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Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Series in Latin American and Latino Art and Culture
Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
by ann pollard rowe and lynn a. meisch with contributions by suzanne austin, karen olsen bruhns, joanne rappaport, john howland rowe, and margaret young-sánchez edited by ann pollard rowe
University of Texas Press Austin
Copyright © 2011 by The Textile Museum All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America First edition, 2011 Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to: Permissions University of Texas Press P.O. Box 7819 Austin, TX 78713-7819 www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html ♾ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Costume and history in highland Ecuador / [edited] by Ann Pollard Rowe and Lynn A. Meisch ; With contributions by Suzanne Austin . . . [et al.]. — 1st ed. p. cm. — ( Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long series in Latin American and Latino art and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-292-72591-1 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Clothing and dress—Ecuador—History. 2. Ethnicity—Ecuador—History. 3. Ecuador—Social life and customs. I. Rowe, Ann P. II. Meisch, Lynn, 1945– gt693.c66 2011 391.009866—dc22 2010053506 isbn 978-0-292-73473-9 (E-book)
To the memory of my father, John Howland Rowe
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Contents
Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 ann pollard rowe 1. Ecuador before the Incas The Geography of Ecuador 11 karen olsen bruhns An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ecuador 13 karen olsen bruhns Costume in Ecuador before the Incas 22 karen olsen bruhns Evidence for Pre-Inca Textiles 49 ann pollard rowe 2. Ecuador under the Inca Empire The Incas in Quito 70 john howland rowe Costume under the Inca Empire 84 ann pollard rowe
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3. Ecuador under the Spanish Empire An Introduction to the History of Colonial Ecuador 96 suzanne austin Colonial Costume 104 lynn a. meisch 4. Historical Developments in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Ecuador 111 margaret young-sánchez 5. Carchi Province (Ecuador) and the Department of Nariño (Colombia) 119 joanne rappaport 6. Costume in Imbabura Province Otavalo 130 lynn a. meisch Natabuela 156 ann pollard rowe Eastern Imbabura and Northeastern Pichincha Provinces 164 lynn a. meisch and ann pollard rowe 7. Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 169 ann pollard rowe 8. Costume in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Bolívar Provinces 224 ann pollard rowe 9. Costume in Chimborazo and Cañar Provinces 243 ann pollard rowe 10. Azuay Province The Cholos of Azuay: Historical Introduction 270 margaret young-sánchez Historic Costume in Azuay 279 lynn a. meisch and ann pollard rowe
Contents ix
11. Saraguro Costume in Loja Province 297 lynn a. meisch Conclusions 309 ann pollard rowe Notes 315 Glossary 331 ann pollard rowe References Cited 337 Contributors 367 Index 369
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Preface
This book is a surprise. I originally assembled the information presented here as background for a study of the contemporary indigenous costume of highland Ecuador, done in collaboration with Lynn A. Meisch and Laura M. Miller and based primarily on their fieldwork during the 1980s. It did not take me long to realize, however, that a new synthesis of the material was required in order to make even the simplest statements. For example, it seemed necessary to summarize the history of Ecuador’s indigenous peoples to provide the context for a discussion of their costume. Yet the state of the available literature was such that a useful summary could not be done by any one of us whose work had been mainly ethnographic. Therefore, I requested manuscripts from archaeologists and historians who were more familiar with the resources available in these areas. In addition, the amount of evidence available on historical costume proved to be more plentiful than I had anticipated. The result was that I eventually realized that instead of an introduction to our work on contemporary costume, I had a whole separate book. Because of pressure to produce an exhibition and the importance of publishing field data, the material on contemporary costume was prepared and appeared first, in Costume and Identity in Highland Ecuador, edited by Ann Pollard Rowe (The Textile Museum, Washington, DC, and University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1998), and an exhibition was held at The Textile Museum in 1999. Some reference is made in the 1998 book to the more detailed background information here, but it was certainly not my intention that it would take so long to publish. In the difficult task of dividing the costume information, the basic criterion I used was to include data collected in our 1980s fieldwork in the earlier book, and to hold the material gleaned from published sources and museum collections for the present volume. Since some of our fieldwork included in-
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formation on recently obsolete costume styles and styles worn only by older people, some data of this kind does appear in the earlier book. To avoid excessive repetition and keep the present volume to a publishable length, this material is referred to but not presented in any detail here. The amount of historical information is, not surprisingly, uneven for different parts of highland Ecuador. For this reason the coverage here is also uneven, and some areas covered in the earlier book have been omitted entirely. The earlier book is still available, and we encourage interested readers to seek it out. In addition to costumes, we collected data on textile techniques, published partly in the 2003–2004 issue of The Textile Museum Journal in 2005, and partly in our book Weaving and Dyeing in Highland Ecuador, edited by Ann Pollard Rowe (University of Texas Press, 2007). Historical background on these subjects was included in those publications and is only referred to but not repeated here, notably that on natural dyes, the use of leaf fibers, and the making of “Panama” hats. Additionally, Lynn Meisch has published