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

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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).

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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. has dedicated his life to study of the Moche. This investigator, for example, has studied extensively the ceramic effigy vessels Featherwork art is also outstanding, but rarely preserved in the of important figures of the elite that were portrayed in differ- excavations, and was used in the clothes of the dead of great- ent ways and with different characteristics of headdress, facial est prestige and social rank. The multicolored feathers were ob- painting and expressions, especially one elite Moche individual, tained by trade with peoples of the tropical forest. identified by a wound or cut over the left side of his upper lip, who was depicted repeatedly from childhood to adulthood (Don- Art in wood is little known because of the scarcity of collections nan 2004). In addition, Donnan has called attention to the princi- based on controlled excavations and because of poor preserva- pal religious symbol of the Moche, defined by a shield and a club tion. Nevertheless, magnificent artistic works, such as idols, fig-

Figure 6. Sculptural Moche ceramic vessel, representing a handsome warrior with his weapons, found at Huaca de la Luna (Courtesy of Ricardo Morales). Figure 7. Sculptural Moche ceramic vessel, representing a duck warrior, found at Huaca de la Luna (Courtesy of Ricardo Morales). Figure 8. Gilded copper mask with gold laminae, found at Huaca de Dos Cabezas, Jequetepeque Valley. Figure 9. Ceremonial attire made of textile and adorned with a face and small sheets of metal, found at Huaca de la Luna (Courtesy Ricardo Morales).

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painted images on relief-carved mud which express the sacred and divine art that could be represented in the principal Moche temples. There are images of the supernatural world linked with the propitiation and recreation of the world, some life-size images of ritual battles, a procession of prisoners, human sacrifices, the ceremonial calendar, and supernatural beings of Moche cosmovision (Morales 2012; Franco and Vilela 2006) (Figs. 12-13).

4. The Lost and Discovered Treasures of the Moche Tombs At of the time of the Spanish conquest, the plundering and destruction of many pre-Columbian relics occurred due to indif- ference to Andean reality. It is all part of a process of hundreds of years that still has not ended. The pillaging of treasures and important tombs was destined to feed the major collections of the world and some private museums.

Figure 10. Wooden sculpture representing an idol 2.48 meters tall, found in Huaca Cao Viejo in the El Brujo Complex. There had never been scientific recovery of a fabulous tomb from Figure 11. Small wooden sculpture with incrustations of semiprecious stones, the pre-Inca past until 1987. In that year, Walter Alva and his team representing a Moche agricultural deity. achieved a first for the scientific world when they rescued from urines and sculpted ceremonial staffs, have been recovered. For the looters and from their very own excavations various royal example, there are two extraordinary Moche sculptures which tombs at the site of Sipán or Huaca Rajada in the Lambayeque were covered with golden metal and incrustations of semipre- Valley. This news went round the world and was published in Na- cious stones, and which were recovered from archaeological tional Geographic magazine. At the time, the tombs were consid- contexts. One is an idol 2.40 meters high that may represent ered to be the greatest in the New World, comparable to that of the humanized lunar deity and is accompanied on the upper Tutankamon. These tombs pertained to two Moche rulers or high part by fantastic creatures or lunar animals. It was discovered dignitaries, the “Lord of Sipán” and the “Old Lord of Sipán”, united in the Huaca Cao Viejo of the El Brujo Complex (Franco and Vilela in kinship by the maternal line, as well as important priests that 2006) (Figure 10). Another image is a handsome sculpture that were found with their ornaments of gold, jewels, emblems of adorned a ceremonial staff discovered in the tomb of a priest in power, animals, and sacrificed men and women (Alva and Don- the Virú Valley. It represents a Moche agricultural deity (Strong nan 1993; Alva 2012) (Figs. 14-17). 1947) (Figure 11). Another of the finds that has attracted world attention is the dis- In the last two decades, there have been two major long-term covery in 2005 of the tomb of the Lady of Cao by the author and projects of archaeological investigation: the El Brujo Project car- his team in a privileged sector of the Huaca Cao Viejo of the El ried out by the Wiese Foundation and the Peruvian Ministry of Brujo Complex. It was publicized in 2006 by National Geographic Culture, and the Huacas of Moche Project carried out by a private magazine and other international media. For the first time in trust and the National University of Trujillo. They recovered from Peruvian archaeology, a tomb was found of a female Moche obscurity two monumental pyramids of adobe, Huaca Cao Viejo sovereign who governed the destinies of the Chicama Valley be- and Huaca de la Luna, where there are beautiful polychrome tween 300 and 400 years A.D. She was buried accompanied by

Figure 12. Part of a mural in high relief with representations of stylized manta rays, found in the upper part of the Huaca Cao Viejo. Figure 13. Beautiful mural known as the “Complex Theme” or ceremonial calendar, found at Huaca de la Luna (Courtesy of Ricardo Morales).

