Articles · Symbol
The chakana: the symbol that brings together
The stepped cross of the Andes, and what the master says it gathers around it.
A cross of steps
The chakana is the stepped cross of the Andes: four arms and, on each one, steps. It was carved in stone, woven into tunics and today appears in the relief of the Terracota Art Chakana cup.
What it gathers
I believe a symbol like this is not just an ornament, says the master. A symbol with a stepped form gathers and structures what is around it: it puts in order what enters its zone.
He explains it this way: if consciousness needs to collect itself and order itself along the vectors of effort, and to bring in the regularities of nature, the laws of heaven and earth, that is expressed with stepped-cross symbols.
On a cup
That is why the chakana is in the relief of the cup and not on a label. Each step fits into the same proportion, with nothing left over, and the hand feels it when holding the cup. It is a ceramist's conviction, not a promise.
More than four thousand years separate the first carved step and the cup that reaches your table today.
Next article