textiles.

For those who know me well, you know how excited I was for the textiles of Peru. Though textiles have always been necessary for any civilization to keep warm and to be clothed, textiles amongst the Andean and coastal people of ancient Peru exceeded necessity – they held symbolic importance as well. To quote from my newly-purchased, beautiful little book Textiles of Ancient Peru:

Textiles provide the mirror in which the economic, social, political and religious development of every culture of ancient Peru is reflected, as well as defining the rank and status of the individual for whom they were made, possessing as they do a great mythical-sacred content through the incorporation of iconographic elements. (16)

Initially vegetable fibers were woven (depending on the archeologist – around 8000 BCE), but by 2500 BCE cotton was cultivated and by 1000 BCE llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos were domesticated to produce wool. Remarkably there are textiles that remain intact after several thousand years, though most textiles from rainy climates have deteriorated.

camelid family tree

Part of our guided tour through the Sacred Valley included a visit to a llama, alpaca, and vicuña reserve. Our group helped stuff these gentle animals with green goodness and naturally I recorded the process. We were also able to see what plants are used to create dyes and I was excited to see the enticing cochinillo (a beetle found on prickly pear cacti - read: A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage and the Quest for the Color of Desire) turn things a brilliant red. Yeah, I’m a dork. At the end sat perfectly placed women weavers (historically apparently both genders wove in Incan society) and we were told we could take pictures of them – as if they were another species in the animal reserve. So... I didn’t take pictures of them weaving, nor did I buy any of the very expensive items in the gift shop, conveniently placed at the exit.


Several weeks later we visited the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco, a weaving workshop in Chinchero, a town outside of Cusco. Easily, this was what I was most excited for in our time in Peru. At first we were shown the process of spinning and weaving, but the rest of the day was dedicated to dying wool. We were split up into seven groups to create seven dyes – peach, yellow, orange, red (cochinillo!!), burgandy, purple (nearly indigo), and green. I was on team burgandy, though we tended to circulate and help when needed. Essentially the dying process goes as follows: boil water, add the dyestuff, add wool, let it boil for awhile, add more dyestuff if necessary, boil, remove wool from water, let cool, rinse, ring, dry. We all were able to take skeins of wool home, though yellow ran out before I was able to grab one up (which I’m pretty disappointed about – I’m the damn knitter after all!! ughhhhh). Our bathroom smelled like wet alpaca for several days while my roommates and I dried our newly dyed wool.

getting the fire started

burgandy pot - stirring dye and wool

burgandy pot

rinsing the red yarn

our yarn!

I did take pictures of some of the women from Chinchero, as the experience was far more collaborative than at the animal reserve. I also bought several woven pieces, each with a little tag that includes the name and picture of its maker. While our visit to the CTTC helped fund the non-profit, all purchases go directly to the women who work there. This may not sound that significant, but its good to see where your money goes, unlike in the markets where pieces very well could have been made in factories and going to undeserving pockets.

My, this is a monsterously long post – will leave it be for now. Coming soon... pictures of Machu Picchu, I promise!