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Product Description
SEE MORE PRE-COLUMBIAN TOOLS AND WEAPONS
The Pre-Columbian Tairona civilization was an mysterious culture ruled by an elite class of shamans that were believed to be able to transform into various animals in order to achieve knowledge and higher powers. One predominant animal that figures into many Tairona art objects is the bat, believed to be associated with death, night, the underworld. This is an amazing offering of a carved stone Tairona shaman staff. The abstract head resembles a stylized bat. It is likely this scepter staff was used in rituals, held by the shaman to lead armies in battle, channel power of the cosmos, and represent authority during ceremony or ritual practices of transformation. It is one of the RAREST Pre-Columbian objects we have ever offered as carved stone works from the Tairona are very scarce, especially these scepter staffs which were limited in numbers even in their day, considering the exclusive use and ownership they were associated with.
In perfect complete and undamaged condition, this shaman carved stone scepter staff from the Tairona Civilization, represents an extremely unique opportunity for a collector or institution to add an iconic object of this highly unusual Pre-Columbian culture as the entire civilization was ruled by an elite shaman class that would have carried these rare objects. In our 34 years of collecting, this is the only complete Tairona staff we have ever had acquired. It comes from the famous Ladislas and Helena Segy collection that was formed in the 1950's. Ancient mineral deposits are intact and impacted in all microscopic crevices with no evidence of modern grinding - a trait ONLY seen in AUTHENTIC specimens.
HISTORY
Tairona or Tayrona was a Pre-Columbian culture of Colombia, which consisted in a group of chiefdoms in the region of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in present-day Cesar, Magdalena and La Guajira Departments of Colombia, South America, which goes back at least to the 1st century AD and had significant demographic growth around the 11th century. The Tairona had a ruling system based on religion. Their rulers were a part of Shaman elite that claimed to be able to control the forces of nature, the cosmos and all human thoughts and actions.
Knowledge sources about the Pre-Columbian Tairona civilization are limited to archaeological findings and a few written references from the Spanish colonial era. The Tairona valleys were densely populated, with extensive fields irrigated in the same way as those in Tuscany. Many villages were dedicated to fishing and traded their marine goods for the rest of their needs with those living inland. The Tairona had aggressively repelled the Spanish when they attempted to take women and children as slaves in the first contacts. It appears that as a result, the first contacts with the Tairona were very violent and the Spanish suffered great losses. The Tairona warfare skills were exceptional which made them one of the most difficult tribes to be colonized by the Spanish, fighting against the conquistadors for more than 75 years.
The Tairona civilization is famous for its distinctive goldwork. The gold artifacts consist of pendants, lip-plugs, nose ornaments, necklaces, and earrings. The figurines depict human subjects - probably the shamanic elite that ruled them - in ornate dresses and with a large animal mask over the face. Many of these gold figures reflect the Tairona religious beliefs. The Tairona believed in a human process known as 'transformation', which involved members of the shaman elite putting on sub-labial ornaments, nose rings etc. to resemble certain bat species and extract powers from the animal, opening their eyes to a greater truth. It was the belief of the Tairona that the shamans could escape their body and gain the knowledge of other creatures, which inspired their metallurgy. Most of the ornaments found are believed to be of people turning into fierce animals such as the famous 'Bat Man' figurine that depicts a shaman slowly turning into a bat.
The strong belief in this transformation process is one where the power of the animal is transferred into the shaman. By cleansing their mind and body, going through long periods of fasting, and exhaustive ritual dances, they believed the shamans' souls could transcend the the human condition and become enlightened from unknown regions of the heavens, inaccessible to ordinary citizens. Because of this, the shamans were considered the heads of the tribe and were treated with a great deal of respect. They commanded armies, oversaw all agriculture, and even controlled trade.