"I KNEW IT!" - Native American culture in LADS lore
*longpost*
Hi guys!
I've already compared LADS mythology to Mesoamerican culture before, specifically breaking down the references to Aztec mythology. But here's what's interesting — in one of the Valko character arts, for me personally, Infold officially confirmed that Native American culture is indeed present in their lore, and it's stitched in with white thread.
And as it turns out, this reference confirmed a whole heap of my theories. But let's not get ahead of ourselves — I'll cover everything step by step.
The llama in Andean cultures — it's so much more than just an animal.
In one of Valko's character arts, there are two plush toys shown next to him — a wolf cub and a llama.
While the wolf cub seems fairly straightforward, the llama feels like a much more unusual detail. And it was exactly that detail that caught my attention.
The thing is, the llama is practically inseparable from the cultures of South America's indigenous peoples.
For the peoples of the Andes, llamas were never just animals. They were connected with prosperity, fertility, and the balance of the world itself. Llamas were not viewed as simple possessions, but as living beings that existed within a much larger relationship between humans, nature, and the spiritual realm.
Among the Quechua peoples and the Inca, this connection became especially powerful. Llamas were part of important rituals and offerings, including ceremonies connected with agriculture, fertility, and the well-being of society.
And among them, white llamas held a particularly sacred meaning.
In Inca traditions, white was often associated with purity, sacredness, and the divine. White llamas were used in important ceremonies, where they symbolically connected the earthly world with higher powers.
This connection becomes even more interesting when we remember the importance of Inti — the Sun god. For the Incas, the Sun was not simply a star in the sky. It was the source of life itself: warmth, light, fertility, and the force that maintained the order of the world. Because of this, the image of a white llama carried a powerful association with the connection between humans, nature, and the cosmos.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Andean cosmology is the idea that everything on Earth has a reflection in the sky.
Yacana — the Celestial Llama.
Unlike the constellations we are familiar with today, which are created by connecting bright stars, the Incas saw shapes hidden within the dark spaces of the Milky Way — the great celestial river known as Mayu.
Among these dark constellations was Yacana, the Celestial Llama.
She was not just a figure in the sky. She was connected with earthly herds, fertility, and the continuation of life itself — reflecting one of the central ideas of the Andean worldview: what exists on Earth is mirrored in the heavens.
Interestingly, the very idea of the Celestial Llama unexpectedly resonates with a principle that would later become one of the central motifs of the Hermetic tradition and alchemy: "As above, so below". Of course, Inca cosmology and European Hermeticism belong to different cultural traditions, so this isn't about direct borrowing. But the underlying principle of perceiving the world turns out to be strikingly similar: the celestial and the terrestrial do not exist separately — they mirror each other.
And this is exactly where my theory starts to take shape.
The Celestial Llama isn't just a standalone myth. It's part of a larger system — and that system points to something we've already seen in Love and Deepspace posters.
Cosmic Encounter 3.0 Poster - Southern sky
I had two other clues sitting in the back of my mind for a long time. I knew they were connected to something, but I couldn't see the full picture until now.
The first one was the Cosmic Encounter 3.0 poster. I already knew it depicted the southern sky and the Magellanic Clouds. Later, I discovered their connection with Indigenous South American traditions: for the Mapuche, these celestial formations were associated with heavenly waters — lakes or lagoons located near the great celestial river of the Milky Way.
The second clue was the poem from “Homecoming Wings.” I could understand the symbolism of the water, but I could never fully connect all the pieces together.
At first, the poem seemed to describe winter — a world becoming cold and still. But something about that interpretation never quite fit.
And only now, after connecting the llama imagery with Andean cultures, I looked at these clues from a different perspective.
What if the poem was not describing winter, but a completely different seasonal cycle?
The line:
“when flowers wither in their sleep”
may not refer to frost or snow. Instead, it evokes a landscape entering a period of dryness — when plants lose their vitality because the life-giving waters have withdrawn.
Likewise:
“when winds fall silent”
can be read as the moment when the movements of the atmosphere change — when the winds no longer carry the clouds and rains.
And finally:
“when the vigilant owl closes its eyes”
could also carry a lunar association. Since owls are nocturnal creatures, often symbolically connected with moonlight and the mysteries of the night, the image of the owl closing its eyes may represent the new moon — the darkest phase of the lunar cycle, when the Moon no longer illuminates the sky and the stars become easier to observe.
But... what exactly to observe?
That's where I hit a wall.
The southern sky is clear. The Magellanic Clouds are visible. The center of the galaxy or the Tarantula Nebula could be the target. But without the character who carries all these references — Valko — I can't confirm which one it is, or if it's something else entirely.
He was cancelled. We don't know what Infold had planned.
But here's the thing — that's not the point.
The point is the system. Everything is connected.
This isn't a collection of random details. It's one system where myths reflect in the sky, the sky reflects in the characters, and the characters reflect in the culture.
I'm leaving this analysis open-ended. If Infold brings Valko back and continues this thread — I'll be here to follow it.
For now, my conclusion is this:
Native American culture in LADS lore isn't decoration. It's a deliberate layer, carefully stitched into the worldbuilding.
