QUECHUA CULTURE

Poncho from Saint Luke. San Lucas, Chuquisaca, Bolivia. First half of the 20th century.

Poncho woven on a floor loom, with a flat warp face using the four-edge technique and an ornamental design of streets with lists. Spindle-spun sheep wool. With perimeter fringes. Measures. Length: 142 cm. Width: 150cm.

It is noteworthy that the customs and traditions of the town of San Lucas, despite belonging to the department of Chuquisaca, are more similar to those of Potosí, since it is located near its border, about 140 km from the Imperial Villa of Potosí. , while Sucre is almost 300 km away.

“The San Lucas Valley and its neighboring regions in the department of Chuquisaca are known for the beauty and uniqueness of their fabrics. These garments, through their shapes, colors and iconography, transmit and express a series of meanings related to individual and group identity, gender, status, trade, ritual and political authority, among other things. This knowledge has been transmitted from generation to generation and has survived to this day as part of complex social dynamics that gave rise to a distinctive textile style of this region”. (1)

Regarding the high quality of this garment, it is worth mentioning the green color of the pampas (the field) obtained by staining with leaves of Hachcha Chilka (baccharis latifolia), and the use of various natural dyes to achieve the polychrome of its streets of lists, which is also evident in the perimeter fringe woven ad hoc in a fringing web. The visual harmony of the design added to the properties of solidity and color fastness and its state of conservation through a century of use, make this poncho a piece worthy of collection.

Note:

1. Claudia Rivera Casanovas and Nina Vargas: Annals of the annual meeting of Ethnology. La Paz/Sucre. Ed. Musef. 2013.