus land mammal imagery is mostly a Saladoid-Barrancoid phenomenon confined to the Lesser Antilles, with a geographical link between the ceramic and faunal records. These land mammal depictions also display at once a connection to and a separation from South America. Their appearance in the more southerly islands of the Eastern Caribbean1 is a reflection of the zoological connection with South America but the relative deemphasis of iconic South American animals such as the jaguar and increased emphasis on others such as the opossum and armadillo illustrates a growing difference in the iconographic priorities of the Antilles. With the prominence and variety of land mammals in the Saladoid symbolic repertoire, we are in dire need of some means by which we might decipher their meaning. In the dearth of textual evidence from the Conquest era, and in the absence of a living tradition that spans the centuries from the Saladoid, we must resort to far less than satisfactory methods of decipherment: zoology (including animal ethology); ethnozoology; comparative mythology and ethnographic analogy. Any aspect of an animal species is a potential repository of symbolic value. An animal’s iconography may derive from the Amerindians’ observation of and/or interaction with the physical species. Observation and interaction with animals would form the foundation of practical knowledge about that species but would also potentially lend itself to the mythology and/or iconography of the creature. Within a framework derived from empirical observation of the animal and cultural responses to it, there are several aspects of the animal to consider: its appearance e.g. outstanding features and markings, gender, and resemblances to other animals; its habitat and environment; its behaviors, including reproductive and settlement habits, food gathering, changes in behavior from day to night, across seasons and over the course of its life and any perceived associations with natural phenomena; uses to which the animal’s flesh, skin and/or bones are put by people; the name of the animal in the language in question2 and the 1 Trinidad and Tobago (often excluded from the Lesser Antilles by natural scientists) are included here as obvious islands that are part of both the Lower Orinoco and Windward Islands interaction spheres. 2 The admittedly problematic assumption here being that the Saladoid were Arawakan speakers but Orinochian and Amazonian peoples of other linguistic groups can also provide useful ‘zoo-linguistic’ analogies. 557 prefixes, suffixes, rhymes, puns and synonyms that might involve the use of this name; and, of course, any mythical mention of the animal that controverts or nuances the above analysis. Comparative studies are of particular importance in reconstructing mythological contexts for Saladoid zoomorphic imagery. A comparative study of zoology/ethnozoology and known myths reveals many connections between the actual lives of animals and their role as symbols and archetypes. But as mentioned earlier, many Caribbean animals have no myths recorded about them. Thus, a comparative study of the surviving Caribbean, Orinochian and Amazonian myths that all mention the same species helps to triangulate the range of symbolic variance between related but divergent mythologies on the same animal. Thus, when we encounter an animal image in one region with no accompanying mythology, we can use the aforementioned regional comparisons to direct but also limit the range of hypothetical motifs we might attribute to the animal depicted. Comparison thusly checks wild speculation. Armadillos As a result of the advanced stylizations, hybridizations and visual puns employed by Saladoid potters in modeling their figural adornos identifying the species of an animal depicted on a Saladoid pot can be difficult. But clear depictions of armadillos were made in Trinidad, Tobago and Grenada, and an armadillo is referenced in a hybrid depiction from Barbados (see figures 1, 2 and 3). This armored, burrowing animal makes many appearances in the ceramics and mythology of South America (see figure 4). Among the myths likely to have had analogues in the Caribbean are the myths related to the Underworld, agriculture and the assignment of feminine gender. But certain aspects of armadillo reproduction and the folk belief about armadillo diseases may also have played a part in Saladoid mythology. Their digging holes in the ground causes armadillos to appear: in Arawak and Warao myths where heroes temporarily hide in burrows in the manner of chased armadillos (Roth 1915 122, 182); in Cariban Makushi songs where people are buried by the armored creatures (Roth 1915 368); Tacana legends about living in or visiting the Underworld, in a multi-tiered universe in which the underside of the earth harbors otherworldly beings (Lévi-Strauss 1973 339, 343); and in Tairona (Kogi) comparisons to the feminine activity of digging fields (Lévi-Strauss 1973 339, 343). But the excavating armadillo has also appeared in a series of myths about the creation of women from Arawak, Gê and other language groups from the Guianas to Argentina. In many versions, dried meat is repeatedly and mysteriously stolen from a camp or settlement, seemingly peopled only by male hunters. With the help of several animals, the hunters finally discover that the thieves are voracious feminine creatures that descend nightly on woven cords from

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