Revisiting alter egos: superimposed figures in Konduri iconography and its relationship with shamanism

Abstract

The notion of alter ego has been used since the early twentieth century to describe a motif characterized by the superposition of one figure by another in pre-colonial iconographies of northern South America. This term also refers to its interpretation based on ethnographic analogy of Amerindian concepts. This paper presents a discussion of the supposed alter egos found in Konduri ceramic style (c. AD 1250-1650). Systematic analysis of thousands of fragments and some whole vessels allowed to identify three motifs with birds, heads of birds, or quadrupeds above the heads of anthropomorphic or zooanthropomorphic figures. Beyond the direct representation of certain relationships with souls or spirits, superposition are part of visual techniques and themes indexing body metamorphosis. From the colonial chronicles and hypotheses about vessels functions, its possible do suppose that these figures acted over observers, users and their contents in feasts and shamanic practices. These depictions display postures and adornments that can be correlated with a visual theme of seated anthropomorphs dispersed throughout the Amazon basin, probably a conventional representation of shamans.

Keywords
Konduri style; Alter ego ; Iconography; Shamanism; Bird imagery