Calamarca weaving
The Museum of Bolivian AndeanTextiles, where I found the Jalq'a weaver's quote from the last post, really was a treasure trove of of information about Bolivian
weavings. Coming after the days in Potosí and Oruro gathering photos of weavings at museums and markets the museum provided a welcome insight into what differentiates the weavings from the
different regions. It also helped illustrate in tangible terms what is meant when Bolivia is described as a ‘multicultural
and poyethnic country’ where there are
36 ethnic groups recognised.
Gathered over forty years, the museum
introduces its collection as showing “the Andean people’s lives, dreams and
hopes”, and highlighting how the weavings embody the identity of the
communities where they are created:
“Through the weaving structure, colour
distribution and iconographic designs, to this day, each weaving may be used to
identify cultures and regions, where men and women alike wear various pieces to
portray their identities as well as their world view.”
Charazaní weaving
The Jalq'a weaver's quote that I posted yesterday came from the museum's reference book“Reading
the Artists from the Andes” and it's so fascinating hearing what the weavers themselves have to say, that here are the rest:
“You learn by watching”
In the traditional
learning process of weaving techniques, there are so few explanations; the
process depends entirely on how well the future weaver observes.
“....when I was little, I
had to take care of the animals, llamas, sheep; I used to take them to
mountains to find pasture. Up there,
while taking care of the animals, I used to play with my cousins, friends and
sisters. Just for fun we learned to
weave little (stripes) to wrap around our clothes.
Then we tried to weave a
ch’uspa, the little bag used by men to carry coca leaves. Later on, when I was older, I watched how my
mum and grandma wove their llikllas, the ponchos, that’s how I learned, that’s
it, you learn by watching...
Felisa Choqueribe, Quechua-Aymara culture, Aymaya pampa community, Department
of Potosí.
Bolívar weaving
The rainbow
Among Aymara people, a
woman is considered a fine weaver when she is able to display the rainbow on
her weavings.
“People say that
grandmothers used to weave quite pretty.
After the rain passed, they used to look at the kürmi (rainbow); without
pointing at it though, because if you do, people say your finger may rot. They used to imitate the colours, by looking;
people say the best weaver was the one able to catch the kürmi in her weaving. These pieces were nice.
My Mum used to say “those
are k’isas”, they are sweet, because they are so nice. My godmother when she
saw a weaving well done used to shout “hay mama jiwaki! Jiwaki!” which means
it’s so pretty that just by looking at it you may die...”
Maríana Quispe, Aymara culture, Ch’issi community, Department of La Paz.
The “t’isnus”
These are narrow and thin
weavings. They are usually made by young
girls, at the age of 5 or 6, while trying to learn how to weave. It is named differently in every community.
“In Titicachi we usually
keep our things in pipkins, to carry stuff we use little bags. Now that we make crafts, we sew our bags with
a machine; we’ve learned to use them. We
no longer have to buy bags!! We use t’isnus as ornaments and then we wrap up
our bags with t’isnus as well.
We also use these bags for
children, so they have something to carry their snacks for school. The school is far away, sometimes they have
to walk almost two hours; they need somewhere to carry their toasted corn.”
Martha Ojeda, Mollo culture, Tarisquía community, Department of La
Paz.
North Potosí weaving
4 The Mama Thallas weavings
The weavings that display
special designs and colours are used to establish the level of authority men
and women possess in their communities.
“...when we are
authorities, jilakata for men, mama thalla for women, as a couple, married, we
serve our community for a year.
For this special occasion,
we make specaisl awayus, red and black with designs. We also wear a red [?] and a white hat. This
is our attire for the rest of the year.
Men wear a poncho, ch’uspa and the awayu.
The community chooses us
and gives us enough time to prepare, after throughout one year, just like the
father and the mother take care of their children, we, the authorities, must
take care of the community.
Asunta Mamani, Aymara culture, Patacamaya community, Department of
La Paz.
Calamarca weaving
5 In order to get married, you
have to know how to weave
People from the layme
culture in the northern region of Potosí, measure a woman’s reputatiion by her
weaving skills. A man chooses a wife according
to the number of weavings she wears and how well made they are.
“When I got married, I
already knew how to weave llikllas, aqsus, ch’uspas, ch’umpis, all of these
pieces. In order to get married, a woman
must know how to weave; otherwise people look down on you, criticize you. They even claim that you are not a good
woman. That’s why we have to learn how
to spin, dye, and then weave from an early age.
We gather all the pieces
we made througjout the year, and go to the celebration to dance. You have to show your weavings to prove
everyone you are a fine weaver. This way
mothers will look at you and think of you as a good daughter-in-law, they say,
“when she gets married she’ll be able to dress her husband and children.” A woman who is a fine weaver is cared for and
respected.”
Agustina Sipe, Quechua culture, Llallawa community, Department of
Potosí
6
North Potosí weaving
7 About rivers
The iconographic designs
shown in textiles also represent the weaver’s worldview. The river is a significant element, since it
represents the source of life.
“We usually weave rivers;
we call them mayu in quechua. We weave them is aqsus for us, and pallay
unkus for men.
A line, then switches to
the right, then to the left, all the way to the end. Sometimes we include saras as well, we call
it mayu sara (river with corn) and we
also include yut’us (quails).
Other women make the mayu
with stars, so its like during the night time.
Do you ever see the river from the sky?
I don’t know what you call it in Spanish, we call it wara wara mayu. That’s what we weave. We also weave the sun, that’s simple...”
Feliciana Sipe, Yampara culture, Candelaria community, Department of
Chuquisaca
The mountain has hair and eyes
The Andean myth
establishes that sacred mountains such as the Akhamani possess human
attributes, like eyes and hair.
“...when I was little, my
grandpa used to say that mountains were sacred by pointing to the Akhamani. He used to say that mountains were alive and
took care of the community. He called
them achachilas, the elders. Then he
would point at the animals and say that llama wool and alpaca wool are the hair
of the mountains, and the little lagoons were their eyes.
He looked at us, and said
that women used mountains’ hair to weave and the lagoons were those little
figures – rhombuses – weavers included in the piece. They were eyes, which took care of the
weaving and the weaver.
People also say that these
eyes have to be included to ask for enough water for our crops.”
Felipa Vargas, Kallawaya culture, Kañizaya community, Department of
La Paz.
About horses
The iconographic
representation of the horse is related to the image of St. James – the Moor Killer
– patron of Spain. This Saint is
associated to llapa, the Andean god
of lightning.
Tarabuco weaving
“My grandmother used to
say that we have to weave cawallus
(horses) because that way Tata Santiago (St. James) will help. It’s like the lightning, he gives us strength. It’s Tata Santiago’s horse.
When I was little I used
to see him at the church. We lit a
candle to keep him happy. Then we began
to weave. We still weave the Tata’s horses. It will bring us luck! So we weave cawallus with flags!
We carry white flags while
dancing, to attract good fortune for our crops.
That’s why we weave little horses, for good fortune. We weave them standing up, jumping, walking,
any way.... we always weave cawallus.”
Emiliana Garcia, Yampara culture, Tarabuco communtiy, Department of
Chuquisaca.
Tarabuco weaving
Leaving the museum I felt both impressed
and seriously humbled by the thousands of years of tradition compacted into
each and every piece so intricate in its detail and so firmly rooted in its own
local culture. Wow. Beautiful. And what a vast subject matter to be brushing the surface of!
