Di recente hanno trasmesso un documentario sulla geografia del Messico, della penisola dello Yucatan, le regioni abitate dai Maya e da altre popolazioni conquistate o associate ai Maya. Dove adesso c'è una foresta fitta che ha inglomerato le piramidi, si osservano le tracce di antiche residenze e sentieri che fanno pensare che questa area sia stata altamente abitata e coltivata, con canali di irrigazione e strade di comunicazione.
Il mais ha avuto grande importanza anche per l'altra cultura sudamericana, gli incas. Oltre ad essere cibo, era usato per produrre una bevanda rituale, la birra di mais, che veniva bevuta in calici celebrativi, i quero, utilizzati in coppia. Venivano intagliati dallo stesso blocco di legno, cresciuto appositamente per produrre queste due coppe dallo stesso tronco. Le tre parti del disegno rappresentano il coltivare, il raccogliere e il conservare. Sono disinguibili le case/magazzini in alto, i campi coltivati a terrazze in basso, i canali, le linee a zig-zag, la coppa rappresenta il ciclo della produzione ed alimentazione.
Cummins, Tom (2007): Queros, Aquillas, Uncus and Chulpas: The Composition of Inka Expression and Power. In: Variations in the Expression of Inka Power: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 18 and 19 October 1997, edited by Richard L. Burger, Craig Morris and Ramiro Matos Mendienta, pp. 267-312. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington D.C.
https://blog.khi.fi.it/2020/11/the-maize-plant-in-an-incaican-microcosmos/
Coppa di legno, in Quechua si chiama quero, fa parte di una coppia per rituali per bere birra di mais
si notano delle piantine di mais, che collegano i due bordi ornamentali superiore ed inferiore, in cui sono presenti figure quali un uccello sopra le piante di mais, con paesaggi andini (1600 d.C.)
hanno significato di celebrare la ciclicità del coltivare, raccogliere, conservare e consumare il mais
l'interno è colorato con la resina della mopa mopa, Elaeagia pastoensis, con colori vivaci
Wood cup, sixteen century, unknown artist. V A 8915, Ethnological Museum of Berlin, high: 15.8 cm
British museum: pianta di mais rituale e dio del mais
This wood cup, which is called in Quechua, quero, was produced in the sixteenth century, shortly after the arrival of the Spaniards. The queros, in the past as well as in the present, serve for consuming maize beer as part of Andean rituals, which are comprised of two entities. For that reason, the queros were manufactured and used as a couple. However, in this case, the other part of the pair was lost. This quero embodies three plants in its materiality and visuality. There is evidence that suggests that the pair of queros were cut from the same wood block. In other words, they grew together waiting to be shaped by the artist (Cummins 2007:274). In addition, the inlaid parts are made of resin of the Elaeagia pastoensis plant, known as mopa mopa, which was colored with a variety of pigments.
The outer surface of this cup is fully decorated and divided into three sections. In the upper section there is a narrow band filled with small buildings. The middle section, the larger one, is filled by incisions that create curved lines and zigzag bands. The lower section includes three layers: rows of colored ovals shapes, a red design and a row of rectangular forms that had colored inlays, which did not survive. The three sections are united by six maize plants that are spread from the bottom to the top. Each plant has three corncobs with their leaves, and on top of them, there is a standing bird.
If we join together all these elements, which are visually united by the maize plants, we can understand this quero as an Incaican microcosmos that maintains the cyclicity of cultivating, harvesting, storing and consuming maize. Since a very early stage in Andean civilization, terraces were constructed in order to expand the agricultural land, especially for maize cultivation. The lower section of the quero represents these terraces, which were built in layers of stones, fine sand, gravel and soil. In the quero, the rows of colored oval shapes probably refer to the terrace’s wall and below it are two construction levels.
The middle section with the incised curved lines and zigzag bands represents the flowing of water in canals, which served to irrigate the agricultural lands of the terraces. The upper section with the band filled with small buildings probably refers to the warehouses where the corn was stored. This kind of construction was built on mountain slopes, where the climate conditions are preferable for the conservation of the crop. It appears as if it is not coincidental that in this representation the warehouses are in the upper section. The six maize plants with the corncobs and the three sections indicate cultivating, harvesting and storing of the maize. The use of the quero itself stands for the maize consumption in the form of maize beer.
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