separately her research on beaded jewelry in Ecuador (Meisch 1998). The text for this volume was originally written in 1993–1994. The delay in publication has been due to work on the earlier two books; the length of time it took to figure out how to publish the technical data, which was too much for one volume; and the press of my regular curatorial duties, which no longer included an exhibition on Ecuador. I certainly never intended to spend so much of my life on this project. Due to John Howland Rowe’s death in 2004, his chapter on the Incas in Quito has been published as he submitted it in 1993, except for the deletion of a small amount of redundant material. I deeply regret having asked him to go to the trouble of writing this text and then having been unable to publish it in his lifetime, although in his always understanding and loving way, he never nagged me about it. The other authors were, however, asked if they wished to update their texts, and most have done so. For my part, I have continued to collect information as it came to my attention, but it has not been possible to pursue archives in Ecuador. Karen Bruhns’ text on pre-Inca costume, although written for this volume, has in the interim been published in Spanish (Bruhns 2002). Asking multiple authors to contribute to what is supposed to be a coherent text is a challenge. All were accommodating in the effort not to duplicate information from one chapter to another. In a few cases, however, the wish to respect each author’s scholarship has led to information occurring in what might not seem to be the most logical place so that the author in question can receive credit for it. For example, my research on the historical development of the rebozo and poncho appears in Chapter 7 on Pichincha under my authorship, rather than when they are first mentioned, in Chapter 6 on Imba-
Preface xiii
bura, which was written primarily by Lynn Meisch. There is also earlier evidence for both garments from Quito. Similarly, a discussion of the development of the cholo class by Margaret Young-Sánchez appears in Chapter 10 on Azuay rather than in Chapter 6 or 7, both because the cholo class still persists in Azuay, so there is more information, and because that was where YoungSánchez did her fieldwork. I also did not wish to presume to add anything to John Rowe’s text, nor, obviously, was it possible to ask him to do so. To illustrate the volume, I have relied primarily on older published sources no longer in copyright and on objects in North American museum collections. I regret that more could not be illustrated, but I was compelled to operate under a number of constraints, not least of which is the current economics of publishing, but also the limited resources available for a non-exhibition project at a small institution like The Textile Museum, including lack of secretarial assistance. The available pictorial resources do at least cover most of the important costume elements discussed and hopefully will be adequate for readers unable to check the Ecuadorian sources cited. When the photograph credit reads “Photo by,” the photograph was produced from a black-and-white negative. When it reads “Slide by,” the photograph was produced by converting a color slide to black and white. Maps 1–2 and 4–7 appeared in our previous books. They were drawn on computer by Laurie McCarriar, based on my sketches. Map 3 was made for this book, drawn on computer by Caesar Chaves, again based on my sketch. Ann Pollard Rowe
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Acknowledgments
As editor, my first acknowledgment is to those authors who were asked to write chapters for the original book manuscript and then had to wait so many more years for me to be able to finish the book in which their contribution would actually appear. They have all been very understanding about this delay, and I am deeply grateful for their patience. Those who supported the fieldwork that was the basis for the original project were listed and thanked in both earlier books. Since this fieldwork contributes relatively little substance to the present volume, the long list of supporters’ names is not repeated here, but of course the book would not exist without them. A special note of thanks is owed to the late Olaf Holm, of the Museo del Banco Central in Guayaquil, who corresponded with both me and Karen Bruhns about our research for this book and provided much helpful assistance. The late Costanza Di Capua, in Quito, also provided much useful information by correspondence as well as by sending me some scarce publications. She also kindly arranged for me to photograph archaeological textiles at the Museo del Banco Central in Quito and to view textiles in the Ethnographic Reserve of the same museum in 1988. I am, of course, also grateful to the staff of the Ethnographic Reserve, María del Pilar Merlo and Silvia Benítez, who accommodated me most graciously. Laura Miller introduced me to people she knew at the Centro Interamericano de Artesanías y Artes Populares (CIDAP) museum in Cuenca. Hernán Jaramillo Cisneros of the Instituto Otavaleño de Antropología also showed Lynn Meisch and me some textiles from his collection in 1986. Ernesto and Myriam Salazar, archaeologists in Quito, and Jill and John Ortman, of La Bodega Artesanías and Centro Artesanal, were also helpful in various ways. I also am grateful to Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff in Bogotá for sending me publications and
xvi Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
