The Chavín de Huántar is a religious site in the Northern highlands of Peru. It is named after Chavín, a religious culture in the Andes Mountains. The temple that resides there was built out of stone between 900–200 B.C.E. The Chavín de Huántar became a pilgrimage destination for worshipers of all places. Worshipers brought offerings and left with objects like ceramics and textiles, spreading the Chavín faith and culture. The temple built at Chavín de Huántar became an important pilgrimage site that drew people from all over. The site is considered a tinkuay, or “harmonious meeting of opposing forces”, because it is located where the Huachesca and Mosna Rivers meet. The temple complex at this site that exists today is made up of the Old and
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They are brightly colored masks of red cedar wood, paint, and string made in the late 19th century C.E. These masks were worn during a potlatch, which is an extravagant ceremonial feast where belongings are given away or destroyed to represent social status. Only certain people were allowed to wear the masks. These people performed a ceremony in front of hundreds of other members of their tribe. The tribesmen would perform with a mask representing an animal’s face and pull a string that would open to reveal the face of an ancestor; this is the transformation. The masks were used to teach about history and ancestors. The masks would also show social status and a family’s genealogy through family crests. The masks are significant because they are made of red cedar bark, a common yet important material used by the Northwest Natives. Perfection is a theme of these masks because they use what is known as the formline style. This means that they are bilaterally symmetrical and use ovoid, ‘s’, and ‘u’ shapes. Lastly, just like the Chavîn de Huántar, the Transformation Masks have changed or been added to over time. As a result of Christian colonization in the nineteenth century the people of the Kwakiutl culture began to make the masks with iron and no longer used natural pigments. Now they had sturdier masks and longer lasting
They are brightly colored masks of red cedar wood, paint, and string made in the late 19th century C.E. These masks were worn during a potlatch, which is an extravagant ceremonial feast where belongings are given away or destroyed to represent social status. Only certain people were allowed to wear the masks. These people performed a ceremony in front of hundreds of other members of their tribe. The tribesmen would perform with a mask representing an animal’s face and pull a string that would open to reveal the face of an ancestor; this is the transformation. The masks were used to teach about history and ancestors. The masks would also show social status and a family’s genealogy through family crests. The masks are significant because they are made of red cedar bark, a common yet important material used by the Northwest Natives. Perfection is a theme of these masks because they use what is known as the formline style. This means that they are bilaterally symmetrical and use ovoid, ‘s’, and ‘u’ shapes. Lastly, just like the Chavîn de Huántar, the Transformation Masks have changed or been added to over time. As a result of Christian colonization in the nineteenth century the people of the Kwakiutl culture began to make the masks with iron and no longer used natural pigments. Now they had sturdier masks and longer lasting