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Narrative

The spindle was family property, used by various people. It was probably originally purchased between 1972 and 1977. Pelagia Quispe Cruz prepared the plying sample for the Museum's collection.

Description

Spindle, consisting of a wooden shaft with a cone shaped whorl near one end with a conical, wrapped section of plied yarn resting on the flat surface of the whorl. The middle of the shaft has a section of losing wound, plied yarn which is attached to a compactly wound round ball of paired yarns. The yarn wound around the shaft is tightly plied while the yarn in the ball is not plied.

History Of Use

The 'kantina' or plying spindle is heavier and larger than the spindle used for spinning. It will keep spinning for longer and is not likely to break a yarn that is doubled or trebled. The yarn on the spindle is for a warp-faced poncho, carrying cloth or overskirt. It is constructed of one strand of sheep's wool and one of alpaca, both z-spun. The plying is in the s twist direction. Although both men and women spin yarn, women usually spin the finer yarns used in warp-faced weaving.

Specific Techniques

One strand of z spun sheep's wool and another strand of z spun alpaca are wound together in a compact ball. The 2 strands are being plied together.

Cultural Context

spinning

Iconographic Meaning

The yarn twist of 2 z singles plied s is called 'pana' which means 'right', ordinary, or usual. It is used in most everyday weaving. Yarn of the opposite construction, s-spun and z-plied, is called lloq'e, which means left spun or something different. 'lloq'e' yarns are used for curing, for example, they are tied to the hair of a sick child.