MOPA MOPA: SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS AND HISTORY OF AN UNUSUAL SOUTH AMERICAN RESIN USED BY THE INKA AND ARTISANS IN PASTO, COLOMBIA

Abstract

A native South American phenolic resin commonly called mopa mopa was used for many centuries in two cultural contexts, by artisans in the region of Pasto, Colombia (where it is still used), and by the Inka in Peru, where it was used to decorate ceremonial drinking cups known as qeros. It was softened to a rubbery state by heating in water, mixed with colorants, stretched into thin layers and applied as inlay to decorate wooden surfaces of various kinds of objects. The resin comes from trees of the genus Elaeagia, which grows in mountainous regions of western South America from Colombia to Ecuador. Botanical specimens from the two species that are the most likely sources of mopa mopa, Elaeagia pastoensis and Elaeagia utilis, were analyzed along with samples from colonial period objects made in Pasto and samples from Inka qeros. Species-specific identification of the resin is often possible, with E. pastoensis being utilized in Pasto and (probably) E. utilis by the Inka. This conclusion has important implications for the possible connection between the use of mopa mopa in the two widely separated areas.