Ancestry culture at Balsa Surf Camp

ecuadorian culture

Ancestry culture at Balsa Surf Camp

Keeping cultures alive!

Many visitors often ask us what are these statues at Balsa? We love Ancestry culture at Balsa Surf Camp

What are they and what do they represent?

And the answer is simple: They are all living reminders of Ecuadorian culture.

For Rasty & Julie it was important from the beginning to anchor Ecuadorian ancestry in the Balsa. Ecuador, before the Spanish colonization and before the expansion of the Inca empire, had a multitude of cultures and their specific wisdoms and talents.

At Balsa we were able to honor 12 of them: by giving names to the rooms, each room has a name of a culture, a representation on its key ring and an artistic and explanatory painting. In the garden we expose through statues some cultures as well: the Valdivia with its beautiful Venus, the Manteña with its ceremonial seats of caciques in stone, the Chorrera, the Jama-Coaque with all its details of pastillajes….

Each culture has its magic and ancestral wisdom!
For example the Valdivia was the oldest known to this day to create pottery, we are talking about almost 4000 years before Christ, that is 6000 years ago! It also had a very peaceful culture with its matriarchal organization, it is world famous for its Venus that represents the feminine Goddess in different stages of her life and development.

Want to know more about these cultures? Visit our blog where Julie researched and explains a little more about each one!

THE ANCESTRAL CULTURES OF ECUADOR

The Valdivia culture (3800 – 1500 B.C.), one of the oldest cultures, with its almost 6000 years old, is the first society of sedentary farmers and potters in Ecuador. The archaeological site is located in the province of Santa Elena. They had a dual conception of the world with the belief in a Mother Earth, generator of life, and in masculine, atmospheric forces that fertilize or control nature. An originality of this society was that the social and religious hierarchy was based on the supremacy of women. This is due, fundamentally, to the fact that the feminine gender represented for centuries the offspring that determined their existential continuity.

Considering this important reason, they were considered goddesses because of their ability to conceive and be mothers, and therefore they were idolized like the rest of the gods. In the communities, their opinions were decisive for decision making, so they had an important participation in internal politics. The hierarchy in this gender was determined by their hairstyle, which, the higher it was, indicated that the woman in question had a higher authority within her group. Property belonged to women and lineages were defined by the female side, which is known as matrilineal society. In ceramics, the human representations of women, known as “Venus de Valdivia”, are very famous and have achieved worldwide recognition.

These figurines represent women in various stages of development. They were among the first to begin with the discovery and application of agriculture. This, together with fishing, hunting and fruit gathering, represented secure food. But these were not the only changes, as there was also the need to create resistant utensils for transporting, preserving and cooking food. From this situation arose the elaboration of clay and earthenware vessels that, when exposed to the heat of the fire, achieved an optimum consistency and were extremely practical. Valdivia, being one of the groups that carried out both works (agriculture and pottery), was recognized as one of the first agro-pottery cultures.

 

 

The Guangala culture corresponds today to the north of Manabi to Chongon and developed from 500 BC to 500 AD. They developed important techniques for the elaboration of work utensils, and were true artists in the manufacture of metal articles, especially in copper, and ceramics. It was a very well organized society, especially in agriculture. At the artistic level they are famous for their creations of globular pots decorated with red paint, cups, double compoteras, wide-rimmed vessels, small vessels of various shapes, they also manufactured musical instruments such as whistles, seal and ocarinas.

The Chorrera Culture, between 1300 and 300 B.C., was one of the most widespread cultures in pre-Columbian Ecuador, from the Pacific lowlands to the highlands of the Andes. Their pottery depicted works related to nature, and one of their specialties is found in objects such as bottles in the shape of animals and plants that, when filled or emptied with liquid, produce a whistling sound similar to that of the animal sculpted on the vessel! This represents the beginning of an important artistic musical tradition.

