In 1936 a Sican tumi was discovered in the valley of Batan Grande, Illimo, Lambayeque, Peru. It is really more an ax than a knife with a weight of 992 grams, height 41 cm. This tumi is believed to have the figure of Naylamp on its top, as many Sican culture's tumis are thought to have a depiction of this symbolic figure. Naylamp was a mythic hero and founder of the Sican culture, also known as Lambayeque culture, that was begotten from a totemic bird with his same name, Ñaylamp. The legend goes, that when Ñaylamp died, or disappeared, after founding the Lambayeque culture, he grew wings and flew into the sky. This hero-king founder of Lambayeque built a temple named Chot where he placed a large stone that he called Llampallec, which means statue of Ñaylamp. In this temple many ceremonies and rituals were offered using a tumi. The knife or Tumi of Illimo is represented with a mask of a bird, wings and bird shaped eyes. The mythic stories about the bird named Ñaylamp and the hero warrior founder of Lambayeque are represented in the knife or Tumi of Illimo by a birdman. Sican's tumi knives often include depictions of birds or winds in order to symbolize Ñaylamp as well. Portrays of Naylamp, the "Sican Lord" abruptly disappear from Sican art in the Late Sican phase (1100-1375). is believed Sican goes through a phase of revitalization of the religion going back to traditional relationships with nature, icons include felines, fish, and birds as the main focus that were secondary to the Sican Deity and the Sican Lord during the previous eras, but were also linked to previous cultures in the area.
