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Death as a rite of passage: the

iconography of the Moche Burial Theme

ERICAHILL*

Th e appl icat ion of van Gennep’s R ites ofPassage s tructure to iconograp hy and m ortuarycontexts in the Late Moche perio d of Peru offers an original m ea ns of exploring

prehis tor ic concepts o f d eath .

Key-words: Peru, Moche period, Rites of Passage, mortuary contexts, cosmology, iconography

Archaeological and art-historical research on

the North Coast of Peru has revealed a rich

corpus of iconographic themes i n metalwork,murals and ceramics from the Moche period,

c. AD 100-750. Iconography, with its weal th of

representational imagery, in conjunction wi th

archaeological evidence, indicates that a link

exists between the images depicted and the ritual

practices of the Moche (Bauer 1996: 333-4;

Castillo 1993); in other words, the iconography

is depicting certain aspects of Moche culture re-

alistically, in particular, those aspects related to

mortuary ritual (DeMarraiset 01. 1996: 24).

This study examines one component ofMoche iconography - he Burial Theme -using the tripartite ‘ritesof passage’ framework

formulated by Arnold van Gennep (1960). Rites

of passage occur cross-culturally during major

events in the life-cycle and have three major

components (discussed in greater detail below).

In an interpretive analysis, I apply this frame-

work to the iconography of the Burial Theme.

The liminal, or transitional, states depicted in

this image facilitate the renewal of the com-

munity following death (see IJceda C. 1997).The rites of passage structure provides the

means for exploring prehistoric cosmology

through iconography. Furthermore, this analytic

structure can be employed as an alternative to

analogical approaches and can be applied to

the study of ritual and iconography beyond the

bounds of the Andean world. Throughout, my

focus is on death ritual, specifically as it re-

lates to elite interments, but it draws on sev-

eral sources, including Donnan & McClelland

(1979), a vessel from the tomb of a high-status

female at the site of San Jose de Moro (Castillo1996),and a large sherd of another vessel pub-

lished by Shimada (1994: 231). Finally, pub-

lished examples of several vessels that contain

either elements of,or related to, the Burial Theme

itself are employed in this study (e.g. Benson 1972:

figures 2 -1 ,2 -2 ; Hocquenghem 1987: figures 181-

186). All of the known contexts are mortuary, as

are the contexts of most Moche ceramics and

metalwork with iconographic content. Signifi-

cantly, the Burial Theme first appeared during

the Late Moche Period, characterized by bothecological and social upheaval.

The Late Moche period (A D 600-750) and the

Burial Theme

The Moche inhabited the arid river valleys of

the Peruvian North Coast, relying heavily upon

irrigation technology (Conklin& Moseley 1988),

domesticated camelids (alpacas and llamas)

(Shimada& Shimada 1985), marine resources

and the fundamental cultigens cotton, maize,

beans, gourds and squash . Evidence from gla-cial cores indicates that a severe drought with

associated El Niiio events occurred between AD

563 and 594 on the North Coast (Shimada et

al. 1991). These dates correspond to the tran-

sition from the Middle to the Late Moche Pe-

riod (A D 550-600).

Bawden (1983: 235) applies A.L. Kroeber’s

term ‘cultural reconstitution’ to changes in

Moche architecture and iconography evident

* Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-1086, USA. [email protected]

Received 30 January 1998, accepted 20 March 1998, revised 23 April 1998.

ANTIQUITY2 (1998): 528-38



DEATH AS A RITE OF PASSAGE: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOCHE BURIAL THEME 52 9

in the Late Moche Period (c.AD 600-750). ‘Cul-

tural reconstitution’ refers to the process of

change that a polity undergoes as it fundamen-

tally alters its basic st ructure in order to adjust

to new conditions. As a result, the material

record of the Late Moche Period (Phase V) in-cluded a ‘diminished repertoire and use of tra-

ditional religious iconography, new ceramic

forms . . . [and a shift] in ritual activities and

paraphernalia’ (Shimada etd. 991: 253).The

style and composition of ceramic motifs also dis-

play marked changes during the Middle to Late

Moche transition. The Burial Theme is one such

example, appearing in integrated formfor the first

time during this period. Although this image is

used as a case study, the interpretative approach

presented here may be applied to any culture-group with an extant iconographic repertoire.

