Beaded Jewelry

During the second half of 2023, we began developing artisanal products with Mashiguenka communities in Urubamba – Cusco. For this, we reviewed the book “WEAVING IDENTITY: Mythology and Aesthetics Among the Matsigenka of the Lower Urubamba,” where myths identify the beginning of an activity, and each design on objects conveys knowledge and meaning. Sharing the images with the participating group was about remembering, recognizing, and reinterpreting the ancient pieces recorded in the book.

One of the pieces we selected to work on was the IMPOSHITONI (an aquatic being, the river’s owner, and the fish donor/mother of the waters and fish giver), which lives in the river and has the shape of a fish with tentacles. Based on the photo and diagram in the book, we beaded the chest piece and developed the earrings. We also analyzed the use of each color in this piece, as the original colors were not to the artisans’ liking.

Recognizing a Mashiguenka mythological being in a piece like the chest piece invites us to reflect on its use; perhaps it was a power artifact used in rituals or an object used to remember its presence.

Martha Rojas Zolezzi, “WEAVING IDENTITY: Mythology and Aesthetics Among the Matsigenka of the Lower Urubamba.” Lima, 2017.