The Andean region of South America was the site of many high civilizations centering in what is now Peru and Bolivia. The dominant civilization at the time of first European contact was the Inca civilization. Today, the people of the Andes consist mainly of Quechua speakers and Aymara speakers, descendants of ancient Andean kingdoms.
At its peak, the Inca Empire covered much of the South American Highlands, and included a sophisticated system of highways and runners that could deliver messages over distances of more than a thousand miles in a matter of days. Like the Mayan civilization, the Inca civilization was agriculturally based, ruled by a god-king.
Textiles were
also of great importance in Andean civilizations. They were a form of wealth,
and designated status. Ceremonial uses of cloth gave it spiritual significance
as well. The making of cloth was a state concern, and the best weavers from
among the young girls of the land were brought to the capital to weave in royal
workshops. Early examples of textiles were found at burial sites on the western
coastal deserts. These burials involved the dressing and wrapping of the body
in elaborate textiles. The woven textiles of the Andes are among the most complex
weavings in the world, and yet the loom used is among the simplest.
Today the Quechua and Aymara peoples of the Andes continue to weave. Although
many are forsaking old ways, the traditions survive in some regions. Cloth remains
at the center of the spiritual life of the community; special bundles of cloth
are kept and revered as embodiments of their ancestors. Some of these cloths
may be centuries old. On certain occasions the cloths are taken out from their
storage, and displayed during festivals, or carried around the bounds of the
village lands, as if taking the ancestors for an outing. The details of pattern,
color, structure, and even the twist of the thread carries symbolic meaning
that identifies the locality, the function, the gender and status of the user.
In recent years, Andean cloth, both pre-Columbian and more recent, has been
the object of collectors. As the supply of old textiles in the markets has been
depleted, sacred cloth bundles have been sold or stolen from their home villages,
to the consternation of community members, for whom these are embodiments of
ancestors. At the same time, foreign interest in these textiles has also engendered
a renewed interest in weaving. This has occasionally led to the reintroduction
of weaving in places where the traditions had been abandoned.
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