Such an interpretive approach would not be

possible without the rich description provided

by Donnan & McClelland’s (1979) monograph

on the Burial Theme. Their work uti lised a to-

tal of seven unprovenienced vessels from mu-

seums and private collections in the United

States, France and Peru. It was concerned with

the identification of elements of the Theme,

but did not attempt to locate the image within

the context of Moche society, nor suggest whythe Burial Theme became prominent during the

Late Moche period. In contrast, my aim is toemploy the rites of passage ritual st ructure for-

mulated by van Gennep (1960) n order to situate

the Theme within its prehistoric context. This

is based upon transitional periods within t he

life cycle, or ‘rites of passage’.Van Gennep (1960)

and later Turner (1967; 1969) appl ied the con-

cept of rites of passage to the structure of ritual,

breaking the process into three component parts.

1 the rite of separation ritualizes the removalof an individual from his or her usual

position in life;

2 liminal rites emphasize transformation from

one state into another; and

3 rites of incorporation focus on the recon-

stitution of the individual andlor the com-

munity in a new form (van Gennep 1960).

The two lines of evidence used to evaluate the

application of this tripartit e conceptual struc-

ture to prehistoric iconography are

1 the Burial Theme i tself; and2 Moche burial evidence, which is discussed

relative to the representation of interment

depicted in the Theme.

In the final section of this paper, van Gennep’s

tripartite structure is applied, with particu-

lar emphasis on the concept of liminality.

Liminal periods are temporally bounded in-

tervals in which a n individual ha s ambigu-

ous status relative to the larger community(Turner 1969: 94). Liminal entities may be

disguised, masked (Napier 1986)or naked in

order to demonstrate that they have n o prop-

erty, role or insignia of kin or community sta-

tus (Turner 1969: 95). Liminal states may occur

during the performance of a ritual, usually

one in w hich an indivi dual is moving from

one state or status to another -for example

from commoner to chief or from life to dea th

(Metcalf & Huntington 1991). Cross-cultur-

ally, the rites of dea th an d burial are gener-ally associated with transitions and passages- ssentially liminal states; these associa-

tions are arguably some of the few universals

of human behaviour that have been ide nti-

fied by anthropologists (e.g. Metcalf k

Huntington 1991). Such a transition,or liminal

state, is evident in the iconography of the

Burial Theme, which represents the perform-

ance of a ritual (Bawden 1996; Berezkin 1987;

Donnan 1978).

The iconographyof the Burial Theme

Donnan & McClelland (1979: 6) have argued

that the Burial Theme is composed of four ac-tivities: conch-shell transfer, burial, assembly

and sacrifice. They separate these activities on

the basis of sets of parallel lines painted on

each vessel. I have divided the Theme into three

sets of activities, which I have identified as

scenes:

(Scene A ) conch-shell transfer;

(Scene B) burial and assembly;(Scene C) sacrifice.’

The Burial Theme depicts a series of figures

engaged in each of these activities (FIGURES

& 2) . Two figures usually re-occur i n each set:

Iguana and Wrinkle Face (or Aia Paec).

In Moche art, the iguana is usually anthro-

1 My d ec i s io n to d iv id e th e T h eme in to th r ee scen es wa s

based o n i co n o gr ap h ic co n ten t , ra th e r t h an th e p r e senceof para l le l l ines . Sets of para l le l l ines occur t h r o u g h o u t

the im ages, no t on ly sur rounding the se ts of ac t iv i t ies iden-tif ied by Donnan &McClelland (1979).Additionally, treatingthe burial an d assembly activit ies together as Scene B yieldsa more in tegra ted explanat ion of t h e s c e n e t h a n if t h e s eact iv i t ies were sep a r a t ed .



530 ERICA HILL

Scene C

Aia Paec Iguanaia Paec

Iguana Aia Paec

SceneA Scene B

FIGURE.Rol l -out of s t i r rup -spou t v e sse l , M us eu m of A r t , R h o d e I s la n d S c h o o l of Design , Prov idence( RI ). [Adap t e d from Donnan b McCle l land 1979:20, f igure 6. Courtesy Donn a M cCle l land . )

Scene C

Aia Paec

Iguana Coffm Aia Paec

SceneAScene B

FIGURE. Rol l -out drawing of s t i rrup-spout vesse l , Col lec t ion of Herbert Lucas , Brentwood [CA) .