The Manteño culture existed during the well-known Integration Period, from 500 to 1532 AD. Some researchers claim that this population was the first in Ecuador to meet the Europeans on the high seas in 1526. They lived by the sea, they were great navigators on rafts with high navigation technology. The Spondylus shell was of great importance in this population, since it represented fertility and rain. As for the characteristics of their social organization, it is important to note that each territorial unit was governed by a supreme cacique or curaca. At this time, important alliances were also generated with different lordships. The communities even shared strategic production zones and centers of regional articulation. The well known stone “silla manteña” was a key element in determining the level of hierarchy in the units. It was U-shaped and was raised on a human (or puma) figure crouched in a position of submission. According to researchers, the chair with a person underneath belonged to the caciques, while the puma or other feline was for priests. We advise you to visit the archaeological site of Agua Blanca to learn more about this wonderful culture.

The Panzaleo culture (between 500 BCE and 1500 NE) initially occupied the territories located between Quito and Riobamba. The Panzaleos based their diet mainly on agriculture, taking advantage of the fertility of the soil of the inter-Andean region where they settled; their diet was complemented with some game and fish, which they must have obtained in their trade with people from the coast and the east. Their ceramic pieces, pots, compoteras and anthropomorphic figures, present very particular characteristics, as much in the quality of it as in its decoration, that generally was based on positive painting, based on white and red colors, with incisions and ornamentations in which human and zoomorphic representations stand out.

The Cosanga culture (1600 B.C. – 1532 A.D.) occupied the valleys of Misahuallí, Jondachi and Quijos, in the current Amazonian province of Napo. Their cultural manifestation survived in the Quijos valley and has been identified with this ethnohistoric group that persisted until colonial times. The Cosanga settlement pattern, evidenced in the Quijos valley, shows large urban sites with stone constructions and cultivation terraces. Their habitation sites, built on rectangular platforms and composed of twenty houses, surrounded a central plaza and their streets led to the farms. The Cosanga ceramic style was highly appreciated and demanded by the human groups of the Sierra through various objects along with the pottery typical of each area that have been found from Carchi to Chimborazo; among them special vessels reserved for ceremonies and rituals.

The Machalilla culture (1600-800 B.C.) is an evolutionary consequence of Valdivia. Perhaps due to climatic factors, the population migrated to more suitable lands, located on the Ecuadorian coast, from Machala to Esmeraldas.

The presence of Machalilla and its influence on ceramic production in other areas is evident in several cultural contexts, for example in the Sierra, specifically in Alausí and Cotocollao; also in the Cueva de los Tayos, in the center of the Amazon. Even authentic replicas of Machalilla pottery have been found on the coasts of Mexico and Peru. A custom common to many indigenous societies of the Americas was the intentional deformation of the skull. Apparently, the earliest evidence we have of this custom appears in the Machalilla culture.

The Narrio culture (2000 B.C.-400 A.D.) or also Chaullubamba, developed in the southern Andean part of Ecuador, particularly in the current provinces of Cañar and Azuay, which is why it is considered the ancestor of the Cañaris. In the excavations carried out in the Narrío hill – hence its name – a workshop and a center of redistribution of the Spondylus shell, material obtained from the coasts, were found.
With the Spondylus, the Cerro Narrío worked the ucuyayas (pendant-amulets representing mythical characters of the ‘lower world’). An important use given to the generosity of the sea.
At the end of this society, 400 B.C., in Pirincay there is evidence of the introduction of herds of llamas and alpacas. These animals provided meat and wool, as well as bones used in multiple tools. Although no textile samples from this culture have been preserved, the practice of camelid herding must have provided raw material for weaving their clothing.

The Bahía culture (500 BC – 650 AD) was located in the province of Manabí, from Bahía de Caráquez to Isla de la Plata, where it occupied areas suitable for agriculture thanks to the influence of the Humboldt Current. This marine current marked a climatic-geographic limit that also delimited its border with the Jama-Coaque culture. Their pottery was greatly influenced by the Chorrera culture. For the production of artistic, ritual and functional objects they used stone, bone, metal and clay. It is presumed that their social organization was based on an elite dominated by shamans and great traders. Their religiosity was the axis around which emerged a common ideology that gave preeminence to priests and priestesses in charge of mediating between their gods, human beings and the environment. Their main religious sanctuary, center of worship and pilgrimage, was located on the island of La Plata, an area rich in Spondylus shells.
Remains of cult and pilgrimage centers have been found on Isla de la Plata. Their objects show a predominant water cult, with representations of fish, mollusks, amphibians, reptiles and, to a lesser extent, birds and mammals.

