Yesterday our ISA group went on an interesting cultural tour through the National Museum (Museo de la Nacion) of Lima, Peru. While I am not always super excited to see a bunch of ceramics and textiles, this museum presented a lot of history about the Peruvian culture, which I enjoyed very much. Overall the museum presented an in-depth depiction of the Peruvian lifestyles from the pre-Incan socialization up through modern Peru.
At the beginning of our tour we were able to see artifacts highlighting the types of weapons and culinary tools used by the Peruvian people during 2000 BC. It was pretty amazing to see the extreme detail in the designs that was used in the ceramics, my favorites I have posted above. The tour was in Spanish so I may not have understood all that was said but I do know that many of the ceramics were modeled after prominent figures in the Peruvian culture. The God’s have always been a large part of the ancient civilization and it was fascinating to see the intricate designs that they made out of gold. Other important figures included hunters, musicians, and animals like the llama.
Llamas in general have played a big role in Peru’s history because they have been used for transporting goods, making clothing, and many other things. Here I must digress a little bit…the day before I left for Peru I was out eating with friends at TGI Fridays and one of my friends, Kaitlyn, decided to show me a video about llamas and so I couldn’t help but include the link to the video. It is bizarre video and I don’t in any way condone the llama’s actions but I told her I would mention it at some point on my trip. Now I just need to find live llamas that I can try to put hats on for a quick picture. Check out the video here, be aware that Carl is a malicious llama and I suggest not trying any stunts Carl does.
For me the most fascinating exhibit had to be the one on the terrorism movement in Peru. The exhibit included hundreds of photos that documented the extreme sadness of this time period in Peru, which lasted from the 1960’s through the last 1990’s. In light of sparing readers from some of the graphic imagery I am only adding two photos from the gallery and giving just a small bit of background. The Shining Path terrorist organization was the main group that caused the increase in terrorism in Peru. In reaction to the growing movement of terrorism President Fujimori lead the government into taking extreme actions against the Shining Path and anyone thought to be involved in terrorism. While his methods may have been unethical at times, many people in Peru still praise him for pulling them out of that dark period in their history. The Shining Path had grown from being in rural areas to having a strong presence in Lima, which caused many people to flee the country and still many of them have not returned. Today Peru is a very safe place and the tourism industry is starting to greatly increase, much thanks to the suppression of terrorism. The first of the two photos is of a group of villagers who were given makeshift guns in order to protect their community from the devastating attacks from the Shining Path and other terrorism units. The other photo is a very famous photo that is of a peasant who was attacked with machetes by the Shining Path. To read more about the terrorism movement in Peru click here.
All in all the museum was a great experience and I look forward to learning more about Peruvian culture and art through my Popular Art and Culture of Peru class!
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