Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands: Dreaming Patterns, Weaving Memories - Softcover

Alvarez, Nilda Callanaupa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1596680555 ISBN 13: 9781596680555

Publisher: Interweave Press, 2008

Synopsis

Handwoven fabrics comprise the living history and culture of the Peruvian highlands from Cusco to Machu Picchu and beyond. Fabric patterns with evocative names reflect the landscape and events in vivid color, evolving over time. The weavers who create these fabrics in the time-honored way are keepers of the culture and sustainers of a noble but difficult lifestyle in tune with the earth. They raise llamas and alpacas for fiber, collect plants for natural dyes, spin yarn on primitive spindles, and weave acres of cloth on simple backstrap looms just as their forebears have done for thousands of years. They weave clothing, rugs, bedcovers, potato sacks, hunting slings, and sacrificial fabrics – for themselves and their villages, and for sale to supplement their meager incomes. Travellers visiting the area (hundreds of thousands a year from North America alone) are drawn to this authentic, well-crafted work and given the opportunity to collect it at every street corner and rail stop. Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands is their guide to quality, understanding, and appreciation. They will learn how pattern names such as Meandering River or Lake with Flowers relate to the geography and history, and how the traditional natural materials and colors enhance the value of the work.

About this title

About the Author

Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez is a native of Chinchero, the Peruvian mountain village immortalized in The Motorcycle Diaries. She was identified by anthropologists at an early age as having an unusual capacity for understanding and recreating historic weaving technique, and was invited to demonstrate at the Smithsonian Institution even before she learned English. After receiving a degree in tourism from the University of Cusco, she founded the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco, a combination school/gallery/museum, and established weaving co-ops in nine far-flung mountain villages to perpetuate traditional techniques and quality and build economic development in these fragile societies. She lives in Cusco with her husband and two sons.

Edition details

• Publisher: Interweave Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1596680555
• ISBN 13: 9781596680555
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96