Meet the Nayarit...

The Nayarit of Western Mexico circa 100 to 800 AD left a great artistic legacy in the way they recorded every day life at the social and individual level, and i'd like to share some of with you as i believe it's well worth looking at...






Above we see the Nayarit village in ceramic and pigment, the village is laid out according to the four sacred directions, in the centre is a podium probably representing the various levels of existence. On top of this is a warrior chieftan with club, and curiously a large hand is on his hand, perhaps representing blessings from above, but strange...

Below is another curious hand or plant representation, with people seemingly caught up in it and a Deity seated within it, perhaps those who have fallen into the hand of the underworld...uncertain.






Here's another view of the village, and the chief and his musicians, one also sees a hollow area under the house to the left, this is the underworld aspect to each home, were the departed ancestors were thought to carry on life below as above;





You see this here, were the dead are enjoying a meal below as are the living above...





There was also the tradition of a sacred tree associate with the four directions, and the birds that symbolized such, and here are the people having a dance around it;






The notion of a celestial axis might perhaps also explain the crazy antics of young men and dogs in the Nayarit version of pole dancing;






Other activities included wrestling;






the ball game;






and sleeping between the dogs houses;







sleeping for a more extensive period;












all in all then a great representation of their lifestyle and beliefs.







When it came to representing themselves as individuals they appear fascinated by qualities of strangeness and pathos, it seems to be the weirdness of it all that drove them to meticulously record...this is the Nayarit in their Sunday best;




and a warrior at his most awesome;





but the beauty of their women could be strange in form...





though there is a contemplative quality;







and the mysteriously decorative;







just a brief insight then into their lively and enigmatic world...

Wonderful post.
They were amazingly detailed in the sculptures.
I am curious though about the "Sleep for extended period" sculpture.
The figure appears to be strapped down in two places?

Maybe sacrificial?

The first pic with the hand, I saw it as pushing or holding down as opposed to a blessing.

In the last one is the guy chewing his toenails? I chew mine too, maybe it was part of some sacred ritual and Im carrying on the tradition

How do they know the underneath part of the house was for dead ancestors? is that an archeaolgists opinion or is there some other document or evidence to say so?

Very interesting, wish I had more to add

S&F

reply to post by Kantzveldt


Brilliant thread Kantzveldt, thank you very much (again).

Another South American culture that i had no knowledge of (bit of a Homer Simpson when it comes to South America).

I love the fact this particular tribe bothered to make scenes of everyday life, instead of the usual scary looking Gods and what not. I am assuming it is fairly safe to think that this way of life was actually quite commonplace throughout this period? By that, i mean across the region rather than specifically for this tribe?

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


Probably depends upon whether or not your toes are covered with Peyote (or insert the hallucinogen or choice for that location).

reply to post by chiefsmom




Maybe, they're thought to be funerary biers, though it's hard to understand the strapping down unless they were afraid of zombies...







reply to post by IkNOwSTuff




The hand is curious in what otherwise seems a natural illustration of village rituals, it could even relate to a bird of death that removed peoples heads, but i'm not sure at all.





The ancestors beneath the living room floor theory will owe something to archaeological uncoverings, were the dead were seen to be buried with everyday household objects.




reply to post by Flavian




I've been looking at the region in terms of an interest in their body art and general lifestyle and customs out of an interest in looking for a Polynesian connection, which i've considered for Ecuador, not sure if that's there so i haven't mentioned this, but i wouldn't day they are entirely typical for Meso-America, though in some ways they are, with the ball game etc..

I wonder if they where into Psychoactive plants!

Just beautiful!

I hadn't heard of them, and it's really wonderful to see a set of artifacts laid out this beautifully, giving a clear example of what life was like for them. S&F!

reply to post by Byrd


They went on to create Teuchitlan cullture, but their origins in terms of the 'shaft grave culture' are obscure;

The Teuchitlan tradition was a pre-Columbian complex society that occupied areas of the modern-day Mexican states of Nayarit and Jalisco. Although evidence of Teuchitlan tradition architecture appears as early as 300 BCE, its rise is generally dated to the end of the Formative period, 200 CE.[1] The tradition is rather abruptly extinguished at the end of the Classic era, ca. 900 CE.[2]
The Teuchitlan tradition is notable for its circular central plazas and conical step pyramids. According to researcher Phil Weigand, these unusual structures are "unique in the Mesoamerican architectural repertoire and indeed are not found anywhere else in the world".[3]
The Teuchitlan tradition is an outgrowth of the earlier shaft tomb tradition, but with a shift away the smaller centers to larger sites such Los Guachimontone

All the elements from the later urban complex were present in the village life;

he Guachimontones archaeological site, just outside modern-day Teuchitlán, Jalisco, is the largest and most complex site within the Teuchitlan tradition.[5] The center of the ancient village was occupied by three circular areas, each of with a multi-level circular step pyramid at its center. There are a total of 10 such "Circles" within Teuchitlan, along with four rectangular plazas and two ballcourts among many other smaller structures.[6]
The circular pyramids are thought to be cosmograms, representing the mythological structure of the universe, and the circular poles that were set into their center the Mesoamerican world tree. Based on the many ceramic tableaus that have been recovered, it is similarly thought that volador ceremonies were conducted from the pole

en.wikipedia.org...