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Figure 14. Beautiful ear ornament pertaining to the Lord of Sipán, with the figure of a warrior priest accompanied by two human figures. Figure 15. Gold rattle pertaining to the Lord of Sipán, representing a principal Moche deity known as the Decapitator. Figure 16. Gold nose ornament pertaining to the Old Lord of Sipán, representing a small warrior with a complex headdress bearing an owl symbol. Figure 17. Metal figurine with incrustations of semiprecious stones, found in one of the tombs of Sipán. Figure 18. Gold ornaments with semiprecious stones and ceramic vessels, found in association with the tomb of the Lady of Cao.

a principal priest, a secondary priest, a guardian, a guide to the 1993. Royal Tombs of Sipán. Fowler Museum of Cultural History, underworld and sacrificed maidens. The mausoleum enclosure University of California, Los Angeles. where she was buried contains beautiful murals on its walls with representations of stylized images of the magical-religious ALVA, W. 2012. “El descubrimiento de las tumbas reales de world of the Lady of Cao and of the Moche in general. The pres- Sipán”. In: Tesoros Preincas de la Cultura Mochica, El Señor de Sipán, ence of tattoos in the form of serpents, spiders, geometric fig- Huaca de la Luna y Señora de Cao, Pp. 17-33. Ayuntamiento de Cádiz. ures and lunar animals on the forearms, hands and feet of this dignitary allow us to recognize that she had supernatural or BENSON, E. 2004. “Los Mayas y los Mochicas: Expresiones en el clairvoyant powers to look at the heavens and perhaps to cure. Arte”. In: Acercarse y Mirar, Homenaje a Beatriz de la Fuente, Pp. 283- The emblems of power, personal jewelry and ornaments give her, 296. Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, Universidad Autóno- without a doubt, the investiture of a ruler (Figure 18). This find ma de México, México. has changed the notion of power in ancient Peru (Franco 2008, 2010, 2012). CASTILLO, L. 2011. San José de Moro y la arqueología del valle del Jequetepeque. Departamento de Humanidades, PUCP. Fondo References editorial, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. ALVA, W. and C.B. DONNAN. 1993. Tumbas reales de Sipán. Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles. CASTILLO, L. and UGAZ, F. 1999. “El contexto y la tecnología de los

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textiles mochica”. In: Tejidos milenarios del Perú, José Antonio de MOSELEY, M. E. 1975. “Prehistoric principles of labor organization Lavalle (ed.), Pp. 235-250. AFP, INTEGRA. in the Moche Valley, Peru”, American Antiquity 40 (2): 191-196. So- ciety for American Archaeology, Washington, D.C. FRARESSO, C. 2008. “El sistema técnico de la metalurgia de transformación en la cultura mochica: Nuevas perspectivas”. In: STRONG, W.D. 1947. “Finding the tomb of a warrior god”. National Arqueología Mochica, Nuevos Enfoques, Luis Jaime Castillo, Héléne Geographic Magazine 91 (4): 453-482. National Geographic Soci- Bernier, Gregory Lockard and Julio Rucabado (eds.), Pp. 153-171. ety, Washington, D.C. Actas del primer congreso internacional de jóvenes investiga- dores de la cultura Mochica. Instituto Francés de Estudios Andi- ZEVALLOS, Q. J. 1989. Los Cacicazgos de Lambayeque. Concejo Na- nos and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. cional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONCYTEC), Lima.

DONNAN, C.B. and MCCLELLAND, D. 1999. Moche Fineline Painting. 1992. Los Cacicazgos de Trujillo. Fundación Alfredo Pinillos Goyco- Its Evolution and Its Artists. Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Uni- chea. Trujillo. versity of California, Los Angeles. Acknowledgements DONNAN, C. 2004. Moche Portraits from Ancient Peru. University of My special thanks go to all the members of the El Brujo archaeo- Texas Press, Austin. logical project, to the members of the Wiese Foundation, and to all those who in one way or another helped in the preparation of FRANCO, J. R, and VILELA, J. 2006. El Mundo Mágico Ceremonial this article. Likewise, my thanks go to Steven Wegner for check- Mochica y Aproximaciones al Calendario Ceremonial. MINKA. Trujillo. ing and translating the text of this modest contribution.

FRANCO, R. 2008. “La Señora de Cao”. In: Señores de los Reinos About the author de la Luna, Krzysztof Makowski (comp.), Pp. 280-287. Banco de Régulo Franco Jordán studied archeology at the Universidad Crédito del Perú, Lima. Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, in Peru, and, since 1990, is the director of the archaeological program of El Brujo and of Museo 2010. “La Dame de Cao”. In: Pour la Science, N° 390. Paris. Cao (Wiese Foundation). He has participated in several archaeological projects since 1980, including the sites of Pachacamac, 2012. “El Complejo El Brujo: Poder, arte. simbolismo y la tumba Cajamarquilla, Puruchuco and Túcume. He has taught at The Get- de la Señora de Cao”. In: Tesoros Preincas de la Cultura Mochica, El ty Institute, ICROMM, CRA-Terre, Universidad Nacional la Cantuta, Señor de Sipán, Huaca de la Luna y Señora de Cao, Pp. 77-97. Ayunta- Instituto Superior CEPEA and at international courses promoted miento de Cádiz. by UNESCO. During his career he has received several national and international honorable distinctions, especially following the LARCO, R. 1948. Cronología Arqueológica del Norte del Perú. Biblio- discovery of the royal tomb of the Lady of Cao. He has lectured at teca del Museo de Arqueología Rafael Larco Herrera, Hacienda various national and foreign universities, such as Harvard, Yale, Chiclín. Buenos Aires, Sociedad Geográfica Americana. Florida, Louvain (Belgium) and Dumbarton Oaks (Washington DC.). He has also participated in scientific events organized in MORALES G. R. 2004. “Espacios arquitectónicos ceremoniales Peru, Germany, Italy, Spain, Argentina and France, talking about e iconografía litúrgica en Huaca de la Luna, valle de Moche”. In: archeology, heritage, tourism and land conservation. He is the Tesoros Preincas de la Cultura Mochica, El Señor de Sipán, Huaca de la author of numerous papers and books on his research at Pacha- Luna y Señora de Cao, Pp. 111-127. Ayuntamiento de Cádiz. camac, Cajamarquilla, and, especially, at El Brujo.

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