( A d a p t e d from D o n n a n 6.McCle l land 1979: 21, f igure 7. Cour t e sy Donna McCle l land . )

pomorphized and is depicted with a lined face,

prominent muzzle, tail and bird head-dress

(Donnan 1978: 41). The second figure also has

a lined face, a characteristic for which Donnan

and McClelland (1979) have labelled him ‘Wrin-

kle Face’; however he will be referred to hereas Aia Paec, following Larco Hoyle (1939: 142;

Castillo 1989:138).This figure also has a feline

head-dress, as well as a distinctive shirt and a

sash from which snakes extend (Berezkin 1980;

Castillo 1989; Donnan & McClelland 1979:6).z

Scene A , located in t he lower left half of FIG-

URES 1& 2 , depicts the exchange of conch shells

between Iguana and an attendant figure and a

larger kneeling figure under a gabled roof struc-

2

sash terminates with the heads of a snake-fox.Alternatively, Bourget (1994: 94) has suggested that the



DEATH AS A RITE OF PASSAGE: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOCHE BURIAL THEME 531

FIGURE . Scene B(Burial] .Detai l of roll-out drawing of

st irrup-spout vessel ,Collection of OscarRodr iguez Razze to ,Chepe'n, Peru.( A d a p t e d fromDonnan 6McClel land 1979: 24,

f igure 10 . CourtesyDonna M cCle l land. ) Iguana

ture. This latter figure has an elaborate cres-

cent-shaped head-dress and s its atop a flightof stairs, which are ascended by the at tendant

figures. This central character is surrounded

by stylized conch shells and may be shown

wearing ear spools, a nose ornament and an

elaborate backflap. The detailed ornamentation

and dress of this individual indicate that he is

male (Hocquenghem & Lyon 1980). His high

status is suggested by his large size (relative to

the other figures) and his location above the

attendant figures at the summit of the platform.

Additionally, he kneels beneath a gabled roofstructure, traditionally associated with high

status among the M o ~ h e . ~

In Scene B (which comprises the right half

of FIGURES& Z ) , Iguana and Aia Paec stand at

the top of a pit filled with offerings in gourd

dishes holding ropes in the zoomorphic form

of snakes. A rectangular box shape is represented

at the bottom of the pit, surrounded by offer-

ings. The face depicted on the box may repre-

sent a mask (Berezkin 1980: 15),which is turned

toward the viewer (FIGURE). The face (o rmask)is surmounted by a stylized conch shell

(Strombusgaleatus) (Donnan 1978:64; Shimada

1994: 230). This shell motif is also a promi-

nent image in Scene A. Above the box or cof-

fin, human and anthropomorphized animals

stand in ordered rows, apparently attending the

ritual that is being performed. Donnan &

McClelland (1979) have identified these com-

3 Relative size and position as a visual marker of differ-

cntial status is a well-established principle in Egyptian

iconography (Shiifer 1974: 233-4) and has precedents in

Near Eastern cyl inder seals and Christian imagery as well.

This principle is applied here to the Moche iconographic

corpus.

C OKi

ponents of the Theme as the burial and assem-

bly activities.On the other side of the vessels, Iguana and

Aia Paec appear again. At the top left, a com-

plex scene of sacrifice (or possibly de-fleshing)

(Scene C) is depicted in which a naked female

figure is being pecked by birds about the face

and genital area (Donnan & McClelland 1979).

Schaffer (1983) has identified these birds as

members of the vulture family based on the

presence of stylized wrinkles, which probably

represent the characteristic un-feathered neck

and head of ei ther the black (Coragyps t ra tus )or turkey vulture (Cathartesaura) (Schaffer 1983:

35-42). The woman is always depicted in a

spread-eagled position, with clearly represented

sexual characteristics (Hocquenghem & Lyon

1980: 38). Her face, like the face on the coffin,

appears mask-like (Berezkin 1980: 14-15;

Schaffer 1983: 39). In several examples of the

Burial Theme (Donnan& McClelland 1979: fig-

ures 6, 7 & l o ) , she is depicted with only one

eye intact . To the right stands Aia Paec, who i s

usually depicted above and/or larger thanIguana, who is next to him. Aia Paec holds what

appear to be spears or harpoons in one hand

and snakes in the other. The belt of snakes, shirt

design and feline head-dress make Aia Paec

distinctive.

Relationship of the Burial Theme to burial

evidence

Whether the 'burial' being depicted on the stir-

rup-spout vessels conforms to the actual evi-

dence for human interment from Moche sitesin the Moche, Lambayeque and Jequetepeque

Valleys can be tested against the archaeologi-

cal record (Castillo& Donnan 1994: 115;Castillo



532 ERICA HILL

1993). Below, I address the evidence for mask-

ing, the representation of the burial container

and pit, and the presence of vultures, shells

and food offerings. These lines of evidence

demonstrate that the Burial Theme depicts ac-

tual prehistoric events.

