Art, Symbolism and Power in Moche Society, North Coast of Peru

Art, symbolism and power in Moche Society, North Coast of Peru JORDÁN, Régulo Franco / Director of the El Brujo archeological site and of Museo Cao / Fundación Wiese / Peru The Moche (2nd-8th centuries A.D.) were one of the most powerful 2. Sociopolitical Organization and Economy kingdoms of their time on the North Coast of Peru, as were the Nas- Despite the fact that there are still many questions to be re- ca in Ica south of Lima and the Tiahuanaco in the altiplano between solved, we do not know much about the sociopolitical organiza- Peru and Bolivia. Their achievements in their various cultural mani- tion of the Moche civilization. Nevertheless, it is known that in festations are compared with the grandeur of the Maya in Central later periods, after the 15th century, there existed in each valley America. They extended over a territory of 600 kilometers, from political units called cacicazgos, governed by local kings or Alaec Piura in the north to Huarmey in the south. Moche art and symbol- in the Moche language, who had subordinate lords and special- ism reflect high development in knowledge of the laws of nature ists under their control, at least within the regions of Trujillo and that permitted them to recreate it for magical-religious uses. Moche Lambayeque (Zevallos 1989, 1992). In view of the evidence works of art in temple murals, in goldwork, in textiles, in ceramics, obtained up to now, we can deduce that the Moche were a very etc. express, without doubt, an extraordinary artistic quality that complex and hierarchical society and that each of the valleys was enjoyed by the powerful Moche lords and their gods. was under the aegis of a principal lord who governed and ac- quired a semidivine image that concentrated all the powers, especially religious power which was an effective means of control 1. The Moche Territory of the society so that all proceeded harmoniously. Since then, The Moche occupied the deltas and slopes of the valleys that are it has always been thought that the Moche formed a theocratic constantly bathed by the waters that come from the mountains government with efficient mechanisms of reciprocity among the and that provide water for life and agriculture. They constructed intervalley ethnic groups of the whole territory, including the complex intervalley water canals to irrigate the desertic fields Lambayeque, Moche, Virú, Chao, Santa, Nepeña and possibly the and dry lands that lacked water to make them fertile. One of the Huarmey valleys. The main support for this portrayal is the ce- aspects of these valleys is that there is little rain, with some in- ramic iconography and other media of ideological transmission tervalley coastal desert strips that are fed by the seasonal hu- of a ceremonial nature (Figure 1). midity of the winter season, forming lomas with a biodiversity of species. The economic aspect was based on the payment of tribute, which served for the construction of great public and religious One of the natural resources for life has been the cold and deep works, as well as major extensions of efficient intervalley irriga- waters of the Pacific Ocean. All these resources served as in- tion canals, which can be compared to large modern projects. spiration for Moche iconography and thought. Nevertheless, Other economic aspects were reciprocity and redistribution of it is important to emphasize that the North Coast of Peru was subsistence goods and merchandise, which permitted the con- always impacted by the El Niño intercontinental phenomenon, struction of warehouses in each of the religious headquarters also called the ENSO phenomenon, which always put the north where the productive apparatus of the royal domain and the de- coastal societies at risk from very early times up to the present. pendent sites was controlled (Moseley 1982). Figure 1. Iconographic representation of the sacrifice ceremony. (Taken from Donnan 1999). JORDÁN, Régulo Franco 2012. Art, symbolism and power in Moche Society, North Coast of Peru. In Farias, Priscila Lena; Calvera, Anna; Braga, Marcos da Costa & Schincariol, Zuleica (Eds.). Design frontiers: territories, concepts, technologies [=ICDHS 2012 - 8th Conference of the International Committee for Design History & Design Studies]. São Paulo: Blucher, 2012. ISBN 978-85-212-0692-7 DOI 10.5151/design-icdhs-001 Art, symbolism and power in Moche Society, North Coast of Peru Figure 2. Iconographic representation of a navigation theme (Taken from Donnan 1999). The surplus from this redistribution made possible the mainte- Moche ceramic production as is currently shown in Peruvian and nance of a group of fulltime artisans at the service of the elite. foreign museums is of great value and realism and expresses a Many of the objects they produced were used by the lords in order great deal of information in sculpture and iconography about reli- to demonstrate their power and prestige in a complex and hierar- gious life. Together with Nasca ceramics of the south coast of Peru, chical society. Because of this, we can now