This funerary bowl from Mimbres (1000-1150 AD) once served in a ceremonial function to guide a member of an ancient culture into the mystery of death. The bowl is part of a permanent collection on display at the Museum of Indigenous Art and Culture, Laboratory of Anthropology, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He hails from Cameron Creek Village in the Mimbres Valley in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona, home to the larger Mogollon culture of which the Mimbres people were a part. Before European contact, prehistoric Native American culture, also known as Puebloancestral, was believed to be descended from three main cultures: Mogollon, Hohokam, and Anasazi; and they were known for their distinctive pottery and home building styles.
The image inside the bowl is described as “rabbit man with carrying basket,” a stylized, hard-edged black painting of a human-animal figure shaped like curves, straight lines, and solid black on a broad white background. At the inner edge, two sets of thin, finely painted bands circumscribe the near-perfect circular shape, while a more graphic set of triangular geometric patterns radiates upward from the back of the figure to the lower banded rung. No shading value is appreciated, as the figure is dominated by solid black with the exception of four white bands dissecting its body, head and ears, with its single eye looking directly at the viewer from a face in profile. The black band across his face looks like a mask, which could indicate something hidden.
Tiny black fingers and toes protrude from simple stumps of arms and legs. The arms or front legs dangle unnaturally, or else the front legs could walk in the air. Its hind legs have a more elegant posture, similar to a plant, it does not seem that they can support the figure. A small upturned tail follows the flat and streamlined design of the rabbit-man along with the small protruding lips, nose and two bunny ears that also look like feathers. The black triangular tips of the ears / feathers relate to the shape of the load. His body is hunched perhaps due to the load, represented by the radiant geometric shape that appears to hold the figure, or possibly the rabbit-man is being pulled upward by the load shape that appears to be connecting to the edge bands. The bands could also symbolize heaven or after life.
At first glance, the roughly drilled hole in the center of the bowl was the obvious sign that it had a different use than simply holding something. As early as 750 AD, these pictorial Mimbres bowls were used solely for ceremonial and ritual burial functions where the dead were buried under their floors in individual pits. This illustration shows how the dead were buried in an upright fetal position in a closed pit with the bowl on the head. Before placing the bowl in the well, it was ritually ‘killed’ by making a hole in the center with a sharp object before placing it face down on the head. This ‘death hole’ was for the purpose of freeing the spirits of the deceased from the body. The pit was then filled in or covered with a stone slab.
Many of these images on these burial bowls suggest familiarity and relationships with the cultures of northern and central Mexico. The images used represent the clan’s totem animal or a celestial body, as the rabbit is a common symbol of the moon found among many indigenous peoples in the Southwest and in Central America. Rabbits were also a source of food for the people of Mimbres, but the rabbitman’s bowl looks like it could be related more to the moon than a hunting scene. There is probably a narrative for this illustration that connects personally to the deceased, and I am assuming that certain icons of the clan are depicted here as well. Perhaps the number of rays in the ‘charge form’ represents a certain phase of the moon when the deceased left his body.
The large amount of negative white space around the rabbit-man makes it appear that he is floating, which could indicate outer space, or perhaps the transition of the deceased to another world. It is speculated that the intention behind these images within these burial bowls was to illuminate the deceased so that perhaps the rabbit could be the clan totem that descends to enter the deceased in order to lift its burdens from this life during an auspicious phase. of the moon. before his death trip. The rabbit man illustration does not appear dark, scary, or very emotional, leading one to believe that death was not something the Mimbres feared, but was rather a very ceremonial event.
The expression on her face is trance-like and the body posture is graceful and uncomfortable, there is still balance between the upper anchor of the ‘load form’ and the feet below, both touching the edge bands. The ‘load form’ occupies a prominent place in the composition that gives it meaning. From its rear, where its tail is, this larger blank appears quite empty, which could represent the life it is leaving, and the white area where its head and front legs are possibly is where it is headed. The outward gaze of his single eye gives the impression that he is between the two worlds, or that he is in the unknown mystery of everything and has no choice but to accept it.
The rabbit man bowl is painted in Classic Mimbres Black-on-White (Style III). In 1000 AD, Mimbres artists perfected a white-on-black technique in their ceramics similar to the Anasazi white-on-white in the north. Snow-white slip was used under heavily rendered geometric and figurative designs created in a black mineral paint. The reason for using only black paint is unclear, when other color pigments were available. Perhaps the realm of death was seen only as a journey in black and white, or perhaps when preparing the bowl for the deceased they thought that other colors would distract from the meanings of the narrative images. Many of the bowls were believed to have been ritually used prior to burials. Due to the importance and exclusivity of these bowls among the Mimbres people, they were never traded outside of the Mimbres Valley, unlike other ceramics, such as their polychrome White Mountain Red Ware.
The rabbit man bowl appears very light and is about 12 inches in diameter and about 8 inches deep. Most of the potters in the village families were women, who prayed ritually and thanked the ‘source’ for its materials and inspirations at every stage of pottery: from collecting the clay to processing, then making the pottery. ‘pasta’, forming a clay omelette and spirals to make the body of the vessel, for painting, cooking and decoration. Clays are present throughout the Mimbres Valley, including occasional kaolin deposits, and the brushes used were made from cassava leaves. “The townspeople believe that the clay has life. A sacred relationship between the potter and the clay begins when the clay is removed from the earth. Before removing the clay, the potter prays and asks the Earth Clay Old Lady to be considerate of her family’s needs, ‘Just as you will eat us, you will feed us and clothe us, so please don’t hide. ”- Tessie Naranjo, Santa Clara Pueblo. (Village community exhibition” Here, now and forever ” , Museum of Indigenous Art and Culture, Anthropology Laboratory, Santa Fe,
New Mexico)
The sacredness of the materials used, as well as the pictorial content, evolved with ancient peoples long before the word “art” emerged, inspiring one to wonder whether or not their works can be called art. These burial bowl paintings are often considered art today, but I wonder if this is disrespectful of the spiritual limits of these ancient peoples, as similar artifacts from other cultures seem to fall into the same gray zone. In the exhibition at the Museum of Art and Culture of India, I found this captivating quote that describes how these creations of the Puebloans were not separate from their soul, body and everyday life, but had an inherent existence for them.
“Art is not found in our language. But what do we call a work created by the hands of my family? What will we call that piece that embodies the life of its creator? What will it be if it has life and a soul, while her maker sings and prays for her? In my house we call it patterned pottery to tell us a story. In my mother’s house, we call it a wedding basket to hold blue cornmeal for the groom’s family. Grandma, we call it a kachina doll, a carved image of a life force that holds the Hopi world in place. We make pieces of life to see, touch and feel. Do we call it art? I hope not. You may lose your soul. His life. His people. ” -Michael Lacapa, Apache / Hopi / Iewa
As in most cultures, with the evolution of the independent artist grew the weakening of these traditions and the dissolution of this symbiotic relationship between a people, their craft and their spirit. The end of Mimbres pottery production occurred around AD 1130-1150 and was equated with the “disappearance” of the people who made it, although it was later discovered that some remains of the population remained in the Mimbres Valley.