Mask sThe face surmounting the coffin at the bottom

of the pit appears to be a mask; the face de-

picted is exaggerated, with fixed features. Fa-

cial coverings are a frequent component of

Moche burial assemblages: often taking the form

of gilded disks, as in the Moche IV burials at

the pyramids of Moche (Donnan&Mackey 1978:

144-53, 180-82; see Lapiner 1976 for several

examples of masks). Another example from thesame site is a copper sheet bent over the face

of the deceased (Donnan & Milckey 1978:154-

8). A funeral mask with exaggerated features

was recovered from the tomb of a priestess

(sacerdotisa) at San Jose de Moro (Donnan &

Castillo 1994). This copper mask was not ap-

plied to the face of the deceased, but rather at-

tached to the coffin itself. In the SipBn Moche

111 burials, a sheet-gold mask covered the lower

face of the individual in one of the primary

interments. This mask had an indented spacefor the mouth and a cut-out space for the nose;

the shape of the cheeks, chin and upper neck

were also reproduced in hammered gold. In

addi tion, two bands of teeth, a nose and eyes

of hammered gold had been placed over the

individual's face (Alva& Donnan 1993: 87-91).

In one representation of the Burial Theme

(Donnan & McClelland 1979: figure 21, the de-

ceased individual is shown having only one

eye. Two masks recovered at SipBn, each mask

had only one eye of inlaid shell ; the left eyeswere missing. The investigators determined that

left shell eyes had never been set into the masks,

thus leaving the left sockets gaping (Alva &

Donnan 1993: 1851.

Me thod of i n t e r m e n tSecond, in t he Burial Theme, the burial con-

tainer represented is rectangular in shape, sug-

gesting an extended burial (as the box is at least

4 A s Bourget (p ers. comm. 1998) has no ted, larger circu-

lar copper disks have also been recovered at the Mochepyramids. These were probably part of a head-dress, rather

than the masks discussed here.

three times as long as it is wide) . (Burial in a

shroud wrapping or bundle would probably be

represented as a rounded form, or at least with

rounded ends, rather than as a rectangular one.)

Archaeologically, Moche burials from Phases

I-IV are almost always fully extended and su-pine with hands at the sides or over the pelvic

area (Donnan 1986:2 2; 1995: 123;Shimada 1994:

242). The face, or mask, faces the viewer in t he

representations. This may be the result of the

artist rotating either the body or the box 90" in

order to make the face visible (Donnan and

McClelland 1979:7). However, burial evidence

from Galindo, a Moche V site in the Moche

Valley, suggests that adults were frequently

buried on their sides in an extended position

(Shimada 1994: 241-2).Similarities also exist between the form of

the box and the containers in which the Moche

buried their dead. Donnan (1995) has identi-

fied seven dist inct procedures used to encase

the body for burial; two of these procedures

correspond to the representational evidence:

cane coffin and plank coffin burials. Only these

two forms would produce a rectangular box

form. The other five procedures produce

rounded forms conforming to the shape of the

body.Two plank coffin burials have been identi-

fied by Donnan (1995: 133). Both of these date

to Moche 111, and are therefore much earlier

than the period in which the Burial Theme

appears. Tomb 1 at SipBn, now referred to as

that of the Warrior Priest, contained a plank

coffin lashed together with copper straps. Sev-

eral other individuals in this tomb were interred

in cane coffins surrounding the central burial

(Alva& Donnan 1993: 55-125). Donnan relates

the use of cane and plank coffins to individu-als of the highest social status in Moche soci-

ety. Archaeologically, these forms of burial are

associated with either rectangularor boot-shaped

burial chambers (Donnan 1995:1 2 2 )several mebes

deep. Rectangular burial chambers are generally

rock-lined or constructed of mud brick with cane

or wood roofing (Donnan 1995: 136-7).

In the Burial Theme, the buria l chamber is

distinctly rectangular, which would appear to

correspond with Moche treatment of high-sta-

tus dead. Thus, the extension of the body, burialcontainer and burial chamber as observed in

archaeological contexts match the representa-

tion in the Burial Theme.



DEATH AS A RITE O F PASSAGE: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOCHE BURIAL THEME 5 3 3

VulturesIn the upper left portion of the images, a na-

ked woman is being pecked at by birds , which

have been identified as vultures (Rea 1986;

Schaffer 1983). Vultures are a common com-

ponent of Moche ar t (Schaffer 1983).Althoughtheir remains have not been recovered in burial

contexts among the Moche, vultures have been

ident ified at later North Coast sites.5

Offerings of shells and foodFinally, the Burial Theme is replete with styl-

ized representations of shells and food offer-

ings in gourd containers. High-status Moche

dead are often interred with shells and food.

