Coca Bag Item Number: 3486/55 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Small coca leaf bag (chuspa) with tubular-woven ribetes on seams and edges, and a short yarn fringe on the bottom, plus three long fringes that are thread-wrapped. Strap is made of two different braids. Lion-like quadruped is on one side and a pair of rodents(?) and a bird is on the other.
Different types of Andean bags (bolsas, generic term, Spanish) have different names and characteristics. Square or rectangular bags used by men to carry coca leaves are called “chuspa”. Some of these have small pockets woven into one face for carrying the llipt’a (lime-ash substance that releases the alkaloids when chewed with the leaves). Some have straps and are worn around the waist or shoulder.
The side with the rodents is woven in complementary warp weave based on a twill sequence, while the side with the lion is woven in a different variant of a complementary warp weave.
Purchased by donor in Sucre in 1983 in shop of Elizabeth Rojas.