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The Cave in the Kiva: The Kiva Niche and Painted Walls in the Rio Grande Valley

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Polly Schaafsma
Polly Schaafsma*
Affiliation:
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology, P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, NM 87504
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Abstract

The elaborate symbolism painted around wall niches in Rio Grande Pueblo IV kivas ca. A.D. 1370-1600 at Pottery Mound and Kuaua describe a cosmological paradigm of layered worlds accessed by supernatural passageways. This paper examines the niche iconography at these sites and the associated metaphors represented in the surrounding murals. Equivalent to the sípàapuni and symbolic of the landscape cave, the niche as a portal to the watery and fecund underworld is often the organizing principle for west wall murals or entire kiva scenes. In addition to the prevalent stepped cloud and rainbow, these scenes frequently feature female figures and composite supernatural beings symbolic of abundance. This analysis provides insight into the focus of prehistoric kiva rituals conducted at Kuaua and Pottery Mound and the worldview with which they engaged. Finally, it is proposed that the synthesizing powers of both the simple stepped cloud and the niche itself raise these elements to the status of "nuclear ritual symbols" (Turner 1967) fundamental to Pueblo cosmology.

Résumé

Résumé

Los programas complejos iconográficas que están pintadas alrededor de nichos en paredes de kivas de la época Rio Grande Pueblo IV (hacia A.C. 1370-1600) en Pottery Mound y Kuaua representan un paradigma cosmológico de mundos estratificados en los que se entran y se salen por pasajes sobrenaturales. Este ensayo examina la iconografía del nicho en aquellos sitios y las metáforas conexas las que están representadas en los murales circundantes. Como entrada al acuoso y fecundo mundo subterráneo, el nicho equivale al sípàpun y también es símbolo de la cueva. Es frequentemente clave de la composición de los murales de los paredes occidentales o de los escenarios enteros de kivas. Además de nubes escalonados y arcos irises, estos escenarios incluyen a menudo figuras femeninas y sobrenaturales seres compuestos y representativos de abundancia. El análisis de este ensayo resulta en revelación del foco de rituales prehistóricos que se celebraban en kivas de Kuaua y Pottery Mound, además de la visión universal con la que se concordaban ellos. En conclusión se propone que los poderes de sintesis del sencillo nube escalonado y del nicho mismo elevan estos elementos al estado de "nucleares símbolos rituales" (Turner 1967) que son componentes básicos de la cosmología de la gente Pueblo.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 74 , Issue 4 , October 2009 , pp. 664 - 690
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2009

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