Dance Sling Item Number: 3486/41 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
A dance sling (wichi wichi) consisting of a main solid braid with a finger-woven cradle, hand loop, and six tassels. Sixteen strands in yellow, green, dark blue, and vibrant orange are combined in the main braid. The cradle, which is made of three strips wrapped in colour-blocked yarn in green, orange, and navy dark blue; dark blue, light green, and pink; and pink, yellow, and red. The strips that make up the cradle are loosely sewn together, was probably intended to hold a fruit or gourd during a dance. The red tassels are arranged evenly along the sling with two tassels attached to the end.
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. This sling was used by the "negrito" character in the Candelaria fiesta, which takes place on February 2nd. It is also used for Carnival dances, around February 20th.
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.
Purchased by the donor in 1983, from the maker, in Taquile.