admire great artistic this is perhaps in one of the richest collections of ceramic produc- works in the temple murals, ceramics, textiles, metallurgy, etc., tion known in pre-Columbian America (Figs. 6-7). The plastic per- which suggest the intervention of very advanced and sophisti- fection in the diverse representations, especially in the “portrait cated technologies. vessels”, make this culture one of the most advanced in the New World in what Wendell Bennett rightfully baptized as the The Moche were expert navigators who made diverse crossings to the north and south (Figure 2). These crossings were made for commercial and ceremonial purposes and to supply exotic products from distant lands, such as the Spondylus brought from the coasts of Ecuador for ritual purposes, or the lapis lazuli brought from Chile. At present, we can still observe in the area of Huan- chaco in Trujillo, in the north of Peru, totora reed balsas boldly controlled by fisherman who sit or kneel, using cane oars in the same way their pre-Hispanic ancestors did hundreds of years ago. 3. Art for the Gods and the Lords The only culture that can rival the Moche is the Maya culture. Figure 3. Huaca Rajada or Sipán, where the royal tombs of Sipán were discovered According to Elizabeth Benson (2004), the expressions in art between the Maya and the Moche are shared and in a few cases differentiated. For example, the ceramic art is very refined and in- formative, the use of seashells and Spondylus, and the abstract and symbolic representations, such as the interesting Moche theme of the “rebellion of the artifacts” which can be compared with the rebellion of the objects in the Popol Vuh of the Maya. But one of the principal comparative aspects is that both cultures have constructed imposing pyramidal structures, those of the Maya in stone and those of the Moche in adobe or mud. Shared characteristics are that these sacred buildings were interred, one Figure 4. Huaca Cao Viejo in the El Brujo Complex, where the Lady of Cao was being built over another, containing tombs, offerings and murals discovered. of great religious significance (Figs. 3-5). Design Frontiers: Territiories, Concepts, Technologies 20 JORDÁN, Régulo Franco tied together with other accessories of battle and power. Thanks to the art and symbolism of the ceramics, the religious life of this classic society of the North Coast of Peru can be known. Metallurgy is another highly valued cultural manifestation. The able specialists worked at the service of the elite. Most of the metalwork was offered for ceremonies and funerary rituals. The Moche applied a very advanced technology expressed in smelting, casting, laminating, cutting out, embossing, twisting, etc., as well as other sophisticated techniques, such as filigree in the later phases (Figs. 8-9). Gold, silver, copper and four al- loys of these were used for many ornaments, including masks, crowns, collars, ear ornaments, needles, depilation tweezers, hooks, small spoons and cups, among other objects (Fraresso Figure 5. Huaca de la Luna, Moche Valley, where beautiful polichrome murals have been discovered. 2008). The motifs or designs on the jewelry have much to do with magical-religious elements that formed part of the Moche time of the “master craftsmen”. Well-known representations in cosmovision. Moche ceramics are scenes of ceremonial life, funerary scenes, important figures being carried in litters, figures playing musical Textile production was another of the outstanding achieve- instruments, scenes of navigation and representations of beau- ments, as much for the versatile command of techniques as tiful landscapes with animals and plants typical of coastal eco- for esthetic and iconographic beauty. The Moche formed textile systems. However, the best known scenes are those of burial, workshops for the use of religious leaders and the expenses of human sacrifice in mountains and purification. the ceremonies. The prime material was produced thanks to a fluid exchange of products, which led to the obtaining of animal Moche ceramics were classified into five phases, from I to V, fibers, dyes and a massive production of cotton. Male or female by Rafael Larco Hoyle (1948), which developed during approxi- weavers made beautiful cloaks, clothes, sashes, headdresses, mately six centuries of occupation. Specialists also now speak cloths to cover walls and personal accessories using the tech- of subdivisions into Early Mochica, Middle Mochica and Late niques of tapestry, gauze, double cloth, embroidery and painted Mochica (Castillo 2011). The corpus of Moche ceramics and their cloth (see Castillo and Ugaz 1999). Much of this textile produc- iconographic representations has recently been enriched by dis- tion has disappeared due to the effects of humidity because of coveries made by large projects on the North Coast and, espe- two factors: the cemeteries are near wetland areas and the rains cially, by the contributions of Christopher Donnan (1999), who of the El Niño phenomenon accelerated their destruction.

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