At San Jose de Moro, for example, Spondylus

shells were associated exclusively with high-status individuals and were often placed on

top of the hands (Castillo and Donnan 1994:

119, 124-5) or chest (Donnan & Castillo 1994:

419) of the deceased. At SipBn, Conus and

Spondylus shel ls were found with some of the

most elaborate burials ever excavated in the

Moche area (Alva & Donnan 1993). However,

Strombus shells, which are depicted in the

Burial Theme, have no known association with

actual Moche burials, although they may have

an association with the dead by funct ioning asthe medium through which requests for water

are made. For example, shells may be offered

to ancestors or spirits, both of which are asso-

ciated with the provision of water resources to

Andean peoples (Hocquenghem 1987: 82) .

Like shel ls, gourd dishes of corn and beans

as well as other food items are commonly re-

covered archaeologically (Alva& Donnan 1993:

154, 189; Donnan & McClelland 1979: 7 ;

5 At the site of Pacatnamu at the mouth of the JequetepequeValley, two vultures were recovered in association with a

human mass burial. The 14 individuals i n the burial dis-played trauma consi stent with sacrifice as it is understood

in Moche contex ts [Verano 1986).Although this burial datesto the Chimd period (c.1100AD), tremendous cultural con-tinuity exists between th e Late Moche and Chimu period.

Settlement patterning, architecture and social structuredemonstrate considerable continuity between the two pe-riods [Conklin 1990; McClelland 1990: 92). Therefore the

inclusion of vultures i n a sacrificial burial at a Chimu site

may he representative of Moche ritual behaviour in a n earlierperiod. The behaviour of the birds depicted i n the Burial

Theme is also consistent with t he known behaviour ofvultures, whi ch consume the eyes and genitalia first. Thismass burial thus provides additi onal evidence that the naked

woman in the Burial Theme is actually a sacrifice and thatthe birds pecking at her face and genitals are vultures.

Gumerman 1997). In a comprehensive study

of botanical remains from the site of Pacatnamu,

Gumerman (1997) identified 1 7 plant species,

most of which were edible. Among those plants

were lima beans, peanuts, squash and lucuma.

In sum, archaeological evidence for the burialof high-status individuals corresponds specifi-

cally with the iconographic evidence of the Burial

Theme. For the purposes of this analysis, the as-

sumption will be made that mortuary practice

reflects social status (sensuBinford 1971).There-

fore the individual being interred is of relatively

high status, given the elaborate treatment of the

body and the range of burial offerings. Having

demonstrated that the Burial Theme depicts a

ritual that was actually performed by the Moche,

I present the Theme as a rite of passage below.

Rites of passage and narrative art

Several studies have observed that the theme

of transition or transformation is a common

component of mortuary ritual and symbolism

(Badone 1989; Kan 1989; Metcalf & Huntington

1991: 32; Morris 1992; Parker Pearson 1993).

Van Gennep’s structure (1960:10-11) describes

certain events in an individual’s life in terms

of transitions or rites of passage, with three

distinct stages in rituals:rites of separation

rites of incorporation.

All phases of a ritual or ceremony may not be

developed to the same extent; thus in funerary

ritual, the rites of separation (when present)

may be minimal, whereas the liminal phase is

often emphasized both in terms of duration and

complexity (van Gennep 1960: 146). For exam-

ple , I have observed many modern grave sites in

the Southwestern US replete with the imageryof sleep -the deceased is neither dead nor alive,

but rather is sleeping peacefully. Sleep itself is a

liminal state- ne is neither awake, nor uncon-

scious, but rather somewhere in between.

The general objective uniting rites of passage

is to ensure the smooth transition from one state

or condition to another. Thus birth, marriage and

death are all states that may be culturally elabo-

rated through a rite of passage. For example,

marriage may be broken down into three peri-

ods during which an individual is1 single,

2 engaged,

3 married.

transition rites (the liminal phase)



534 ERICA HILL

In this formulation, the period of engagement

is a liminal phase in which the individual is

no longer single, but not yet married. Like

marriage, the cross-cultural elaboration of death

may involve extensive ritual elaboration of the

transition from life to after-life (Bloch& Parry1982; Metcalf & Huntington 1993). Although

the Burial Theme emphasizes the liminal sta te,

rites of separation and incorporation are also

depicted, albeit on a lesser scale.

