Cultures & Traditions

Foremost among Iban textiles is the pua, often described as a warp-ikat patterned blanket, which is used in many different ritual contexts, always with the connotation of beneficence—even protection.

It would be a grave misunderstanding to underestimate the weaver's worldview and limit her lexicon of motifs, patterns, and designs to just that of innocuous flora and fauna, especially in the case of master weavers who have deep knowledge of the full range of Iban mythology—and the cryptic names of the entire cosmology of Iban deities, literally, at their fingertips.

An elongated forehead is often a sign of cranial modification, in which head flattening or binding intentionally alters the shape of the skull. This was a form of ritual beautification common among Mesoamerican and native Andean peoples.

For thousands of years, the coca plant (Erythroxylum coca) has played an essential role in the daily life and ritual practices of Andean peoples. Carried in bags as a common individual accessory, the coca leaves contain alkaloids that, when consumed, suppress fatigue and increase energy, counteracting physical effects caused by extreme altitudes.

African Textiles and Decorative Arts in 1972 and African Furniture and Household Objects in 1989, exhibitions curated by Roy Seiber, brought attention to objects for the house and human body and demonstrated that the parameters of traditional African visual arts are not limited to mask

Similar to other traditional African masks and figures, headwear is about more than aesthetics: it is functional and meaningful. It is a means of nonverbal communication about the wearer, such as gender, status in society, membership in an association, rank in an organization, profession, or affiliation with a deity. According to many African peoples, the head is the most important part of the body.

Christianity has an extensive history in Africa. It was first introduced in the 4th century to the ancient and prosperous Axumite kingdom in present-day Ethiopia. The Axumites traded far and wide, exporting incense, ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoiseshell, apes, and slaves through the port of Adulis on the Red Sea and importing goods and ideas from Syria, Egypt, and other lands.

After Huari (Wari) influence subsided, several styles evolved on the central Andean coast. The Chancay developed on the central coast of Peru, in the fertile valleys north of Lima, Peru, from 1000 to 1476 CE. Not much is known about the Chancay, but their decline in the late 15th century coincides with the territorial expansion of the Inca (Inka) Empire.

The Chimú capital was located at Chan Chan, where the artistic production of specialized artisans—potters, metallurgists, bead makers, woodworkers, and weavers—was strictly overseen by the ruling elite. Some raw materials were locally unavailable, such as brilliantly colored feathers, and provided through contact with the outside populations of the Amazonian Basin.