If you’ve ever visited a Peruvian souvenir shop, then you’ve certainly found yourself facing a gift or two to make you giggle. But, those souvenirs have very strong cultural significance – they offer a deeper understanding of how the pre-columbian people viewed life, bonds of love and sexual interaction in the past. Read on for the history behind the plethora of penis gifts on sale all over Peru.
Overview
Displayed among typical Peruvian souvenirs of keychains, llama ashtrays and alpaca gear, sits a range of oddities more fit for a sex store or a third-grade sculpting class – one of which is particularly hard to miss. Out there among the typical Peruvian souvenirs is an unmistakeably large, pink dick. Next to it is a holster with what looks like a gun handle sticking out, but after removing the would-be gun, reveals itself to be another, fairly large, pink dick attached to a gun handle.
Though always good for a laugh and a ‘look-at-what-I-found!’ call to your friend, after finding these dicks at nearly every gift store in Peru, you begin to wonder: why is this a thing?
If you ask the shop owner why it’s there, they’ll give you a smile and a shrug. There seems to be no reason for it – that is, until you’ve visited Museo Larco.
History
Museo Larco, which might arguably be Peru’s best museum, has an odd collection of hundreds of pre-Columbian claypot art and figures arranged in various sex positions – and, of course, there are dicks. You won’t be able to suppress a laugh or two as you make your way through the two-room exhibit, seeing your fair share of dicks turned into giant flowering pots and scatterings of animal porn. These penises, however, weren’t made for cheap laughs (unlike every third-grader carving a dick on his friend’s desk) – this erotic clay exhibit served a greater need.
So what’s their purpose?
“These sexual depictions are associated with other themes, such as agricultural production, funerary rites and sacrifice ceremonies, themes that can be seen in the other rooms and in the Larco Museum storerooms,” reads the museum’s website.
Using observation as guidance, society at the time associated rain, agricultural growth and life with procreation – and, therefore, with sex and the dick. A flower pot in the shape of a giant penis would then represent the life-giving action of ejaculation, remembered every day through the seemingly innocuous act of watering a garden.
Become a Culture Tripper!
Sign up to our newsletter to
save up to $1,656 on our unique trips.
A happy ending
“As we come to the end of this book on one aspect of the archaeological panorama of Peru for which our only source is erotic vessels, readers are free to explore for themselves the vast field of suggestion” (Checán, p.128), said Rafael Larco, an archeologist and founder of the museum, in his book Checán.
So, when next in Peru you find yourself face-to-face with a pink dick tucked into a gun holster, by all means laugh, joke, and maybe show your friend – but remember that while it may be funny now, as you hold it up for all to see, at one point in time it meant so much more than what we see in the present day.
Culture Trips launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes places and communities so special.
Our immersive trips, led by Local Insiders, are once-in-a-lifetime experiences and an invitation to travel the world with like-minded explorers. Our Travel Experts are on hand to help you make perfect memories. All our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.
All our travel guides are curated by the Culture Trip team working in tandem with local experts. From unique experiences to essential tips on how to make the most of your future travels, we’ve got you covered.
Source link : https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/peru/articles/the-story-behind-perus-phallic-gifts
Author :
Publish date : 2023-07-16 03:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
