Headless Llamas are a celebration of one of humankind’s earliest resource, tamed by the peoples of the Andes approximately 5000 years ago. Not just a beast of burden for haulage through mountains, their wool was used for textiles, hides were used for shelter, meat for feeding herders, fat for making candles and even the dung was used as fertiliser when agriculture began.
Llamas were also used as a sacrificial offering to appease the gods, even though they were a valuable resource. The Incas sacrificed them in groups of up to 100 for regular offerings such as abundant crops or to stop the rain. They were also offered for luck in war, and to win over newly conquered peoples. In times of crisis the number sacrificed rose to thousands.
Adorned with bracelets and strings, sacrifice was probably by live burial, heart removal or blunt trauma, not beheading. However, we now think of Llamas as being “cute” so I wanted to imagine them without that comical face.
