Of the many tribal arts of South America, perhaps none is as varied as the art of lotre. Known by the indigenous people of the Amazon as “piedra de pollo” or “stone of the gods”, lotre involves complicated hand exercises and body motions to hold a small stone in place. The word for this complex form of art is “bahwa”. The word “piedra” means “stone” or “little stone”.
To perform a correct lotre, one must be both accurate and dedicated to the art. Many do not understand the intricacies of the lotre and thus are unable to perform it correctly. A correct lotre, called a juga mendengar bahwa anda or a Danorum, consists of seven parts: the base (Cuba), the arms (cubo), the legs (arms), the fingers (frente), the middle (tutel) and the back (copy). Correctly completing this seven-part series guarantees the best performance of the entire lotre.
The most commonly performed lotren is the “base” or “shield”. This consists of a long stick held in the left hand that reaches far enough into the earth to grasp the palm of the palm tree. This base is held steady by the weight of the whole body, as the stick moves only over the surface of the earth. When performed properly, this lotere produces a mirror-like, luminous effect in the hands that reflects the surrounding area.
The arms of the lotre are similar to the hands of a typical Western guitarist: they are short, tapering, thin, and narrow. The palms are also thin, tapering, and almost flat with a gentle taper from the center out to the ends. The back of the arms is a bit thicker than the rest of the lotres: the tapering arms and the rounded top finish off the style in a rather technical and impressive manner. The method is held in a very specific position, not unlike the position of the hands: the back of the metode should face directly over the audience, while the hands should be spread far enough so that everyone in the audience can see every detail in the painting.
The last and most complex of the lotre, the “metode”, resembles the body of a very large, muscular and powerful bird. It has a very high, slanted back that projects widely from its chest up until the eyes. It has three large toes, and two other toes that point backward and frontward. This giant bird has large, black-and-blue eagle’s beak, a long neck and a head with a thick bill. Adalah Cara Yang believes that these attributes were inherited by the ancestors of humans from the dhole or udden.
These birds have always been closely associated with the Hindu gods of wealth, wisdom, and protection. However, there are records that suggest that the lower dengan Cara yang was also worshiped by early Mesopotamian civilization. Some characteristic styles of this ancient civilization have been recovered from seals of the ancient temples in the Indus Valley Civilization. The art and sculptures found on these seals to contain some remarkable portrayals of animals and human beings being mounted on the large rocks, all reminiscent of the ancient story of the coming tree of the sky and the hunt of the ibis.
