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Cultural Context

wedding

Iconographic Meaning

The range of motifs refers to local geography and landmarks, ecology, fecundity as well as luck. The six part circle refers to the division of land into six sections on Taquile and the rotation of crops and fallow periods. The depiction of young and mature animals expresses a hope of fertility for marrying couple; the bird flying to the left is good luck; the spiked diamond refers to a dance done with flags at a wedding.

Narrative

The red belt was woven by Pelagia for her husband Gonzalo for the event of her brother Rosendo's marriage, approximately 5 years before it was purchased. The underbelt was made by Gonzalo for himself approximately 10 years before. The belt has been worn on ordinary days for working since the initial event for which it was woven.

History Of Use

Warp-faced fabrics with three or four selvedges are woven by women but the fabrics the techniques, structures and some of the motifs have pre-Conquest antecedents. This type of textile conveys the most information about an individual's ethnicity, sex, age, status and particular history. Belts are woven for fiestas and life events and so are used by both sexes. Are specific to the occasion. A number of the images refer to the wedding.

Description

A wide red belt with one large and two small bands of patterns. One end is finished in twenty-seven braids while the other end is attached to a black and white striped stiff underbelt. Narrow woven bands with end tassels are attached to each end of the two-part belt. The main design of the one large band of patterns is consisting of figurative patterns of birds and fish as well as hexagons, diamonds, and s-shaped reverse curves.

Specific Techniques

Weave structures are the following: the under belt is constructed by weft-wrapping, a 1-plain colour areas are warp faced plain weave. 2- figurative designs; complementary-warp weave with 3-span floats aligned in alternate pairs with an irregular (abbabaab) warping order (3/1 horizontal colour changes and diagonals of 2-span floats). 3- stripe with squares; float weave derived from turned 2/1 horizontal herringbone with floats forming squares. Technique where the weft encircles each warp. It is one of the very few techniques still done on a fixed frame loom and it is done only by men on Taquile.