Belt Item Number: 3486/121 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Belt (chumpi) with 3 bands of paired squares in navy/yellow (centre) and red/green (flanking); warps at both ends finished in braids that are fastened together by a plied tie.
Belts of different types are used by men, women, and children, and some have special names. Most belts are called chumpi (Quechua) or cinterone (Spanish). Some belts are associated with pregnant women and their babies, where they are used to fasten the swaddling cloths around the infant. Belts for children are usually smaller in size. In some areas, very wide belts are worn with a stiff underbelt, which acts as a back support. Belts in Andean villages are usually made on a continuous warp and the last few inches are finished by braiding. A wide variety of techniques are used to pattern the belts. The imagery woven on belts is usually drawn from a set of geometric and figurative icons that are combined in ways that are distinctive of a particular community.
The design is called “pata” (flat place; pata-pata means stairs) in the very conservative community where it is made, and the image is traced back to Inca motifs and practices.
Woven in a complementary warp weave with 3-span floats in alternate alignment, “intermesh” weave variant. The side selvedges are woven in one-weft double-cloth, which makes tubular edges.
Purchased by the donor from the maker in Lima in 2002, when the maker came to Lima to demonstrate weaving at a textile conference. The key was attached to the belt when it was purchased.