Chloe DeHerrera

           To start off with the background of The Virgin of Macana, it was created in the 18th century which was 1680. In the painting, Mary is a statue, she is bleeding from the forehead. She is wearing a crown and is holding a Macana, which is a wooden weapon embedded with obsidian blades commonly used by the Nahua people of central Mexico.  The Virgin of the Macana , second half of the 18th century, oil on canvas (History Collections New Mexico History Museum)           The Virgin of Macana is telling a story of the fight of the Spaniards and the Puebloians, during the Pueblo revolution in 1680. In the middle right side of the painting it shows the natives attacking the statue, I believe is historically in accurate because historians have questioned, "why are the pueblo people shown as violent, barbaric aggressors in the painting?" This shows that it is biased towards the Spaniards. The painting is intended to convey t...

Power Figure (Nkisi N’Kondi: Mangaaka) , mid to late nineteenth century, wood, paint, metal, resin, ceramic, 46 7/16″ / 118 cm high, Democratic Republic of Congo (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)            The power figure was made in the mid 19th to the 20th century, by the Congo peoples. It was made of wood, pigment, nails, cloth, beads, shells, arrows, leather, nuts, and twine. Nkisi refers to a spirit, but more specifically medicine that is used by a healer to help someone, herbs and supplements. A Nganga is a ritual specialist who use the Nkisi around the 19th century. In the figure there is a space for holding the medicine, which is called a Mooyo, the belly. Mooyo is the spiritual center of the Nkisi figure, where medicine is placed. As the different mixtures of healing potions were made they were placed in the figure and sealed up. The figure was used to heal the client in the way of the help needed. It was also used to record agreements or con...