Hair Tie Item Number: 3486/22 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Tula (hair tie). Two fragments of a complete hair tie made in a combination of techniques: woven and braided main band; fringed tassels with wrapping and needlework embellishments. The tassels on each end of the band are tri-furcated, and each of those is bifurcated, for a total of 6 tassels at each end.
Hair ties are worn by highland women of Peru and Bolivia as adornments but are also useful for keeping their long braids joined together on their back and out of their way while doing other tasks. In the Cusco area, they are called “wasa watana” (Quechua), which means a narrow woven band with other bands woven through it. The distinctive feature of woven wasa watana is the addition of intersecting warp bands near both ends, which are also woven. The intersecting bands produce tassel-like endings with fringes. The most common design woven into the narrow bands is nested diamonds; other patterns based on triangles or zigzags are also used. The main band bridges woman’s hair braids and sections of it are included in the braids, with the tassels extending from the ends of their braids. Types vary in Peru and Bolivia and several different techniques (weaving, braiding, wrapping, felting, embroidery) are used to make them.
Bought by the donor in 1983 in Sucre, Bolivia; made and used in the Tarabuco region.