Ye'kuana Basketry Symbology
Portal to a Parallel World
By
Charles Brewer-Carías
Page created by Mike Hardcastle from Wallabadah Australia
Portal to a Parallel World
By
Charles Brewer-Carías
Page created by Mike Hardcastle from Wallabadah Australia
"I'm not a specialist; I am an encyclopaedist in the 19th-century sense. That's my century, the century of explorers and discoverers." - Charles Brewer Carias, Magazine article Geographical
A new book by Venezuelan Encyclopaedist and polymath Charles Brewer-Carias, called “Ye’kuana Basketry Symbology: Portal to a Parallel World” is the latest publication in a long list of beautifully illustrated books by the author, showcasing his vast knowledge of the cultural, botanical and biological riches of his native Venezuela. The primary focus of this outstanding book is a deep and thorough investigation into the culture and cosmogony of the Ye’kuana indigenous people displayed through the craftsmanship of their woven basketry.
Photo below by Tim Lewis Bale
Assisting Charles with the production of this pioneering book was his wife Fanny Brewer, who’s phenomenal and captivating photography of the Indian artifacts adorn many of its pages and wonderfully compliments Charles’ indepth research on the topic. Also Juan Carlos Maldonado, the director of the Juan Carlos Maldonado Art Collection, who’s enthusiastic support for Charles while he was writting the book must be acknowledged - “he decided with enthusiasm to support me while writing and to print the book; which has became an unexpected success for his Art Collection Foundation “ - Charles Brewer Carias
See the Juan Carlos Maldonado Art Collection website at this page link JCMAC
See the Juan Carlos Maldonado Art Collection website at this page link JCMAC
Photo below by Fanny de Brewer
The vast amount of information in this book is far to extensive to be covered in this short review, not withstanding, Charles’ new book opens a whole new perspective into the study of native traditions and crafts, so that people with a deep interest in indigenous cultures and in Venezuela's ethnic groups in particular, will have a fantastic resource to call upon in any future analysis. It will also go a long way in helping anthropologists and the general lay person to fully appreciate and understand the deep significance of the extraordinary iconography and mythological symbology that the Ye’kuana indigenous people incorporate into their basketry decoration, which are all hand made weavings of the highest craftsmanship and quality, as can be seen in the marvelous photography throughtout the book.
The book explores and documents the deep cosmogonic and symbolic meaning of the iconography interwoven into the decorative and often functional variety of containers, food carrying receptacles, and other basketry items. The vast array of symbolic iconography reveals and preserves the tribe’s creation stories, the relationship of the local flora and fauna in their mythology and the origins of the indigenous group itself. It explains how the basketry and the iconography woven into them fit into the religious and everyday life of the native peoples. In short the book does a splendid job at scientifically documenting the traditional knowledge, customs and crafts, including the ethnobotany of the indigenous culture.
As with all of Charles’ books, it synthesises an enormous amount of information into a concise and highly educational volume that future generations will look upon as a priceless resource in the field of anthropological studies.
The book explores and documents the deep cosmogonic and symbolic meaning of the iconography interwoven into the decorative and often functional variety of containers, food carrying receptacles, and other basketry items. The vast array of symbolic iconography reveals and preserves the tribe’s creation stories, the relationship of the local flora and fauna in their mythology and the origins of the indigenous group itself. It explains how the basketry and the iconography woven into them fit into the religious and everyday life of the native peoples. In short the book does a splendid job at scientifically documenting the traditional knowledge, customs and crafts, including the ethnobotany of the indigenous culture.
As with all of Charles’ books, it synthesises an enormous amount of information into a concise and highly educational volume that future generations will look upon as a priceless resource in the field of anthropological studies.
The vanishing encyclopedic style of exploration represented today by Charles’ scholar-naturalist philosophy and embodied by the Victorian explorers and naturalists of old, in which no field of study was off limits, is a tradition that in our modern scientific age has been ceding to modern specialisation in which the fragmentation of knowledge has occurred. The interdisciplinary approach of Victorian-styled renaissance men the likes of Charles Brewer Carias, are now a rare breed, one may say almost extinct. As Daniel J. Boorstin remarked in his book ‘The Discoverers’, quote - "MY hero is Man the Discoverer " and by this standard Charles is a true hero, a romantic scientist in the grand Victorian tradition to which his masterful book on the Ye'kuana culture can testify.
Charles with the spanish edition of his book
“Ye’kuana Basketry Symbology: Portal to a Parallel World”- Photo by Fanny de Brewer
“Ye’kuana Basketry Symbology: Portal to a Parallel World”- Photo by Fanny de Brewer
Click on photos below to enlarge
The Victorian Ethos Of Discovery
Above photo, Charles relaxing in a bushcraft hammock, photography by Mark Moffett
"I am an explorer, and I have dedicated my life to discovery, to exploration and to obtaining from that exploration new things for the world. I am a discoverer of plants, caves, crickets, frogs, Indian weavings - you name it." - Charles Brewer Carias, Magazine article Geographical
Describes himself as an encyclopaedist in the 19th-century sense, and cultivating a polymathic outlook on the acquisition of knowledge and skills, Charles is a living archetype of the old school Victorian gentleman explorers and naturalists, in the grand tradition of Fawcett and Schomburgk of South American exploratory fame, and the great polymath and naturalist, Joseph Leidy from North America. Rejecting the modern tendency in scientific research toward specialization, Charles is a true generalist, conducting all his research and expeditions across multi-disciplinary fields, including biology, botany, anthropology, bushcraft/jungle survival and of course geographical exploration.
