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TEXTILES

Llacota made of alpaca fiber.

Toropalca. Potosi. Bolivia. Mid 20th century.


Piece woven in horizontal loom, also called floor or stakes. “This type of loom is used in almost all areas of Bolivia. The two parallel bars that support the warp are secured by means of ropes or straps, to four stakes placed in the corners and driven into the ground (1) The garment was warp-woven into two four-edged cloths and joined with a central monochrome frame and lloque on its edges (appearance of zig zag obtained by alternating in the warp of groups of threads twisted in S, with others twisted in Z), an element that -according to ancestral rites- surpasses the decorative, granting divine protection to your owner. Measures. Length: 105 cm / 41.33 in. Width: 144 cm / 56.7 in.


The llacota is a square-shaped textile garment, similar to the awayo in terms of its two-panel structure and its lack of fringes, but it is of greater measure, intended exclusively for male use. Another difference is that it does not present an ornamental design with pallay (figures); at most it shows some color lists, but in general it is characterized by having two colors that occupy the entire pampa (the field).


In some ayllus (highland communities), the llacota was undoubtedly a substitute for the poncho in men's clothing: “It is a quadrangular garment that is worn like a cape, knotted over the chest. Modern keychains are made up of two pieces and are mostly square with an average dimension of 1.20 x 1.20. There are rectangular ones with an approximate size of 1.80 x 1 m. When the blanket was dyed red or blue, it received the name of compita llacota, which probably derives from compi or cumbi, which indicates that it is special clothing "(2)


The intense blue obtained by dyeing the alpaca yarn with indigo plays a very important role in the minimalist ornamental complexity of this llacota, complemented by the virgin brown tone of the rest of the yarn.


Notes:

1. Gisbert, Teresa - Arce, Silvia - Cajías, Martha: Textile Art and the Andean World. La Paz, Bolivia, Plural Editores, 2006, p. 48.

2. Ibid. P. 66.



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