Originally regarded as of Tarascan origin,[5] contemporary with the Aztecs, it became apparent in the middle of the 20th century, as a result of further research, that the artifacts and tombs were instead over 1000 years older. Until recently, the looted artifacts were all that was known of the people and culture or cultures that created the shaft tombs. So little was known, in fact, that a major 1998 exhibition highlighting these artifacts was subtitled: "Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past".[6]
It is now thought that, although shaft tombs are widely diffused across the area, the region was not a unified cultural area.[7] Archaeologists, however, still struggle with identifying and naming the ancient western Mexico cultures of this period

en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by chiefsmom
Wonderful post.
They were amazingly detailed in the sculptures.
I am curious though about the "Sleep for extended period" sculpture.
The figure appears to be strapped down in two places?

Maybe sacrificial?

This figure also raised interest for me. It almost looks like a MRI machine, as odd as that sounds.

reply to post by Kantzveldt


wow! thanks for those lovely pictures,, i am a model hobbyist, so that really hit the spot,,,
the second picture, the hand reminded me of the viking tale where Thor slept accidentally in a giants glove.

What I find astounding is, how many of these small cultures exsited, each with its very own strict set of rules and an according belief system. Most of the times completely autonomous from cultures that existed only a couple hundred years befoer or after them.

Apparently, only a small fraction of time and isolation is required in order to create completely new belief systems and rule sets.

Hey OP I'm actually a native from Nayarit I know the state very well I am a land owner and I visit the place frequently, the place is very untouched and is very gorgeous. So much history. I have artifacts back at home. If you ever get a chance to visit its a wonderful place filled with Jungle, marshes, and long strip of coast. Many ruins and I was about to reply in another thread the one refering to slavery in America. This is one of those places that you can still live a slr sufficient life, but I'm getting out of subject now :p. If you would like to know more about this part of Mexican I can be of assistance.

I thought this was facinating.

I like the photos you've posted. Where did you take them?

reply to post by H1ght3chHippie



There may be some similarity with a culture from Colombia, they do differ in many areas from other central American cultures.

Because western Mexico is on the very periphery of Mesoamerica, it has long been considered outside the Mesoamerican mainstream and the cultures at this time appear to be particularly insulated from many mainstream Mesoamerican influences. For example, no Olmec-influenced artifacts have been recovered from shaft tombs, nor are any Mesoamerican calendars or writing systems in evidence


Shaft tombs also appear in northwestern South America in a somewhat later timeframe than western Mexico (e.g. 200-300 CE in northern Peru, later in other areas). To Dorothy Hosler, Professor of Archaeology and Ancient Technology at MIT, "The physical similarities between the northern South American and West Mexican tomb types are unmistakable."while art historian George Kubler finds that the western Mexican chambers "resemble the shafted tombs of the upper Cauca river in Colombia". However, others disagree that the similarity of form demonstrates cultural linkages

I was looking for a maritime connection as to their origins, as the conch shell was a very important part of their culture...a possible Polynesian connection






reply to post by Saltron



it does look a nice area and quite isolated i guess, what sort of artifacts have you come across...?





reply to post by kenpos12



From the interwebs...i had a good look around.



reply to post by solve



I think they had a lot of fun making these miniature dioramas as any hobbyists should, this is essentialy folk art

reply to post by Kantzveldt


I have arrow heads and parts of an Aztec calendar I found while I was in my land, there are also parts of villages that are undiscovered. A couple of years ago a village was discovered hidden in tall grass; locals cut it down and found a ghost town. Also you should look into the history of San blas, it use to be a commercial port, there are ruins on a hill of a fort that overlooks the port, with the cannons still intact , pirate ships sunk in the ocean some with gold bars in them still. The place has 2 volcanos and rich in elements, the soil is rich and grows awesome crops. Some of the best coffee, mangos, avacados etc.. I've ever tasted. You would have to see the place. Also so much culture. Look up mezcaltitlan it's an island in the middle of the jungle that was made into a city. Also the beach known as the hidden beach is from Nayarit in the Islas Maria's. did I forget to mention the place is known for some of the best sea food dishes in Mexico :p

That first picture gave me the heebyjeebes.

Ia Ia Fhtagn, and all that jazz.

Thanks for posting this. it was very interesting.
I'd like to visit some ancient sites some day.

Thank you Kantzveld,

I always enjoy your posts. I'm always learning something when I happen upon them, and click on any thread with your name on it.

Peace,
Cirque

While these artefacts are wonderful and give us a great insight into a little known culture, are we really to believe these intricate dioramas are from 100AD - 800AD? Or are they impressions of the culture by a modern artist? If they're legit then I tip my hat to the artists, the archaeology team and the OP for bring these to our attention, that really would be a remarkable find.