Myth has it that Our Mother Moon, taught the first woman how to weave at the beginning of time. Since then, mothers have taught their daughters, from generation to generation uninterruptedly for two thousand years. In addition to its important religious and social aspects, historically weaving has been central to indigenous women’s economic contribution to their households. In a traditional Inca context, when a girl is born, the midwife presents her with the different instruments of weaving one by one and she says, “Well then, little girl” “This will be your hand” “This will be your foot” “Here is your work” “With this, you’ll look for your food” “Don’t take the evil path,” “Don’t steal” “When you grow up” “Only...
Handmade is a celebration of our contemporary lives, a living culture and not part of a mass imposed, one size fits all, consumer culture where everything looks the same and is easily boxed up. Each of our #incabag items is about people and not machines. It is about the time effort that goes into each piece of work, it is about skill of each of us, the technical ingenuity of the maker, the magic of an individual's imagination. This holiday season choose handmade.
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On Isla Taquile on Lake Titicaca, it is the men who knit. When inca children are at a very young age, their father teaches them the craft. They are eventually required to knit a hat in the traditional style with a colourful band around the head, floppy ear pieces and a white top piece that fell over to one side and which was embellished with a colourful tassel. These colours denoted their availability for marriage. The hat then is tightly knit. If he wanted to express interest in a young woman he could present her with the hat. She tested his knitting skill by filling it with water. If it leaked, she handed it back! This island has been...
Weaving is an ancient craft that is integral to the Incas culture high up in the Andean Mountains of Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. Women in the Andes, especially in rural areas, grow up learning how to weave from watching their mothers. This tradition is kept alive today partially because of the demand from tourism and people who enjoy buying and supporting handmade crafts. It is such a pretty sight to see the smiles of these ladies doing what they love most. ...
