Peruvian Indians

Shipibo Indian, Peru
14 x 11 inches, oil on canvas, 2019

Asháninka (Campa) Indian, Peru
14 x 11 inches, oil on canvas, 2019

The sources for both paintings here are two photographs by Charles Kroehle and were taken in 1885 and 1888 in the Amazon forest region of Peru. One is labeled Campa-Indian, Rio Chuchuras, East Peru the other Indien Shipivo, fleuve Pachieta, Amazonie, Perou. The tattoos on both women are very similar. I initially thought one of the two must have been mislabeled. This doesn't appear to be the case though after further research into both ethnic groups. The Asháninka tattoos are strictly linear while the Shipibo have further design elements. I assume the tattoos are ceremonial and depict the origin of the world, the people, their ancestral spirits. I want one! Charles Kroehle (German, 1876-1902?) is considered a pioneer of the photography of Peruvian Indians. One thing is strange though in the data found and that is that if the date of birth is correct and the date of the photos are correct he was nine and twelve years old when taking these photographs? He died of an arrow wound that did not heal right. The two photographs illustrate two songs in the Top 100 that were recorded by Enrique Pinello, a Peruvian ethnomusicologist and composer. The two tracks, Shipibo Song and Ashaninka Songs, appear on the CD The Spirit Cries: Music of the Rainforests of South America and the Caribbean, compiled by (Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and part of the Endangered Music Project series of the Library of Congress. The recordings were made in 1964 (much later than the photos,) the singers are not named. The Shipbo, now known as the Shipibo-Conibo people (a merging of two cultures,) live along the Amazonian Ucayali river and are known for their waeving and pottery. Both feature designs similar to the tattoos seen in Kroehle's photographs. Recent photographs, there are many, as the culture is very popular, do not show tattoos. Today's music is very much of the same tradition as the recordings of 1964, and (I assume) how it sounded in 1888. The Asháninka, or Campa Indians live nowadays scattered throughout the Amazon region that borders Brazil. No tattoos in current pictures either but they do paint very colorful lines on their faces.