Cacaopera (Kakawira): Dance of the macaws

sova.nmai.ac.001.010_ref527

Collection Creator: Lothrop, S. K. (Samuel Kirkland), 1892-1965; Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation

See more items in: Samuel K. Lothrop photograph collection; Samuel K. Lothrop photograph collection / Series 3: MAI Central American Expedition in El Salvador

Collection Citation: Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Samuel K. Lothrop photograph collection, NMAI.AC.001.010. National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Collection Rights: Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website. There are photographs in this collection that are restricted due to cultural sensitivity.

Scope and Contents: Views of the Dance of the macaws, performed for Lothrop in February 1924 during his visit to Cacaopera. According to Lothrop's journal, the dance was traditionally performed a few days after Christmas, but a smaller version of the dance was organized for his benefit.
Community Narrative: The dance of the macaws is a dance of alliance. It's a fight between the Macaw Man, The Jaguar Man, the Birdman, and the bull. The Birdman wears a wooden mask thas has a beak, or bill, similar to the Tuxtla stauette, and represents tradition. The Jaguar man wears a mask made of animal skin and is dressed as a businessman to represent modernity. The bull, or "El Torito Pinto" is made up of hoops and old cloth shaped like a dome with horns, face and tail. A man dances inside of the bull. The Jaguar man and Birdman enrage the bull and they defeat the bull by working together. There are two heirs, children from the community that are placed on top of the central pyramid as witnesses. The pyramid symbolized the royal Taulépa House, though a cross was added on top by the church. Musicians accompany the dancers playing guitar, violin and drums.

Collection Restrictions: Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

NMAI.AC.001.010_ref527

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv44f107994-3765-44c9-a414-da028cd9f44e

NMAI.AC.001.010

NMAIA

Samuel K. Lothrop photograph collection

Creator

Lothrop, S. K. (Samuel Kirkland), 1892-1965

Summary

The Samuel K. Lothrop photograph collection primarily contains negatives, photographic prints, and lantern slides made by Lothrop while employed by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation from 1924-1930. Lothrop was an archaeologist and photographer who extensively traveled and worked throughout Central America and South America and led expeditions on behalf of the MAI to Argentina, Chi...