In the fields of geological, biological and anthropological exploration, Charles exemplifies the Victorian ethos of discovery. His quest for knowledge and his skill as a systematic observer of nature, has resulted in at least 28 new species being named after him.
“ I believe there are 28 species and one family of bromelidads : Brewcaria sp. Now there are botanists naming a probable new family of plants I collected, a new species of Utricularia I pick up at Ptari-tepui and a new species of algae from Chimanta tepui.” - Charles Brewer-Carías.
Charles is a veteran of more than 200 scientific expeditions to many unexplored regions throughtout the vast tropical hinterland of Venezuela. He has especially concentrated his efforts on the flora and fauna and geography of the Guayana highlands, which has lead to the discovery of the largest quartzite cave system in the world. Many new biological discoveries of important taxonomic significance, such as an incredible amphibious cricket, the strange life form know as biospeleothems, a coral silica-like organism found growing deep within the cave system and many other plant and invertebrates, have all been the discovered by Charles.
“ I believe there are 28 species and one family of bromelidads : Brewcaria sp. Now there are botanists naming a probable new family of plants I collected, a new species of Utricularia I pick up at Ptari-tepui and a new species of algae from Chimanta tepui.” - Charles Brewer-Carías.
Charles is a veteran of more than 200 scientific expeditions to many unexplored regions throughtout the vast tropical hinterland of Venezuela. He has especially concentrated his efforts on the flora and fauna and geography of the Guayana highlands, which has lead to the discovery of the largest quartzite cave system in the world. Many new biological discoveries of important taxonomic significance, such as an incredible amphibious cricket, the strange life form know as biospeleothems, a coral silica-like organism found growing deep within the cave system and many other plant and invertebrates, have all been the discovered by Charles.
One biological scientific expedition led by Charles to a sandstone massif called Cerro de la Neblina, in partnership with the American museum of natural history, extended for a period of four years, from 1983 to 1987 and resulted in the discovery of hundreds of new species. The expedition included dozens of scientists from multiple disciplines, who were needed to conduct a complete biological survey, cataloguing the region’s rich flora and fauna. Included were herpetologists, botanists, mammalogists, ichthyologists, entomologists and ornithologists.
Charles was described by author Douglas J. Preston as, quote - “ One of the few people familiar with the Nablina region, Brewer turned out to be an ideal leader - an old fashioned, Roy Chapman Andrews type. Lean, muscular, comfortable with half a dozen Indian languages, Brewer was most at home, according to one expedition member, “hunkered down over a campfire with a group of Indians.” - Douglas J. Preston, ‘Dinosaurs in the Attic’. You can read more about Charles’ expedition to Cerr de la Nebilina at this page link.
Charles’ current and ongoing fields of exploration and discovery continues to be centred on the majestic and beautiful Guayana highlands and its ancient sandstone tepuis, including their mysterious cave systems and the amazing and often bizarre biota i.e. life forms that inhabit them.
Charles was described by author Douglas J. Preston as, quote - “ One of the few people familiar with the Nablina region, Brewer turned out to be an ideal leader - an old fashioned, Roy Chapman Andrews type. Lean, muscular, comfortable with half a dozen Indian languages, Brewer was most at home, according to one expedition member, “hunkered down over a campfire with a group of Indians.” - Douglas J. Preston, ‘Dinosaurs in the Attic’. You can read more about Charles’ expedition to Cerr de la Nebilina at this page link.
Charles’ current and ongoing fields of exploration and discovery continues to be centred on the majestic and beautiful Guayana highlands and its ancient sandstone tepuis, including their mysterious cave systems and the amazing and often bizarre biota i.e. life forms that inhabit them.
"Anybody can be a discoverer. It's a matter of preparation, of knowledge, of being interested in everything. The only limits are those of our imagination." - Charles Brewer Carias, Magazine article Geographical
Charles standing in a field of Carnivorous plants "Heliamphora" in the Guayana Highlands.
A giant tarantula crawls along a table at the Base camp of the Neblina biological scientific expedition in the 1980s. Charles explains the photo in the following quote -
" The size of the pencil gives you the scale, see how thick it is. It was somewhat scary when I laid my hand on the table and let the spider walk over it. Not disturbing her and not moving... just the blood pressure bouncing because of fear. It felt that it was as heavy as a rat..." - Charles Brewer-Carías
" The size of the pencil gives you the scale, see how thick it is. It was somewhat scary when I laid my hand on the table and let the spider walk over it. Not disturbing her and not moving... just the blood pressure bouncing because of fear. It felt that it was as heavy as a rat..." - Charles Brewer-Carías
Charles acting as a guide to Prince Charles, at the market in Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas State, Venezuela, during the Princes february 1989 agricultural research trip to Amazonia.
Bibliography
Article on Charles Brewer's new book entitled “Ye’kuana Basketry Symbology: Portal to a Parallel World” - The Humboldt of the 21st Centuryes.aleteia.org/2019/08/10/el-humboldt-del-siglo-xxi-charles-brewer-carias/
Links below to Charle’s website and the main page on my website about his work.
https://brewerexpedition.wixsite.com/charlesbrewercarias
https://www.cosmicpolymath.com/charles-brewer-carias.html
https://brewerexpedition.wixsite.com/charlesbrewercarias
https://www.cosmicpolymath.com/charles-brewer-carias.html
All the photos are the Intellectual property of Charles Brewer-Carías, Tim Lewis Bale, and Mark Moffett