The Conch She l l Scene (Scene A)Scene A depicts the deceased while he was still

alive. He is shown receiving conch shells while

sitting under a gabled st ructure. His dress and

ornamentation, size and elevation all suggest

clearly defined status and role, which becomemasked (literally) in the burial scene (Scene

B). Scene A represents a stable state in which

Iguana has a central role, func:tioning as a har-

binger of death. Iguana offers the shells , which

in the scene of burial are associated with the

interred individual. Iguana thus fac i l i ta tes the

rite of separation as defined by van Gennep;

the shell imagery links the figure beneath the

gabled roof with the deceased in Scene B.

T h e Bur ia l Sc e ne [ Sc e ne B )Scene B depicts the interment of the high-sta-

tus figure introduced in Scene A. In order to

link the burial section of the ‘Theme with this

figure, stylized shell imagery is employed. Shells

serve as visual cues, first surrounding the de-

ceased in Scene A, and then being visually as-

sociated with his coffin in Scene B. Given its

relationship to the conch-shell transfer scene

and its explicit representation of interment and

death, the burial scene represents the liminal

phase of a rite of passage. Limfnal images havebeen identified elsewhere (e.g. Green 1997;

Jonaitis 1981; Koehl 1986) and are usually as-

sociated with major life-cycle transitions. The

primary characteristics of liniinal phases are

ambiguity and the suspension of social norms.

Hertz (1960), in his classic s tudy of mortu-

ary ritual and secondary burial, illustrated how

this process works by focusing on the treatment

of the body and the actions of the mourners ormortuary attendants. These activities function

to disassociate the deceased from society (ritesof separation) and to initiate the liminal phase

using imagery of the passage, which serves ‘not

only [as] a denial of individual extinction, but

also [as] a reassertion of society and a renewal of

life and creative power’ (Bloch& Parry 1982: 5).

Images of passage (Scene B), and thus ofliminality, occupy half of the visual field of the

Burial Theme. The lowering of the coffin through

a pit or passageway in the earth is the mostvivid example of passage in the entire Theme.

The attendant figures, including Iguana and Aia

Paec, serve to facilitate the transition. These

figures mediate between the living world and

the dead by being spatially situated between

Iguana and Aia Paec, who are lowering the coffin

(the living community), and the individual

entering the world of the dead. Thus , the as-

sembled figures are an integral component of

the burial activity.

Iguana and Aia Paec play a dual role in thisscene, both lowering the coffin into the ground

and heralding or accompanying the dead indi-

vidual in the lower register. The appearance of

these figures twice in Scene B suggests that burial

and assembly are timeless events occurring in

a non-linear fashion. As Netherly (1990) points

out, the Andean world view does not distin-

guish between the past and the future. Further-

more, the dead in many cultures are associated

with a different time structure than that opera-

tive in the living world. The dead may be inseveral locations simultaneously, f their loca-

tion can be ident ified at all (Humphreys 1981:

247-75). Thus, the presence of Iguana and Aia

Paec repeatedly in concurrent activities is con-

sistent with in an Andean temporal framework

(see also Quilter 1990)6 nd further emphasizes

the liminal qualities of the buria l event.

Liminality is essential in this context because

in stratified societies, like that of the Moche,

the death of an Blite may have a significant

i m p a ~ t . ~ecause the leader serves as an inte-grative symbol, his or her death may generate

6 The simultaneous representation of the same figure atdifferent times has been observed in another Moche sceneby Zighelhoim (1995),who suggests that the Mountain scene

represents an indi vidual simultaneously before and after

falling from a precipice. In another example, Quilter (1997b)

has noted different activi ties being depicted a s though theywere occurring simultaneously in the Revolt of the Oh-

jects Theme. His point that this treatment of time is a de-vice of narrative art may well be applicable to t he Burial

Theme.7 I am referring here to the removal, through death, of

the living presence of an individual. It is as yet unclearhow t he Moche conceptualized the afterlife and t he post-

mortem presence of an individual.



DEATH AS A RITE OF PASSAGE: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE M OCHE BURIAL THEME 5 3 5

a crisis and threaten the stability of the extant

social and political order. The liminal phase of

mortuary ritual permits adjustment to occur, less-

ening the possibility that social upheaval and

uncertainty will overwhelm the community.

