Page 24 - UD Messenger Vol. 24 #1

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1. Balinese Dragon:
“It’s not just South American art in here. I’ve got everybody. But the same reverence for nature found in American Indian art can be found in Eastern cultures. There’s a very ancient connection.”
2. Trophy mask of the
Tapirapé people of Central Brazil “Ah, yes. This represents the decapitated head of your enemy. It’s worn in festivals and dry seasons to appropriate the enemy’s power to bring on the rains—an agricultural fertility kind of thing.”
3. American Indian headdress,
or “maiti”:
“It depicts the journey of the sun.
As dawn approaches, the world turns inside out. Everything is connected. The order of the feathers is important, too, as colors have magical energy. The tail feather of the scarlet macaw represents the sun; the white heron feathers, the clouds; and the black curassow
(a ground-dwelling, turkey-like bird), the Earth. The little yarn crosses are meant to be butterflies, companions of the sun.”
4. Raccoon Skull:
“This is a spirit chaser from the Navajo Indians of the Southwest. They used to use wolves, but are down to raccoons now.”
5. Rangda the Balinese witch:
“On Halloween I used to put this on and walk around Main Street.”
6. Hanging twill-weave basket of the Wai Wai:
“Material objects are doors into knowledge that is not freely
5 shared,” says Roe, who speaks fluent Shipibo, Spanish and Japanese.
“You learn their mythology through speaking with them and studying their objects.”
The man’s “vanity basket,” pictured here, is where the shaman keeps his feathers and magical charms, such as a quartz crystal, thought to mirror the purity of the sun and hold healing properties.
22 University of Delaware Messenger
Office Hours
with Peter Roe
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