Costa Rica’s Women of Past ~
It is always an interesting exercise to examine the role of women in society through various epochs in history, for how women are treated in a society says a lot about a culture. Going back over a thousand years to lower Central and Meso-America one can extrapolate to some degree the function of women in society.
Archeology has shown us that throughout Costa Rica artifacts have been found that shed a very interesting light on female influence. In particular, the Gran Nicoya region has yielded a wealth of female effigies which tell a most interesting story. Clearly, long before Europeans arrived, women served as warriors, governors and priestesses and this powerful function has been transmitted to us in the art and artifacts that they have left behind.
In Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose, we have a treasure trove of Pre-Hispanic pottery illustrating how life was long before European contact. At Galería Namu, we have a variety of faithful reproductions of these pieces which capture the essence of the original with astonishing veracity.
Among the most potent of these are the female forms which tell the story of women in their context of power arising from their primordial role in fertility and reproduction. Hence, these icons capture a daunting aura of their dominion and their self-confidence as well as an audacious awareness of how fundamental that power is to the very survival of their group. Captured in their posture is the magical and inscrutable sway women held over prosperity and well-being in a time when natural catastrophes could spell doom for the whole community and survival was everything.
Ancient Female Figures
Let us examine some of these wondrous figures known variously as goddesses, warriors, fertility figures, muñecas (dolls) and see what female power meant to these early people. While not every woman had the diosa (goddess) power, all women shared in the important role of healing, divination and assisting during childbirth. No event held greater significance for these cultures than the birth of a child. Not only were children considered the measure of personal wealth and good fortune, they also implied the direct sanction of the gods.
We have shown here a large female figure and it can be seen that there is no mistaking her imperious look for the inherent power she possessed. She sits proudly on a support – perhaps a stone ceremonial corn-grinding ‘metate‘ – as she looks at her world with authoritative composure. The flowing geometric patterns all over her body accentuate her anatomy, captivating the eye. This woman is in no way coy or sexy, but her bold femaleness is the essence of woman power. Gallery visitors, especially women, are repeatedly captivated by the bold demeanor of these female figures staring at them across the ages, shamelessly inviting pride in their gender!
Other clues to the life ways of these ancient “Costa Ricans” found through these female fertility figures are their physical appearance: a woman of the elite of her society would be heavily tattooed and would don large ear-spools. In many societies of this era in the northwest of today’s Costa Rica, cranial deformation (through the use of head boards during infancy) was employed to purposely attain a slight cross-eyed look; all of this to beautify the subject.
To view our current pottery art collection including those depicting the female power figure of long ago, click to our pre-columbian/pottery page.