In addition to the imagery of passage, twoother elements signal liminality in Scene B:masks and mountains. A mask covers the face

of the deceased, or is applied to the coffin, and

a box of planks (or canes) hides the body. Napier

(1986: 16-17) andMack (1994: 2 3 4 )suggest that

one of the primary functions of masks is to mark

a period of transformation by expressing ambi-

guity. The mask motif is particularly powerful

given the importance of external symbols of sta-

tus in Moche society evident in Scene A.

The second iconographic element ofliminality in Scene B is the huaca mound in

which the deceased (like Moche Blites) is be-

ing interred. Scene B, when taken in its en-

tirety, represents the formal structure of a Moche

burial mound - ider at the base, tapering

toward the summit, and enclosing within it-

self a range of life forms both natural and su-

pernatural . In Andean cosmology, objects and

places, not just living creatures, are animated.

Thus, huacas are not static mounds of earth,

but rather dynamic components of the land-scape, just as the mountains , whose shape they

reproduce, are imbued with vitality (Bourget

1994). The images in Scene B convey this sense

of an animated landscape. The in terment is not

merely the lowering of a dead indiv idual into

the earth, but rather a transition from the known

world into a dynamic underworld. Just as moun-

tains have caverns that funct ion as entryways,

the huaca has the burial pit, which functions

as a passageway. Like mountains, the h u a c a

becomes a permanent component of the land-scape, transcending time and space.

Two types of evidence suggest how moun-

tain lhuaca imagery functions as a liminal im-

age in Moche iconography. First, mountains are

anthropomorphized both i n origin stories and

in modern ethnographies; as anthropomorphs,

mountains exist in a liminal space between the

human and natural world. Peruvian origin myths

recorded ethnohistorically indicate that moun-

tains functioned as the means of emergence and

transition, as places of birth. Mythical found-ers are believed to have emerged (been born)

from mountains and caves in the earth (Bauer

1991: 16; Urton 1990). Ethnographic fieldwork

indicates that places on mountains are named

for parts of the human anatomy- he slopes

are the chest of the mountain, the heights are

the head (Bastien 1985: 43-7). Mountains are

also characterized as having familial relation-

ships. For example, the mountain of Salcantaynear Cuzco is considered the ‘brother’ of a nearby

peak, while in the 1800s the same peak was

believed to be the husband of a nearby ‘female’

summit (Reinhard 1991: 15).

The second way in which mountains func-

tion as liminal entities is their role as dynamic

otherworld landscapes inhabited by deities

controlling water, fertility and meteorological

phenomena (Reinhard 1993: 12-13). As such ,

mountains are venerated as sacred, especially

by ritual specialists and those who either mustcross them or who benefit from the water they

provide (Reinhard 1991: 15-16). This sacred-

ness is evident i n the pre-Incan custom of bury-

ing people on the slopes of mountains (Reinhard

1993: 12; 1995: 343). While the living are be-

lieved to have emerged from the lakes or water

sources of a mountain , the dead reside within

the mountain and travel through it via under-

ground waterways to the u m a pacha , the place

of origin to which the deadreturn (Bastien 1985:

47, 171-4).Ethnohistoric and ethnographic examples,

which are used to demonstrate how mountains

function as liminal entities, are employed in

order to furnish an explicitly Andean concep-

tual context in which to view Moche iconog-

raphy. (These examples are not meant as

analogies, as they are both spatially and tem-

porally removed from the region and period

under study.) Nevertheless, ethnographic data

provides an interesting parallel to mountain

imagery in Moche iconography. Benson (1972)discusses mountains in relation to sacrifice and

presents an image in which a figure, which she

identifies as the Moche creator or mountain god,

emerges from a mountain cave (1972: 27-30,

figure 2-2). This same figure is frequently shown

on modelled pots depicting a mountain scene.

This class of pots represents mountain peaks

or crests (usually five) in which one or more

figures wi th long hair are shown draped over

the cent ral peak (Benson 1972: figure 2-1;

Hocquenghem 1987: figures 182-186). A ten-tative interpretation of this image suggests that

the draped figure is a sacrifice, perhaps related

to the sacrificed female in SceneC of the Burial



536 ERICA HILL

Theme. The draped figure may be female, based

on the distinctive long hair, one of the criteria

used to identify females in Moche iconogra-

phy (Arsenault 1991: 315; Benson 1988).

Sacrifices, like that in Scene C, are often

depicted in mountain contexts elsewhere inMoche art (Berezkin 1980: figures 7 ,9; Bourget

1994; Hocquenghem 1987). Additionally, the

hair treatment in both Scene C and the moun-

tain scene is a prominent feature. The sacri-

ficed female in the Burial Theme always has

distinctive braids or streaming hair, while in

the mountain scene, a figure is draped face-

first over the peak with hair streaming over the

back of the head and down the mountain (Sharon

&Donnan1974: 57). Hocquenghem (1987: 183)

has interpreted this figure as female,* an iden-tification that potentially links this figure to

the sacrificed woman in Scene C.

