Sacred Llama with Calf
Chimu culture
7" x 11"

Several important Andean themes are integrated in this unique visual narrative, which portrays a mother llama giving birth attended by a cult priest wearing a llama yoke and dancers in llama headdresses. Butterflies fluttering around the scene suggest spring or early summer, the season when camelids are born in the Andes—a time of renewal and growth.

The image evokes the animal constellation Yakana, celestial creator and guardian of the llama and alpaca herds, who ventures across the night river with her suckling calf. It clearly celebrates animal fertility and the increase of the flocks, elevating a natural event to a moment rich in human meaning and ceremony.