3/29 Museum Hill, Santa Fe, NM - Part 2

After visiting the folk art museum, I headed across the plaza to the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.  Primary, this museum had a lot of pottery on display, but I decided to focus on the two sculptures on the outside and the few storyteller images inside.

This warrior was about 15 feet tall!!

And this smaller sculpture tells the story of a real child, who loved hoop dancing but died in a car accident when he was only 8 years old. 

 

 

Not a very good photo of the plaque, but it tells about this Santa Fe boy who loved hoop dancing and participating in many contests both locally and across the U.S.  Unfortunately, he died as a result of injuries from a car accident in 2015.  A foundation was started in his honor and this statue was erected in 2017.   https://www.lightningboyfoundation.com/valentino-tzigiwhaeno-rivera

There were hundreds of pots in the museum from various periods and locations in the Southwest, but after a while, I focused on the storyteller images in the next slide.

The storyteller figure is common throughout the Indian tribes of the Southwest.  The figure is sitting down with an open mouth, symbolizing talking, and has children on his or her lap and climbing all over him.  This one has seven children listening to his stories.

 

 

This figure has eight children listening to his stories.  

 

 

Only four children. 

This storyteller is playing a drum while he tells a story. 

And this is a version of a Christmas Nativity group of children singing to the Christ Child.  They are praying and two have shepherd's crooks. 

This storyteller is also playing a drum while singing, and has two children on her ankles, also beating out a rhythm on a sort of drum, while three other children are climbing on him or her. 

If you are interested, I took some photos of some animal storytellers at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque in 2021: Indian Pueblo Cultural Center  I like the frog and the owl storytellers here!!

I also visited the Wheelwright Museum that month and posted some photos.  It has a lot of jewelry, and is certainly worth a visit if you are in this area.   Wheelwright Museum Photos