Icons of Power: Feline Symbolism in the Americas

by Saunders,Nicholas J.

• ISBN13: 9780415153270
• ISBN10: 0415153271
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-01-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Contributors include Elizabeth P. Benson, Richard Cooke, Alan Cordy-Collins, Tom D. Dillehay, James H. Gunnerson, George R. Hamell, Anne Legast, Peter G. Roe and Nicholas J. Saunders

Table of Contents

List of figures	ix	(3)
List of tables	xii	(1)
List of contributors	xiii
1 Introduction: Icons of power	1	(11)
Nicholas J. Saunders
Origins and perspectives	1	(3)
A brief history of interpretation	4	(4)
References	8	(4)
2 Architecture of symbolism: The feline image	12	(41)
Nicholas J. Saunders
Introduction	12	(1)
Symbols, images, and meaning	12	(4)
The feline icon in Pre-Columbian symbolism	16	(4)
The ethnographic dimension	20	(14)
Semantic shifts and conquest felines	34	(4)
Felines, fertility, and folklore	38	(5)
Conclusion	43	(1)
Acknowledgments	44	(1)
References	44	(9)
3 The lord, the ruler: Jaguar symbolism in the Americas	53	(24)
Elizabeth P. Benson
Symbol of might	53	(3)
Protection and destruction	56	(4)
Questions of sacrifice	60	(4)
The underworld and the earth	64	(3)
The sky	67	(2)
The other world	69	(1)
Children of the jaguar	70	(2)
Notes	72	(1)
References	72	(5)
4 The Felidae in Pre-Columbian Panama: A thematic approach to their imagery and symbolism	77	(45)
Richard Cooke
Introduction	77	(1)
Animal icons, systematics, and semantics	78	(3)
Four `themes'	81	(4)
Theme 1: Were felines used for human food?	85	(3)
Theme 2: Were felids symbols of social rank?	88	(8)
Theme 3: Felids and shamanistic practices	96	(12)
Theme 4: Felids and human social organization	108	(2)
Conclusions	110	(3)
Acknowledgments	113	(1)
Notes	113	(1)
References	114	(8)
5 Feline symbolism and material culture in prehistoric Colombia	122	(33)
Anne Legast
Introduction	122	(1)
Feline species in Colombia	122	(2)
The feline in archeological material	124	(25)
Conclusion	149	(4)
Acknowledgments	153	(1)
References	153	(2)
6 The jaguar of the backward glance	155	(16)
Alana Cordy-Collins
Introduction	155	(1)
Chavin cat creatures	155	(1)
The cats of Cupisnique	156	(2)
The cat of the backward glance	158	(10)
Notes	168	(1)
References	168	(3)
7 Paragon or peril? The jaguar in Amazonian Indian society	171	(32)
Peter G. Roe
A multi-dimensional analysis of a dualistic natural symbol	171	(1)
The jaguar as a male paragon	172	(2)
Material culture as `implicit' mythology	174	(1)
The jaguar as `raw material'	175	(2)
The `ultimate trophy'	177	(2)
The jaguar as model human warrior	179	(1)
The language of projectiles	180	(2)
The jaguar as mythic lover	182	(1)
The jaguar as the paragon of male hunters	183	(1)
The jaguar as ancestor/enemy	184	(1)
Claws versus fangs: The jaguar's dualistic weapons	184	(2)
The jaguar as the donor of designs	186	(1)
The explicit mythology of the jaguar: As beneficent culture donor	187	(1)
The importance of the jaguar in lowland shamanism	188	(3)
The jaguar as a `less than human' ogre	191	(1)
Remote enemies as `jaguar people'	192	(1)
Other aspects of the black jaguar: `Thunder Jaguar' and `Water Jaguar'	193	(2)
Conclusions	195	(1)
Notes	196	(1)
References	197	(6)
8 Felines, patronyms, and history of the Araucanians in the southern Andes	203	(25)
Tom D. Dillehay
Introduction	203	(2)
Setting the contextual and conceptual parameters	205	(1)
Traditional Araucanian society and culture	206	(2)
Verbal, visual, and spatial forms of the feline symbol	208	(8)
The historical context of core symbols: Inside and outside of ceremony	216	(6)
Conclusion	222	(2)
References	224	(4)
9 Mountain Lions and Pueblo shrines in the American Southwest	228	(30)
James H. Gunnerson
Introduction	228	(2)
The ethnographic evidence	230	(15)
The archeological evidence	245	(7)
Summary	252	(2)
Acknowledgments	254	(1)
References	254	(4)
10 Long-Tail: The panther in Huron-Wyandot and Seneca myth, ritual, and material culture	258	(34)
George R. Hamell
The mythical reality of the panther	258	(1)
The natural reality of the panther	259	(2)
The historical reality of the panther	261	(1)
The linguistic reality of the panther	262	(2)
Of panthers' tails	264	(1)
And panther tales	265	(3)
The darker reality of the panther	268	(1)
The brighter reality of the panther	269	(2)
The material reality of the panther	271	(10)
Panther's distant kinsmen	281	(1)
Panther's transformation	282	(4)
The end of the panther's tale	286	(1)
Acknowledgments	287	(1)
Notes	288	(1)
References	288	(4)
Index	292