The Desert Dance

Sebastian Diaz Botta

Chilean and possible Mapuche heritage.

Lives in Atacama Desert

Mapuche means “people of the earth”. Stories

of dance and ceremonies, spirituality and

working life are delicately captured on their

weaves.

Mapuche Dance is a ritual of worship rendered

to the divinity and a healing ceremony aswell.

There is a dance called the Loncomeo that

imitates the movements of animals around the

fire. The shamanness of the Mapuches is

fundamental in these ritual dances, as she is

the sole intermediary between mortals and the

spirit world.

I have painted a playful interpretation of this fire

dance into the sitters shirt by imitating the texture of weave;

which is an important aspect in Mapuche culture.