Textiles and the Multi-tiered Cosmos: Shipibo Textiles

Perhaps the most iconic (at least in the Americas) shamanic textiles are those produced by the Shipibo people in Peru. This has been a difficult one for me because there is SO much information available on these textiles and all of it is AMAZING so it's hard to focus on just one thing. But I'll do my best! 

Textiles and the Multi-Tiered Cosmos: Indonesian Sarita Cloths

Today I'm going to take a look at sarita cloths of the Toraja people from the upriver region of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. I'm interested to see if I can show a connection between this textile and shamanism. Someone needs to write a dissertation on this. There's so much here!

Textiles and the Multi-Tiered Cosmos

In order to prove that Textiles are associated with shamanism, my next task is to show how they are related to the multi-tiered cosmos. So far, we've seen how weaving itself can be an induction method to altered states of consciousness (ASC) and how ASC and entoptic images are precursors to a belief in a multi-tiered cosmos (underworld/this world/world of spirits), which is the basis of shamanism and (arguably) all later spiritual practices. We've also seen that entoptic images are ubiquitous in textiles from all over the world. Some may argue that since entoptic imagery is a product of the human nervous system, this does not necessarily indicate that the weavers engaged in any type of ASC or spiritual activity. And they'd be right! Of particular contention is the link between shamanism and phosphenes/entoptics. Bednarik points out that although all humans use phosphenes daily, "that does not make us shamans!" (Bednarik 1990, 79). But if we can see depictions of a multi-tiered cosmos (the result of ASC and entoptic experience), we come that much closer to making an association between textile production and shamanism.

Tai Daeng Shaman doing his thing.

Phosphenes, Entoptics, and a Tiered Cosmos

In the last post I mentioned that altered states of consciousness can result in the experience of phosphenes or entoptic images. These are geometric images or flashes of light that arise from the central nervous system and visual cortex. They are common to all humans (and possibly other animals). You can experience phosphenes by pressing on your closed eyelid. You'll see little illuminated squares, dots, ladders, and other motifs. That's a phosphene! When a phosphene or entoptic image appears in prehistoric art, it can be argued that the art is related to altered states of consciousness, trance, shamanism, or all three. These motifs appear in cave art, megalithic art, and many other forms of art including textiles.

Entoptic "floaters"

Trance and Design Motifs

Obvious entoptic image from a Shipibo textile (Peru)

It is widely accepted that trance and shamanism played a role in prehistoric art and mark-making. Does this include textiles?

weaver as shaman

Weaving is an ancient art, linked to ritual and ceremony in ways we never expected.

There are many textile motifs still in use today that can be traced back to the first known artworks created during the Paleolithic period. It has also been suggested that textile production (weaving) is a sacred act.

The prehistory of textiles: Paleolithic

I have become seriously obsessed. I get these packages once a month or so. They're covered in cloth that has been stitched and sealed with wax, wild stamps, and lots of confusing lettering. I have to rip the cloth open to get inside, which always seems a shame to me. But I get over the guilt when the smell of the sari or ikat or suzani wafts out of the package. It smells like a mysterious far-away closet. When I pull the fabric out and it floats open in front of me in all its magnificence, sometimes I actually get tears in my eyes. The dogs think I'm crazy.

Aunt Ella, Western Woman!

Christeen's great great aunties. Aunt Ella is top center.

Women were instrumental in the United States westward expansion (not singing the praises of imperialism - just saying). There were MANY many female homesteaders and others who came out to work in mining camps, newly-created towns, ranches, and everything else. There is a treasure trove of diaries and letters written by these women. They tell of  difficult, but independent lives in the west. It seems that women took advantage of this opportunity to escape constrictions placed upon them by "polite society" in the eastern portion of the continent.