Duality - Day and Night
These beautiful earrings showcase one of the dualities of the Andean worldview.
In the original American conception, especially in the Andes, light and darkness, day and night, the sky and the underworld, female and male are all equally respected.
The entire world, both natural and social, is conceived and organized according to guidelines divided into halves, quarters, and their continuous subdivisions.
This is why duality or dualism is one of the principles upon which the worldview of indigenous Andean cultures is based.
Everything that exists, whether real or conceptual objects, has its pair, its complementary opposite, its partner.
In the Quechua language, "YANANTIN" is the word that most poetically expresses this concept.
Composed of two words with opposite meanings (YANA = dark or black, YANAN = white, pure) plus "tin", YANANTIN can be translated as "two lovers together, a lover with his beloved or a lover with your beloved".
In its broadest sense, it signifies reciprocal cooperation, working together, or complementary action. "LLAMAZARES, Ana María (2011) The Metaphor of Duality in the Andes: Worldview, Art, Brilliance and Shamanism.
