Today, Jasmine and I went to the National Archaeology and Anthropology Museum. While lacking in some labels and interpretations, there were some awesome artifacts in there from pretty much all regions and time periods of Peru. I took a class on Andean Archaeology last fall, so I love seeing these artifacts and having a bit of a background in them. There were tons of ceramics, some textiles, and my favorite colonial painting, which I was so happy to see! It's of the last supper, but instead of having his arms stretched out over bread, Jesus is blessing a guinea pig, or cuy, a traditional Andean dish. During the time when the Spanish were Christianizing the indigenous people of the Americas, they would try and blend aspects of their culture into Christianity. We see this in carnavals, art, and pilgrimages, among other things. I love this painting for it's explicit syncretism of Christianity and tradition Andean lifeways.
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