Ancient Andean Exhibit

[Mike R]

February 16-May 15, 2016
Musee du Quai Branly Exhibit; Paris
"Shamans and Divinities of Pre-Columbian Ecuador"
Immersion in the world of the spirits of pre-Columbian America through one of the major figures of the ancient cultures of Ecuador: the shaman, tradition passer,  presided over rites, ceremonies or festivals, providing spiritual and social order of a community.
A Priest with supernatural powers, sometimes performing political functions, the shaman consolidated order through a multitude of rites and ceremonies that punctuate the annual calendar.
The theme of shamanism thus remains inseparable from the history of the civilizations of prehispanic Ecuador. Reflecting the thinking and philosophy of aboriginal peoples belief system presided over the building of their social, economic and political. Habits, values ​​and knowledge are now part of a millennium legacy transmitted to the peoples of present Ecuador.
The shaman performed healing rituals, fertility or initiation, all aimed to restore the connection between the different levels of cosmic space: the outside world or heaven (the stars), the underworld or internal world (populated deceased and spirits) and in the middle, mother Earth or Pachamama, the earthly world of humans and animals. The Shaman was a social mediator between the common people and deities, powerful mythical beings or animals.
http://www.quaibranly.fr/en/exhibitions-and-events/at-the-museum/exhibitions/event-details/e/chamanes-et-divinites-de-lequateur-precolombien-36332/