essay
Fonga Sigde, shell purveyor to the Chimu kings
northern dynasties : kingship and statecraft in chimor: a symposium at dumbarton oaks, 12th and 13th october 1985 • Washington, D.C. • Published In 1990 • Pages: 393-417
By: Cordy-Collins, Alana.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The traditional history of Lord Naymlap’s arrival in the Lambayeque Valley is examined in light of archeological evidence and iconography, focusing on the courtier Fonga Sigde, whose task was to scatter seashell dust where Lord Naymlap walked. Fonga Sigde may have been a person’s name, but was also the term for a royal administrative office that arranged the importation [i]Spondylus[/i] shell from a foreign polity in Ecuador. Iconography on the North Coast of Peru, especially from the Lambayeque Valley during Middle Sican times, contains many images of diving for [i]Spondylus[/i] from boats. Works of art with the [i]Spondylus[/i] theme were probably owned only by people who controlled its importation. Various examples are described and illustrated, and ethnohistoric accounts and images of boats used in long distance trade along the North Coast are also provided. [i]Spondylus[/i] was present in Peru starting in the Early Intermediate period, but the quantity increased greatly in the Lambayeque Valley around the Middle Sican era, and it evidently become a wealth item in the Chimu Empire.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Fauna
- External trade
- Administrative agencies
- Visual arts
- Boats
- Fishing
- Traditional history
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Chimu
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2015
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- South America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Central Andes
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Sarah Berry; 2014
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1100-900 BP (AD 900-1100)
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Lambayeque Valley, Lambayeque region, Peru
- NotesAdditional notes
- Alana Cordy-Collins
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 414-417)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 89023336
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Chimu Indians--Politics and government--Congresses
- Chimu Indians--Antiquities--Congresses
- Chan Chan Site (Peru)--Congresses
- Peru--Antiquities--Congresses