I know this is from a different time period but I’m reading a book (The Colombian Reader) with an letter written by someone in the Spanish conquest around 1530. He says about the Colombians “they possess a great number of idols which they worship in the same way that we worship our Saints here in Spain. They pray to these idols asking them to intercede on their behalf before the Sun and the Moon. Each has his own idol. These idols are made from very fine gold. He places as much gold and as many emeralds as he’s able to into the hole in the idol’s belly.
These domestic idols are small in size. The largest ones are roughly the same length as the distance between the hand and the elbow.
Their devotion to these idols is so strong that they do not go anywhere, to work their fields or any place, without them. They carry the idols in a small basket which hangs from their arms and what is most alarming is that they even carry them to war as well- with one arm they fight and with the other they hold their idol.”
Also, regarding their craftsmanship, “in spite of the fact that their houses and buildings are made from wood and are covered in the long thatch that is native to that region, they still reflect the most marvelous workmanship and design ever seen. This is especially true of the private residences which are like palaces encircled by many walls. These palaces look similar to the manor in which the labyrinth of Troy is portrayed in paintings here in Spain. The houses boast great patios with very tall relief figurative carvings throughout and they are also filled with paintings.”
That’s really some fine craftsmanship.
I know this is from a different time period but I’m reading a book (The Colombian Reader) with an letter written by someone in the Spanish conquest around 1530. He says about the Colombians “they possess a great number of idols which they worship in the same way that we worship our Saints here in Spain. They pray to these idols asking them to intercede on their behalf before the Sun and the Moon. Each has his own idol. These idols are made from very fine gold. He places as much gold and as many emeralds as he’s able to into the hole in the idol’s belly. These domestic idols are small in size. The largest ones are roughly the same length as the distance between the hand and the elbow. Their devotion to these idols is so strong that they do not go anywhere, to work their fields or any place, without them. They carry the idols in a small basket which hangs from their arms and what is most alarming is that they even carry them to war as well- with one arm they fight and with the other they hold their idol.”
Also, regarding their craftsmanship, “in spite of the fact that their houses and buildings are made from wood and are covered in the long thatch that is native to that region, they still reflect the most marvelous workmanship and design ever seen. This is especially true of the private residences which are like palaces encircled by many walls. These palaces look similar to the manor in which the labyrinth of Troy is portrayed in paintings here in Spain. The houses boast great patios with very tall relief figurative carvings throughout and they are also filled with paintings.”