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History Of Use

Different types of slings are used for different purposes in the Andes. Some are used for hunting or herding, but another type is used as a dance accessory. In the Cusco region, the type that has a small vestigial cradle and many colourful tassels attached near one end of the braid (in Quechua, called a 'wichi wichi'), is used as a dance sling. Sometimes secondary braids with many tassels are suspended from the main braid, and these are worn across the chest or around the waist, with the tassels mainly hanging below the waist. Another type of dance sling, which incorporates pieces of camelid pelt, is used in the Puno area by men and women in the wiphala dance, a dance that ensures success in hunting.

Narrative

Purchased by donor between 1978 and 1984 in the Cuzco area, where it was likely made and used.

Specific Techniques

Sling handles are usually made as solid braids, a technique that is done by holding the braid in one’s fist and crossing threads from the four quadrants across the crown of the braid. Variations in colour, slant, and sequence in the crossing threads produce a variety of diamond or oblique patterns.

Description

A fragmentary dance sling (wichi wichi) that has a solid braid and a flat, finger-woven band as handles on either side of the vestigial cradle. Geometric patterns in shades of light and dark brown appear along the large braid including a bi-colour variant of the “amapolas” motif named after a poppy that grows on the banks of rivers. The large braid ends features three smaller tassels in orange, dark dusty pink, and olive green, followed by a larger hot pink tassel, branching into three wrapped braids finished tassels in dark burgundy, orange, and olive green. The yarn in the large braid is continued into the cradle, forming a triangular motif with a split at the centre. Small tassels in pink, orange, and green decorate the along the top and bottom edge separated from each other in even increments. A medium sized pink tassel is attached to the transition between the cradle and the flat braid, and one final dark dusty pink tassel is attached the flat braid at the half-way point.