S3 E1 The Fanged Deity
The Fanged Deity is a ubiquitous character in ancient Andean art. His identity as the same creator deity over thousands of years, through multiple cultures and from Columbia to Chile, is my own potentially paradigm shifting theory. Join me as I explain why I believe the religions of ancient South America were essentially monotheistic.
Show Notes:
My 1994 paper with Linda Schele’s comments:
https://www.mayaexploration.org/pdf/ShamanismMocheArt_Barnhart1994.pdf
For Chavin:
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8741h6k1#page=224
https://www.worldhistory.org/Chavin_Civilization/
https://www.artic.edu/artworks/155964/stirrup-spout-vessel-with-feline-and-cactus
https://www.novica.com/p/peru-archaeology-ceramic-jaguar-shaman-face/403071/
https://theoldstone.tumblr.com/post/143946417092/the-raimondi-stele
Paracas:
https://smarthistory.org/paracas-textiles-introduction/
http://www.paracas.se/en/about/
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/paracas-textile.html
Tiwanaku:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/567/gallery/&index=13&maxrows=12
https://www.shutterstock.com/search/tiwanaku+statue
Pachacamac:
https://www.archaeology.org/issues/386-2007/features/8754-idol-of-the-painted-temple
Enjoyed it! Makes you really long for Peru!
Ed:
Great podcast! Looking to hear more about the Moche. Glad to have the series starting back up and hope you had a great summer.
Mark Kohler
Ed, please think hard about a trip to the Moche area of Peru.
Great to have you back doing your wonderful podcasts, Ed
I agree with William, it would be great if you organized a trip to the Moche area in Peru, or anywhere in Peru
Ed, did the Fanged Deity make its way into the Aztec pantheon?
From Inga Clendinnen’s “Aztecs”: “…the shaman Tezcatlipoca, named for the ‘Smoking Mirror’ of his scrying glass and a strongly associated with the occult powers of the night, invisibility and the jaguar…” page 57.
Your podcasts are a great inspiration for further studies!
Hey Ted,
Good question. Tezcatlipoca is definitely not the Fanged Deity, he’s part of a pantheon that we have lots of info about. But I do wonder how far he made it north. For sure Columbia, and I think Panama. I’ve been looking at Costa Rica artifacts closely but have yet to find much to suggest his worshippers made it that far. of course, he’s an idea – and those can hide from the artifact record very well.
The big round eyes are drug dilated eyes ? They aren’t flying, they are laying down after doing Ayahuasca ? I sure played down when I was tripping.
The best parallel to the above Fanged Deity in South Asia is the god Bhairava (= “Terrifier”), who is the decapitator god par excellence, for he manifests to cut off the head of the god Brahmā. Associated with human-sacrifice & skull-bearing, he likewise straddles the jungle (to extent of being attributed tribal origins) and the refined urban civilization. For esoteric circles among the elite brahmins, he was the all-encompassing Absolute, a metaphysical principle transcending the pantheon of gods. The shaman’s trance translates in these circles into a technique of quivering transcendence. My wife Elizabeth did her two PhDs and D.Litt. on (the mad) Bhairava:
https://amritananda-natha-saraswati.blogspot.com/p/bhairava-terrifying-aspect-of-siva-is.html
Sunthar