Earth, Water, Fleece and Fabric: An Ethnography and Archaeology of Andean Camelid Herding

327 Pages·2002·5.614 MB·English

by  Penny Dransart

Earth, Water, Fleece and Fabric
Through a richly detailed examination of the practices of spinning yarn from
the fleece of llamas and alpacas, Earth, Water, Fleece and Fabricexplores the rela-
tionships that herders of the present and of the past have maintained with their
herd animals in the Andes. Dransart juxtaposes an ethnography of an Aymara
herding community, based on more than ten years’ fieldwork in Isluga in the
Chilean highlands, with archaeological material from excavations in the Atacama
desert. Relevant historical evidence is adduced.
This work investigates the material culture of pastoral communities at the
transition from a hunting and gathering way of life over three thousand years
ago, its relationship with domestic processes, and how spinning and weaving in
contemporary Isluga express the values of a herding way of life. These values are
intimately related to the perceived importance of the landscape, with its resources
of earth and water, in the transformation of pasture into fleece. Impeccably
researched, this book is the first systematic study to set the material culture of
pastoral communities against an understanding of the long-term effects of herding
practices. It offers original insights into understanding gender relations among the
herders, who establish the working relationships with their animals that enable
them to produce yarns and fabrics, while also adopting a dynamic perspective on
studying technical changes that have occurred in textile production in the Andes.
Penelope Z. Dransart is Chair of the Department of Archaeology at the
University of Wales, Lampeter. Previous publications include Elemental Meanings:
Symbolic Expressions in Inka Miniature Figures (1995) and Andean Art: Visual
Expression and its Relation to Andean Beliefs and Values(1995).
http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield

Earth, Water, Fleece
and Fabric
An ethnography and archaeology
of Andean camelid herding
Penelope Z. Dransart
London and New York
First published 2002
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
© 2002 Taylor & Francis Books Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Dransart, Penny.
Earth, water, fleece, and fabric: an ethnography and archaeology
of Andean camelid herding / Penelope Z. Dransart.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
1. Aymara Indians—Agriculture. 2. Pastoral systems—Chile.
3. Aymara textile fabrics—Chile. 4. Camelidae—Chile. I. Title.
F2230.2.A9 D73 2002
305.5′55—dc21 2001048679
ISBN 0-203-21973-2 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-27480-6 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–27959–3(Print Edition)
Contents
List of plates vii
List of figures ix
List of tables xi
Preface xiii
1 Threads through time 1
2 Camelids, land and water in the South-Central Andes 15
3 Caring for herd animals in Isluga 47
4 Flowers of the herds: the wayñuceremony in Isluga 82
5 The transformation of fleece into yarn 101
6 Historical perspectives on herding technology 127
7 The emergence of herding societies in the Atacama 155
8 The yarns and fabrics of Tulan societies 201
9 Conclusions: earth, water, fleece and fabric 236
Appendix 246
Glossary 265
Notes 271
Bibliography 281
Index 302