As good navigators, the members of the Bahia culture developed navigation techniques in large rafts that included the use of multiple sails and rudders, a circumstance that allowed them to trade over long distances. Thus, from the numerous inlets or bays that were part of their territory they made important ‘ports’ such as Manta, Jaramijó, Puerto López, Puerto Cayo and Bahía de Caráquez.

The Tolita culture (600 BC – 400 AD) was located in what is now the province of Esmeralda. In its discovery, earth mounds called tolas were found, which is where its name comes from. The religiosity of their sacred world is evident through the images shown in their pottery, many related to the forces of nature and the events of daily life. The tolas or artificial earth mounds were elevations built by the Tolita to hide their riches and it is also believed that they were used for funerary ceremonies.
These tolas could reach a height of 2 meters for the inhabitants who had no hierarchy within the organization, in addition there were those of 7 meters that belonged to the chiefs and shamans. The height of the tolas had a special meaning, the higher the hills, the closer they were to the Gods. It is necessary to emphasize the regional importance of this great ceremonial center built on the island of La Tolita (located at the mouth of the Santiago River), where objects made of metal, ceramics and bone were found, in addition to abundant human burials and monumental constructions.

The animals of the three kingdoms of the real world (air-sky, earth and water) were elevated to the category of gods. The mythical caiman with four eyes, for example, represents the supernatural force of the water element. They were magnificent goldsmiths and carvers of precious stones, and based their economy mainly on agriculture, taking advantage of the rich soil of the area. They were also very good craftsmen and developed varied techniques for the elaboration of textiles, and for working with bone, leather and feathers. It is said that they were the first to have worked in platinum (when the same precious metal began to be used in Europe only in the 18th century). Skilled lapidaries worked precious or semi-precious stones such as emerald, quartz, agate and turquoise, to set them in gold and silver jewelry.

The Jama-Coaque culture, an ancient indigenous community that between 500 B.C. and 1531 A.D. was located in the province of Manabí, from Bahía de Caráquez to Bahía de Cojimíes, on the banks of the Chone River. This wooded region is a transition area between the humid northern coast and the arid southern coast. This culture was noted for its pottery, which has a strong Chorrera heritage. They also made important advances in metalworking and worked with obsidian, signaling trade with the Sierra. The potters of this culture exploited the pastillaje technique to create very elaborate figures. They also worked with modeling, negative painting, red engobe and post-firing painting, which stands out for its unique use of strong shades of yellow and turquoise green. They elaborated a great variety of flat and cylindrical seals. The iconography was close to that of their neighbors, the Guangala culture, with representations of larvae and worms, mollusks, polypods and, as in the surrounding cultures, reptiles, birds and mammals. They produced human representations of dancers, priests, musicians and shamans. They also produced figures with anthropozoomorphic representations linked to their closeness to the spiritual world.

They also worked gold and other metals with a very delicate and artistic technique, as can be seen in their earrings, necklaces, pectorals, nose rings, helmets and wristbands. The expressive and aesthetic richness of their representations in gold and ceramics has led to the affirmation that Jama-Coque is a very baroque indigenous culture, and that it is considered an important nucleus of the art of ancient Ecuador.

The Sumpa culture The name “The Sumpa Lovers” refers to a particular burial of a couple belonging to the Las Vegas culture, catalogued as one of the oldest in the American continent, from approximately 5,000 to 6,000 years B.C., discovered in a nearby cemetery. C, discovered in a cemetery near the town of Santa Elena, in the peninsula of the same name. It is a double burial of a man and a woman of approximately 20 and 25 years of age, who were carefully buried together. The man with his right hand on the waist of the woman and with his right leg on her pelvis. The woman, on the other hand, is in a flexed position, with one arm over her head. Unusual aspect of this “burial” are 6 large stones that were placed on top of the couple’s corpses.

Sources:

https://educa.alabado.org
https://www.enciclopediadelecuador.com/historia-del-ecuador
https://www.culturaypatrimonio.gob.ec
https://www.culturasdelecuador.com

Ancestry culture at Balsa Surf Camp

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