Chuspas

A ''chuspas'' (which is Quechua for bag) is a pouch that is used to carry coca and cocoa leaves, used primarily in the Andean region of South America. Both textiles and coca are very important to the people in Andean South America. These ''chuspas'' are a vital piece of culture and are especially important to combat the bitter cold in the mountainous zones of the Andes. These bags are also a way to showcase the cloth which in itself is a primary artistic medium. Highland textiles are traditionally woven from the hair of native camelids, usually the domesticated alpacas and llamas, and more rarely, wild vicuña and guanaco. These pouches are important symbols of social identity. As part of this tradition, ''chuspas'' show to the rest of their people how skilled they are in weaving. They can express their artistic skills and display their cultural affiliation by creating these ''chuspas''.

History

Since the beginning of the first millennium AD, ''chuspas'' have been a constant presence in Andean society. ''Chuspas'' have endured changing fashions and technologies throughout the years, just like other pieces of fashion. Furthermore, as with other textiles in Andean South America, stylistic differences between ''chuspas'' distinguish them as products of particular regions and communities. However, ''chuspas'' are unique among Andean textiles because of the substance they hold, coca leaves. Coca leaves were often chewed on to satiate hunger and provide energy.

Long before the Spanish arrived in Peru, Andean artists portrayed people wearing ''chuspas'', especially on pottery vessels. Between AD1 and 700, the Moche dominated the north coast of Peru, and during that time Moche ceramic artists produced lifelike representations of people, plants, and animals in molded ceramic vessels. Many of these representations depicted people carrying ''chuspas''.

Depictions of ''chuspas'' in media have been around since pre-Hispanic times. ''Chuspas'' are particularly notable in the seventeenth century line drawings that accompany Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's length description of Inca customs. Guaman Poma includes ''chuspas'' in an extensive variety of contexts, as two individuals share coca during horticulture, in ritual settings, at funerals, in festivals, and in parades.

Written descriptions of Andean ''chuspas'' or ''huallqepos'' as they are called in Aymara, another widely spoken Andean language, are also remarkably consistent from the Spanish conquest to present. In 1609 Bernabe Cobo wrote that underneath his mantle and over his tunic a man would carry 'a small ''chuspa'' which hangs around the neck. It is more or less one span in length and about the same width. This bag hangs down by the waist under the right arm, and the strap from which it hangs passes over the left shoulder." There have been many visual and written representations of ''chuspas'' throughout the centuries which demonstrate the ubiquity of ''chuspas'' and suggest that coca bags are relatively straight forward and conservative items, but in fact variations are evident in the actual objects that have survived. Surviving ''chuspas'' reveal a great deal about the technological and artistic styles evident in the Andes at different periods.

Crafting Chuspas

''Chuspas'' are created using similar tools and techniques involved in making larger items, such as shawls and ponchos. Although the technologies are relatively simple, creating a ''chuspas'' can take more than a week, and for a much smaller object.

The crafting process incorporates three basic stages: spinning, weaving, and embellishing. Using a hand spindle, a weaver spins cotton, camelid fiber, or sheep's wool into a thread and then twists or piles two or more spun threads together to strengthen the yarn. When she has spun and piled enough yarn, the weaver turns to her loom. Horizontal ground looms are particularly common in the southern Andes, where most of the ''chuspas'' are made. Once the weaver has wrapped the loom by continuously wrapping a length of yarn in a figure-eight around the bars at each end of the loom, she can begin to interlace the weft threads into the warp to create a structure. Although plain weave is the simplest and most common, weavers use a range of more complex weaving techniques in order to achieve the elaborate designs seen in ''chuspas'' and other Andean cloth.

Regardless of the technique used, after the weaver is finished, she removes the loom pieces and is left with a four-selvage length of cloth, which is folded in half and stitched along the sides to create the basic bag shape of a ''chuspa''. Although simple stitching is seen in some coca bags, weavers often create a tubular edging to ensure that the sides are more securely held together. This is achieved by extracting either a cross-knit loop stitch or hand-woven edge bindings. When the body of the bag is complete, the weaver adds straps. To finish, the weaver sews on tassels, fringes, beads, and other decorations according to local custom.

See also

* Andean textiles
* Lliklla
* Aguayo
* Chullo

References

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Peruvian culture
Coca