Plates
2.1 Vicuña, northern subspecies, Salar de Surire, northern Chile 18
2.2 Vicuña, southern or Atacama subspecies, San Pedro de Atacama 18
2.3 Llamas on high-altitude, dry pasture ground above Enquelga,
Isluga 19
2.4 Alpacas on the wet pasture (bofedal) at Enquelga, Isluga 19
2.5 Stone alignment in the Tulan Quebrada 32
2.6 Canal for irrigating the bofedalpastures of Caquena (4,600 m asl),
in the highlands east of Arica 38
2.7 Mud walling to retain moisture in pasture in the Tulan Quebrada
above Tchulín, opposite site Tulan 67 38
4.1 Husband and wife making libations of chicha(fermented maize
drink) over a llama which will be sacrificed during their wayñu
ceremony, Enquelga 87
4.2 Laying out the items (chimpu, wistallaand sarsillu) with which the
llamas will be ritually dressed during the wayñuceremony 91
4.3 Light brown-coloured alpaca belonging to Don Apolinario Castro
during the ch’alltaceremony on 1 February 1997 93
5.1 Laying out the hide of a sacrificed llama, Enquelga 109
5.2 The late Doña Gabriela Mamani Challapa shearing the fleece from
the hide shown in plate 5.1, using a piece of broken bottle glass 109
5.3 Teasing out and removing the hairy fibres (uywi) in the fleece
shown in plate 5.1 111
5.4 Preparing a roving 111
5.5 Drawing out and spinning the fibre using a drop spindle 113
5.6 Winding a length of spun yarn on to the spindle 113
5.7 Yarn spun to the left (ch’iqa) in a woman’s dress (urk”u) 116
5.8 Making mismiñaat Paniri, near the Vega de Turi in northern Chile. 119
5.9 Doña Soria Mamani Challapa (outside her house in Jalsuri)
weaving one half of a carrying shawl for her daughter 121
5.10 Detail of the coloured band of a carrying shawl (awayu) woven by
Doña Luisa Castro Castro of Enquelga in the 1960s 124
6.1 Wooden tray No. 1,874 and tube from Solcor 3 cemetery 144
6.2 Wooden tray No. 1,075 from Solcor 3 144
viii Plates
6.3 Nasca-style tapestry band 149
6.4 Fragment of a Wari tunic with white outlining 150
6.5 Fragment of a Wari tunic which includes one of the side seams 150
6.6 Fragment from a Wari textile found in the vicinity of Pampachiri,
Department of Andahuaylas, Peru 151
6.7 Detail of a tapestry fragment from a Wari-style tunic 152
6.8 Tiwanaku-style four-pointed cap from Chokari, between Potosí
and Oruro, Bolivia 153
7.1 The Purifica Quebrada, downstream from site PU 1 157
7.2 Llamas accompanied by a solitary vicuña, immediately
downstream from the spring at Tulan 165
7.3 TU 67, grid square 4, layer III. A selection of lithic material,
including a broken tabular stone palette with traces of red pigment 173
7.4 PU 1, grid square AA7, layer III. Part of an upper grinding stone
(mano) with traces of red pigment 177
7.5 PU 1, grid square BB6. Layer of stones, which includes a stone
incised with a camelid overlain by a broken grinding stone 182
7.6 Site TU 54, with part of one of the oval structures in the foreground 184
7.7 Shell and stone beads from TU 54, grid square B3 186
7.8 TU 54, grid square 3, layer g. Camelid bones painted red 186
7.9 TU 58, tomb 3. Beads and carved stone quadruped 190
7.10 TU 64. Barbed and tanged arrowheads 192
8.1 Stylized human figure wearing what appears to be a fringed pubic
covering, painted on the southern wall of rock shelter TU 67 205
8.2 Remains of textile (fabric No. 8) and yarn turban (yarn No. 752)
on the skull of a child at site TU 85 207
8.3 Small hank of yarn from layer 27 of grid square B3, TU 54 208
8.4 Yarn No. 508 from grid square 3, layer n, TU 54 211
8.5 Unit of three yarns tied by means of three granny knots into a
circle, TU54 217
8.6 Detail of looped fabric No. 6, grid square B3, layer 17, TU 54 219
8.7 Wad consisting of various pieces of camelid fleece, and a short
length of oblique interlaced braid made with cotton yarns, Chiu
Chiu 200 223
8.8 Loop-and-twist fabric of vegetal fibre from site Chiu Chiu 200 223
8.9 Base of a coiled basket from grid square 2, TU 54 225
8.10 Unidentified animal pelt, of which the fur was painted or dyed red,
TU54 227
9.1 Different coloured camelid fleeces from the cemetery site of
Chacance, near María Elena, said to have been found in a woven
bag 242
Figures
1.1 The South-Central Andes, showing the location of Isluga and the
Tulan Quebrada 2
2.1 Past and present distribution of vicuña and guanaco 24
2.2 Past and present distribution of the alpaca and llama 24
2.3 Map showing the location of Isluga and the neighbouring
communities of Camiña, Chiapa and Cariquima 41
3.1 Places associated with Tunupa 52
3.2 The annual ritual cycle in Isluga 57
3.3 The cycle of herding and agricultural activities in Isluga 58
3.4 Pasture grounds in Enquelga, Arawilla and Islug marka 60
3.5 Camelid nomenclature in Isluga 71
3.6 Camelid nomenclature in Isluga 72
3.7 Camelid nomenclature in Isluga 74
3.8 Camelid nomenclature in Isluga 75
3.9 Camelid nomenclature in Isluga 77
4.1 The design of the kancha(corral for camelids) in Isluga 85
5.1 Adding the border known as k’anipato the outside edges
of a woven bag (wayaqa) 116
6.1 Map of the Inka road network, showing the approximate extent of
the Inka Empire 137
6.2 Camelid carved on back of the Bennett stela from Tiahunaco 142
6.3 Carved wooden trays from Quitor 5, Solcor 3 and Coyo Oriente
cemeteries, San Pedro de Atacama 142
6.4 Map of the South-Central Andes 143
6.5 Camelid decked with plants and fruits from Paracas mantle 146
6.6 Alto Ramírez tapestry from the Azapa Valley, near Arica, Chile 148
7.1 Map showing the Purifica and Tulan Quebradas 162
7.2 Map showing the location of Archaic period sites in the
South-Central Andes 168
7.3 Map showing the location of sites PU 1 and TU 52 169
7.4 Map showing the location of sites in the Tulan Quebrada
discussed in the text 170
7.5 Schematic cross-section of the Tulan Quebrada 171