30's 40's straw platform sandals with embroidered indian sacrifice/burial scene??

Pinkcoke

Pinkcoke

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Why would anyone want such a horrific design on their shoes?! I'm hoping somebody knows of some cultural trend or news snippet that would explain the choice of theme here... It appears (to me anyway) as though the man on the left is either a) pouring blood b) flogging c) stabbing/holding some other weapon, can't work out if the man lying down is dead or alive, the third man on the right could be praying with his arms out or holding the other man down by the legs and lastly one man (or woman? she has no wrap/headdress) bowing to the ground below. Grieving perhaps)
They are made from black nubuck suede and the embroidery is on a very fine straw I think. I can seperate the weave slightly with my nail. Leather soles.

For dating I have found an advert of some very similar style Dunlop sandals from 1939 (with a nice floral theme however!) that is the closest (I don't find many beach sandal adverts), and the very slight peep toe and shape of the sole makes 30's a possibility but the heel and buckle on these makes me think they could also be into the early 40's, opinions welcome on that.

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Looks to me like an Aztec sacrificial ritual! They are a hoot! The pair of shoes you have look mid 1940s, late war or even postwar because of that thick Cuban heel, instep strap, and slight platform. The insole looks like substitute leather, maybe a cardboard, so my guess would be 1944-1947, but if they are Mexican, they could be later -I believe Mexican shoes I have handled into the 1950s continue to use cardboard insoles, even when the shoes are pure leather. I suspect the idea was that you had the insoles replaced regularly. I would say these were Mexican made for American tourists. During the war travel for leisure was discouraged, so another reason why I would suggest postwar, maybe even as late as 1950ish, if they are Mexican made.
 
Thanks very much Jonathan, the insole *was* cardboard, it's certainly fibrous where worn away on the instep and very soft almost like compressed sawdust? Looking closer at the seam on the inside of the heel, the black covering could be a velour rather than suede, It's a little too thin I think. The upper lining is definetly leather.
 
Well you know I get asked for sandals a lot so I can see somebody not minding the design, after all from a few metres away you could hardly tell what it's all about but it does have that morbid fascination factor... they'll probably go into a collection however I should think.
 
I did think the stone looking 'sacrifice' podium was closer to Egyptian period than Indian so Mayans sounds more plausible.
 
I dont know if this is depicting Mayan or Aztec ritual sacrifice, but definitely pre-columbian Mexico. Both cultures had similar ritual practices, usually performed on the steps of the temple and involved cutting the heart out of the victim.

Gruesome indeed...but oddly fascinating subject for shoes!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_sacrifice_in_Aztec_culture

Most of the sacrificial rituals took more than two people to perform. In the usual procedure of the ritual, the sacrifice would be taken to the top of the temple.[35] The sacrifice would then be laid on a stone slab by four priests, and his/her abdomen would be sliced open by a fifth priest with a ceremonial knife made of flint. The cut was made in the abdomen and went through the diaphragm. The priest would grab the heart and tear it out, still beating. It would be placed in a bowl held by a statue of the honored god, and the body thrown down the temple's stairs.[36]
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