Blanket (Aymara)
Blanket (Pre 1966)
wool (likely llama or alpaca fiber)
141.50 x 171.50 cm
Field collected by Barry R. Bainton, with funds from the Haffenreffer Special Fund
67-6594
This bright textile is a woven wool blanket. Used by the Ayamara people to keep warm in the cold mountainous Andes, wool is an essential element in Ayamara life. What is commonly called wool is actually a hair fiber or fleece harvested primarily from llamas and alpacas in this region, animals that are well adapted to living in the high altitude plateaus of the Andes mountains, with thick multi-layered coats that can withstand the extreme temperature changes from day to night.
Spinning and weaving this fleece in to garments and blankets like the one above is a valued skill and one that is integral to Aymara culture. As this article on Aymara weaving describes one individual's experience "[Maria] Choque learned how to turn wool into thread when she was six. Without toys to play with, Choque said she and her peers spent their days watching their elders weave — a demonstration of the craft and how to live fulfilling lives." This experience is not unique, but rather an aspect of Aymara identity. The interweaving of Aymara textiles and identity is well demonstrated in the short video on Chilean Aymara weavers, linked in the above news piece.
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