In 2012, Colgate University found a statuette of a deity of prosperity within the Longyear Museum of Anthropology Collections. The ceramic figurine, Iqiqu (in Aymara) or Ekeko (in Spanish), is a main figure in an Aymara festival that takes place annually in Bolivia and Peru. Colgate students picked up markers, construction paper and clay and gathered around a circular table on Friday, Jan. 24, to take part in Colgate’s first celebration of the Alasitas festival.
Co-Director of University Museums Rebecca Mendelsohn shared that giving offerings for the festival is one of the agreements for keeping the statuette and was a chance to start something new.
“We found out through our collection records that a past curator had acquired [Iqiqu] as a gift from a cultural institution in Bolivia,” Mendelsohn said. “We learned from reviewing the collections file that as part of the agreement, they ask that whoever has Iqiqu gives offerings every year around February. We’re trying to learn more and start a new tradition.”
The event and miniatures created by students transitioned into an installation in the Alumni Hall lobby. While the installation is up, students can see information about Iqiqu and have a chance to continue giving offerings during the festival.
“We’re starting to work really hard to understand the collections that we have better, what the different cultural traditions associated with them are and honoring those traditions wherever we can. So this is part of a broader goal we have at the museum,” Mendelsohn said.
The Alasitas (meaning “buy me”) festival dates back to pre-Colombian Aymara traditions. Indigenous people exchanged miniatures, agricultural products and circular stones with the hope of acquiring the actual object during the year. Today, the fair continues to cherish participants’ wishes and aspirations. From Jan. 24 to mid-February, participants create miniatures and travel to the nearest church to bless them. Then participants hand over their replica currency to Iqiqu for good luck and prosperity.
Colgate students and faculty worked together to display a “miniature” of the fair. Using model clay, paper, markers and other supplies, they created objects that represented their hopes for the year ahead. Offerings ranged from mini clay sharks and snakes to rainbow LGBTQ+ flags and money. Coordinators for the event also put together signs explaining the festival’s significance and featured a documentary.
Sophomore Jai Adams, one of the collaborators with the Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance (NAISA), worked with Longyear Museum to coordinate the event.
“Initially, we wanted to do this event because we wanted to highlight global indigeneity as part of the origins of this festival, especially the Aymara culture,” Adams said. “Because this tradition needs a lot of cultural care, I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone to participate in this tradition.”
While Iqiqu is known for giving recipients what they wish for, his reputation of magnanimity and beneficence is what ensured his cultural presence through Spanish rule into the figure he is today.
Curatorial Assistant at Longyear Museum Summer Frazier shared on the traditions related to Iqiqu.
“We dug up a little bit of information on how Iqiqu should be taken care of,” Frazier said. “He is the god of abundance, he likes to smoke cigarettes and he likes to have a little bit of alcohol or coffee by his side. Sometimes if you associate a rooster or a frog next to him, that brings certain luck to you in that way. Iqiqu is a god that likes earthly scents, so he likes to be smoked with some cocoa leaves or something that is formed in nature.”
There are labels and supplies still available until the second or third week of February for students to take part in this tradition.
