Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0043/00438.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 39KB | 672 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00438}
$Pretitle{266}
$Title{Bolivia
The Textile Traditions of Highland Bolivia}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Laurie Adelson and Arthur Tracht}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Bolivia, Washington DC}
$Subject{textiles
weaving
woven
pieces
bands
cloth
bolivia
called
patterned
stripes}
$Date{1989}
$Log{}
Country:     Bolivia
Book:        The Cultural Guide of Bolivia
Author:      Laurie Adelson and Arthur Tracht
Affiliation: Embassy of Bolivia, Washington DC
Date:        1989

The Textile Traditions of Highland Bolivia

     The textile tradition of high land Bolivia is a rich and highly developed
art with roots reaching back to pre Colombian times. Yet this remarkable
tradition has gone largely unrecognized outside of the Bolivian rural regions
where weaving is still the most important form of creative expression.

     Originally, textile production arose out of the simple need for clothing.
Gradually, complicated techniques and designs evolved and cloth became a
significant social element in the lives of the Andean peoples. Today in
Bolivia weaving is a well-respected, non-commercial art; in most regions cloth
continues to play a major role in the lives of the Indians. All members of the
family are involved in textile production. The simple indigenous loom and drop
spindle are still used to produce a wide variety of weavings ranging from
plain, utilitarian textiles for daily use, to highly sophisticated and refined
pieces of extraordi ary quality for use in ceremonies and festivals. When not
tending animals, farming, or doing other daily chores, most people are engaged
in weaving-related activities. Although in some respects costume has changed
over the years, the complex weaving techniques of the past are very much
alive.

     Among the most beautifully woven and dyed textiles ever produced are the
ceremonial weavings of the colonial and 19th century Aymara Indians of
Bolivia. These textiles are a reflection of an extraordinary textile tradition
that had flourished in the Lake Titicaca basin plateau since ancient times.
While other social and cultural traditions declined rapidly after the Spanish
Conquest (1532), Aymara weaving techniques, designs, colors, and forms
remained essentially intact in Bolivia until the end of the 19th century.
This fact is not surprising when one considers that throughout pre-Columbian
times textiles were the most highly prized possession and the most
sought-after trade commodity in the Andes.

     Because of the physical nature of cloth, textiles were probably more
important in spreading culture than any other art form. They were more
durable than ceramics, which were susceptible to breakage, and had the
advantage of mobility-which architectural stoneworks lacked. Moreover, as
clothing, textiles were highly visible.

     Although most Andean textiles were used as clothing, they were not merely
utilitarian in purpose but also, and in many cases more significantly, played
major political, social, and religious roles. In pre-Colombian times in the
Andes, cloth was regarded as the most important gift. Used to establish and
strengthen social and political relationships, it played an essential role in
all important phases of the life cycle, as it still does in many parts of
Bolivia today. Archaeological excavations of pre-Columbian tombs in Peru and
Chile give an indication of the tremendous importance placed on cloth during
ancient times. Many mummy bundles found in graves of the Paracas Necropolis
(B.C. 600 - 200) on the southern Peruvian coast contained several hundred
exquisitely made textiles.

     During Inca times (1430 - 1532 A.D.), large quantities of the finest
textiles were woven specifically to be burned as ritual offerings-a tradition
which continued for centuries even after the arrival of the Spaniards. The
Spanish conquistadors were astonished at the vast amounts of cloth they found
in the warehouses which the Incas maintained in all parts of their realm. Some
chroniclers reported that upon retreating from battle, Inca soldiers sometimes
left behind thousands of llamas and prisoners, and even gold and silver, but
chose to burn entire warehouses filled with cloth rather than leave them for
the Spaniards. In the "quipus", the stringknot recording system of the Incas,
only people and camelids ranked above textiles, which were accounted even
before food and ceramics.

     Even today, when acculturation has tremendously changed the Aymara life
style, the traditional Andean reverence for cloth remains. Ceremonial pieces
are still handed down from one generation to the next and are brought out only
for important rituals. Consequently, the finest textiles have survived until
today, whereas ordinary garments were worn daily until they became merely
patches to repair other pieces. In one region of the southern Altiplano, local
chieftains carry bundles called "q'epis" that are filled with old ceremonial
weavings including tunics (ccahuas), ponchitos, mantles (llacotas), and
ancient head-dresses (Pillus). The q'epi is kept on an altar with burning
candles and offerings of coca leaves, alcohol, and pre-Columbian objects
placed around it. The ccahuas are removed from the q'epi and worn by the
chieftain a few times during the year and are the symbol of his status as
temporal head of his community, or ayllu. At the end of each year, the q'epi
is relinquished to a successor during a special ceremony. A tax document found
in one of the bundles and dated 1826 attests to the antiquity of the textiles.
In a sense, the contents of the q'epi pre-Columbian artifacts, textiles,
documents form a historical archive of each ayllu. Most ceremonial weavings
which have survived in Bolivia are matrimonial pieces or fine textiles used
during rituals by chieftains or their wives. When these pieces are needed,
they must be rented from someone else in the community if none are owned by
the family. Textiles also play an integral role in the fertility ritual called
"k'illpa", in which the ears of young animals are marked.

     The use of textiles in religious ceremonies has even carried over into
Aymara Catholicism: on certain feast days the Indians carry from the church
images of patron saints dressed in indigenous ceremonial garb.

     Recent years have brought many changes to Bolivia and modernization
reaches even to remote highland areas. The influence of technology can already
be seen as the rural people begin to wear machine-made rather than handmade
clothes. Many aspects of the ancient art are already lost.

     Little natural dyeing is done and the skill of extremely fine spinning is
preserved in only a few areas. Industrial wool and synthetics generally appear
in modern textiles. Due to the breakdown of traditional values, the Indians
themselves have forgotten much of the meaning that cloth once had.

The Development of Weaving and Dress

     The heddle loom and other weaving implements used by present-day Bolivian
weavers were developed by their ancestors over 3000 years ago. Most of the
weaving techniques which were eventually to be used all over Peru and Bolivia
had already appeared by the first century A.D. The few pre-Columbian highland
textiles that have survived indicate that a rich and impressive weaving
tradition was already flourishing in the mountains well over a thousand years
ago. By the time the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, both coastal and
highland weaving were at such a high point that the conquistadors were
astounded by the richness and beauty of Incan clothing.

     The influence of the Spaniards on weaving and costume soon began to show.
Sheep, brought from Europe, provided wool as a new fiber and the treadle
loom was introduced. Certain aspects of Spanish dress, such as pants and
European-style hats, were adopted by the Indians in addition, the Spanish soon
began to regulate native dress.

     In 1780, the Aymaras of Bolivia (then Alto Peru) and the Quechuas under
Tupac Amaru, led a strong insurrection against the colonial government. The
Indians