T he Sacr if ice Scene [Scene C)

The final scene of the Burial Theme - hat

Donnan & McClelland have termed the Sacri-

fice scene (1979: 9-10) - resents the after-

math of death and burial . This scene is set in

the living world; the deceased individual is

absent, as are the trappings of his status in life.

In this scene Aia Paec assumes the dominantposition, and Iguana appears to become an at-

tendant figure. Birds likewise are an essential

element, functioning as agents of sacrifice. In

terms of van Gennep’s schema, this final scene

represents the rite of integration or incorpora-

tion. Reintegration of the community must oc-

cur before life can resume its normal course.

Sacrifice, as a regenerative force (see Uceda C.

1997) , provides the means for reintegrating

society after the traumatic event of death. In

Scene C , the woman being consumed by birdsrepresents a sacrifice (Rea 1986: 143; Schaffer

1983: 39). The woman’s body functions as a

sacrificial gift, serving to restore order and bal-

ance in the community (Valeri 1985: 62-4;

Werbner 1989: chapter 3) or to renew the land

8 Other scholars (e.g. Bourget 1994; Zighelboim 199 5)havesuggested tha t the f igure drape d over the mo unta in peakis male. While I have chos en to follow Hocquenghem (1987)

on her in terpre ta t ion of th is f igure a s female , I fee l tha t th eidentification h as not been satisfactorily establish ed eitherway. I wo u ld even suggest tha t the sexual iden t i ty o f th isf igure is intentionally ambiguous, and thus that ou r attemptsto demonstra te e i ther a male or female sexual iden t i f ica-t ion defea ts the purpose (see Green 1997 on ambiguoussexual iden t i ty i n iconography) .

(Hocquenghem 1987: 180-82). Such beliefs are

part of a holistic conception of the universe,

in which the individual is an intrinsic part of

both the community and the landscape. The

sacrificed individual , in this sense, is a gift to

those entities or forces that assure the well-beingof the community (Hocquenghem 1987; Valeri

1985: 62-7). Through sacrifice, balance is re-

gained, the life-cycle of the individual is com-

plete and the continuance of the community

is assured.

Sacrifice in Andean practice has an intimate

association with mountain beliefs. Reinhard

(1996) has reported on recent evidence that

adolescent females were left on mountain peaks

as a form of sacrifice during the Inca period.

He has interpreted these sacrifices as offeringsto the mountains, which brought water and thus

good harvests (1996: 66) . Although the Inca

period post-dates the Moche by as much as 800

years, considerable continuity probably existed

in terms of cosmology (Bawden 1996; Isbell

1978).gCertainly Bourget’s work (1994; 1997)

in the Huaca de la Luna area suggests that sac-

rifices and mountains were an integral part of

Moche ritual practice. Bourget recovered the

remains of at least 40 individuals who had been

sacrificed in direct association with the rockyoutcropping of the nearby Cerro Blanco (Bourget

1997). By associating symbolically-laden moun-

tains with the regenerative force of sacrifice,

the Moche effectively completed both the life-

cycle of the individual and, at the same time,

the transition of the entire community through

the rites of passage.

Conclusions

The wider application of the rites of passage

framework is one way of avoiding both anal-ogy-based arguments and the generation of

description without interpretation. Both

iconographically and conceptually, the images

employed by the Moche in the Burial Theme

merged the supernatural with the natural, the

sacred with the mundane. Using the rites of

passage framework, I have suggested that limi-

nal states, as well as rites of separation and

integration, are components of Moche iconog-

raphy and, by implication, formed a part of the

Moche ritual repertoire.

9cept of con t inu i ty i n the An d es .

See Quilter 1997a for a cr i t ical appraisal of the con-



DEATH A S A RITE O F PASSAGE: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOCHE BURlAL THEME 53 7

Acknowledgements. I have benefi ted greatly from dis-

cuss ion s wi th J im Boone , Jane Buiks t ra, Lui s Ja ime

Casti l lo, Robert D. Leona rd, Todd Van Pool an d Gordon

Rakita; their in sights have greatly impro ved this work.

Steve Bourget generously share d both references as wel l

as his detai led knowledge of Moche iconography. I a m

indebted to Garth Bawden, whose interest in al l things

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