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
View during the dance of the macaws performed by community members in Cacaopera, El Salvador. The Birdman, wearing a wooden mask with a beak, faces off against the bull, or "el torito pinto." A three level pyramid with a solid hut on top can be seen in the background. The pyramid symbolized the royal Taulépa House, though a cross was added on top by the church. The children, or "heirs," are on the pyramid to witness the dance. The yound girl on the pyramid is Comishaual (Mama Chica) and one of the boys is her brother Manauelike. A group watches from under the eave of the communal house.
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).