Amazonite
Bill Long 11/06/04
The Gift of the Warriors
There are two ways we can study the gemstone amazonite. On the one hand, I could recite all the particulars of the stone, describing its chemical structure and mineralogical features, where it has been found, and how it is used. On the other hand, I could tell a story that provides a fuller context in which to understand the gem. I will do the latter, though I will provide only enough information about the former to make you agree with the wisdom of the path I have chosen.
Scientifical Correctness
Technically speaking, amazonite is a feldspar, a variety of microcline, which itself is one of three or four members (depending on whose work you read) of the potassium feldspar group. All members of this group have the identical chemical composition: KAlSi3O8 (potassium aluminum silicate). It differs from the other three members of the group in that its crystal structure is triclinic, meaning that the three reference axes within the crystal are of different lengths and all intersect each other at angles other than 90 degrees (you can only see this with a microscope). Amazonite is not plentiful in nature, though its deep beautiful blue green with white streaks, often with a smoky or nacreous luster, makes it perfect for necklace beads and small objects such as boxes or ashtrays. It is said to possess a soothing effect on the brain and the nervous system, helping the wearer analyze and sort out information.
Amazonite's Story
More interesting by far is the story of the stone. Its name suggests a connection with the Amazon river running through Bolivia and Brazil, but the engaged reader might also ask the question of whether the name Amazon, the stone Amazonite and the ancient female warriors from the Scythian steppes (modern-day Iran) called Amazons have anything in common. Indeed, they do.
The first European to set eyes on the Amazon River was the Spaniard Vincent Pinzon in 1500, calling it Rio Santa Maria de la Mar Dulce, [shortened to "Mar Dulce"]. Pinzon only entered about 50 meters into the River from the Pacific. By 1515 the name "Maranon," of uncertain origin, was also associated with the river.
It was not until 1541 that Francisco Orellena, governor of Guayaquil, Ecuador, set out on a journey down the great river, even if the journey was one of inadvertance. He was engaged in an exploratory trip along some of the great river's tributaries with Gonzalo Pizarro, the brother of the cruel conquistador, when they ran out of food. Orellena and about 60 men in a primitive brigatine launched into the main channel of the river in search of food and were washed along its length into the interior of the country. They were unable to turn back and so decided to follow the river down its Eastward course.
Records of the voyage were kept by the priest on board, Friar Gaspar de Carvajal. Parts of Carvajal's account, the Relacion, appeared in Oviedo's significant mid-sixteenth century volume (though not published until 1855) Historia general de las Indes. Much of the value of Oviedo's treament rests in his comparison of Carvajal's material with interviews he conducted with Orellana and others. The full Relacion was not published until 1895.
Highlights of a Voyage
The maiden European trip down the great river began late in December 1541 and lasted about nine months, until they reached the Atlantic Ocean. By June 5, 1542 they landed in a village in the Omagua territory where they learned that the inhabitants apparently paid tribute to a powerful group of women somewhere further along the river. As they continued down the river they were under constant attack. They passed a placed where heads were placed on stakes or gibbets, and they called it the "Province of the Gibbets." Further along they stopped and raided a village or two, and even burned one, which Oviedo in his Historia calls the "Pueblo de los Quemados" ("Town of the Burned)."
News of the coming of the Europeans filtered into the hinterlands, and on June 24 Carvajal recorded, "We came suddenly upon the excellent land and dominion of the Amazons. These (female warriors) had been forewarned and knew of our coming, in consequence whereof they came out on the water to meet us, in no friendly mood." They shot so many arrows at the Spaniards that the brigantine "looked like a porcupine." The women captains fought in front of the Indian men. The women were "very white and tall, and have hair very long and braided and wound about the head, and they are very robust and go about naked, with their privy parts covered, with their bows and arrows in their hands." After a fierce encounter that left seven or eight of the women dead, the Indians retreated.
End of the Battle
The queen of the fighters was taken captive. As reported in Oviedo's account, she (named Conori) said that they ruled seventy villages. Though unmarried, the women "consorted with Indian men at times" and also had children by male captives. The boy children either were killed or sent to their fathers while the females were raised in great solemnity and instructed in the arts of war. These women warriors were renowned and feared throughout the region.
Go on to the next mini-essay to learn how any of this relates to the precious gem amazonite.
Copyright © 2004-2010 William R. Long |