for other collegial assistance. Ana Roquero in Madrid and Juan de la Cruz Rodríguez, curator of the Museo Etnográfico de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, also were helpful with references on Spanish costume. Since 1977, many current and former staff members of CIDAP in Cuenca have gone out of their way to help our research, including the director, Claudio Malo González, and the librarian, Betti Sojos, as well as Diana Sojos de Peña, Ana Francisca Ugalde, René Cardoso, and Blanca Inguiñez. For assistance in viewing collections of Ecuadorian textiles in this country and Europe, I am grateful to Lisa Whittall at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in 1987; Eulie Wierdsma and Nancy Rosoff at the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, in 1987 when the collections were still in New York; Kimberley Fink at the Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art, in 1988; Patricia Anawalt and Barbara Sloan at the Fowler Museum of Cultural History at UCLA in 1993; Deborah Hull-Walski at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington in 1994; Leslie Freund at the Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley, in 2005; Lena Bjerregaard and Manuela Fischer at the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin in 2006; Ana Roquero, for introducing me, and Concepción García Sáiz, the curator, for showing me the Malaspina drawings at the Museo de América in Madrid in 2006; Nancy Rosoff again, now at The Brooklyn Museum, in 2007. Clark Evans kindly facilitated my research on Spanish costume in the Rare Book Room at the Library of Congress, and Janet Stanley helped me with references on seventeenth-century West African costume in the library of the National Museum of African Art. I also appreciate the willingness of Marilee Schmit Nason, Martha Egan, and George S. Vest to lend their Ecuadorian textiles to The Textile Museum for me to study for what turned out to be an extended period. The book is also greatly enriched by the donors of various older textiles as well as some photographs now in The Textile Museum collection, notably the late Sylvia Helen Forman, Dr. and Mrs. Walter H. Hodge, Bernard Fisken, Frances Ruddick, and George S. Vest. Sylvia’s partner, David Litwak, has been gracious about including objects of hers not in the museum’s collection. For assistance in obtaining photographs elsewhere, I am grateful to Encarnación Hidalgo Cámara at the Museo de América in Madrid; Sophie Desrosiers at the Musée de l’Homme, and Paz Núñez-Regueiro at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris; Marilee Schmit Nason, who helped choose photos, and Catherine Baudoin, who provided the scans, at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Lou Stancari at the Cultural Resources Center, in Suitland, Maryland, of the National Museum of the American Indian; Lindsay Calkins and Barry Landua at the American Museum of Natural History, New York; Bridget Gazzo and Linda Lott at the
Acknowledgments xvii
Dumbarton Oaks library in Washington, DC; Don Cole at the Fowler Museum, UCLA; Betty Meggers, James Krakker, and Felicia Pickering in the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Karen Stothert generously doctored several digital images to press specifications. Most photographs of images in out-of-copyright publications not otherwise credited are my own, a budgetary necessity. At The Textile Museum, the support of the Latin American Research Fund, a generous gift of the late Marion Stirling Pugh and Major General John Ramsey Pugh, was critical. The fund made possible the acquisition of the museum’s collection of Ecuadorian textiles, some of which is illustrated here, and paid my travel expenses to Ecuador in 1988 and 1989, as well as some publication expenses. Photography of much of The Textile Museum’s Ecuadorian collection was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, with photography by Franko Khoury and coordination by Christine Norling and her successor, Amy Ward. More recent photography by Jeff Crespi was coordinated by Jennifer Heimbecker. I am also grateful to Jennifer for additional help in getting prints made and scanning transparencies and to Kim Sissons, who formatted the digital images to press specifications and scanned some of the more troublesome photographs. Mary Mallia, the museum’s librarian, was valiant in obtaining books on interlibrary loan. Mattiebelle Gittinger, Katy Uravitch, and Diego Silva (who grew up in Quito) also provided generous help when called upon. Recent leadership at The Textile Museum, including Daniel Walker, director between 2005 and 2009, and his successors Maryclaire Ramsey (CEO, now director) and Douglas Maas (CFO), have supported the remaining photographic and other expenses. At the University of Texas Press, I particularly appreciate Editor-in-Chief Theresa May’s enthusiasm for this manuscript, and the peer reviewers who also recommended it, Mary Frame and Blenda Femenias. Both also made helpful suggestions for revision. In the long genesis of this work, I want to pay a special tribute to my father, John Howland Rowe, who, for as long as he was able, encouraged and advised me in weekly conversations about everything I was working on, including this manuscript. I owe him tremendously for his interest in the project and his advice and help, which ranged from small points of information from his vast store of knowledge about the Andes to an education in how to handle data so as to arrive at reasonable conclusions without going too far out on a limb. Ann Pollard Rowe Washington, DC July 2010
Manta
Map 1. Ecuador, showing modern political divisions.
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ica
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Map 2. Southeast Imbabura and northeast Pichincha Provinces.
Map 3. Pichincha Province.
Am e r i c a n H i g h wa y Pa n -
Map 4. Cotopaxi and Tungurahua Provinces.
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n ca
eri Pan -Am
Guasuntos
Map 5. Chimborazo and Bolívar Provinces.
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San Juan Pamba
-A Pan
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Map 6. Cañar and Azuay Provinces.
e r i c a n H i g hw ay
-Am
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Map 7. Northern Loja Province.
Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
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Introduction ann pollard rowe
Although Ecuador is only about the size of Oregon, it has wide variations in ecological zones, since it is bisected north to south by the Andes Mountains (see Map 1). It is, as its name suggests, right on the equator, which is just north of the capital, Quito, so the lowland areas along the Pacific coast and in the Amazonian areas to the east are hot, and the highland areas are more temperate than the higher and more southerly Peruvian Andes. The Humboldt Current that brings cool temperatures and desert ecology to the Peruvian coast turns out to sea before it gets to Ecuador, so textile preservation here is poor in contrast to the richness found in Peru. More detailed information on Ecuador’s geography is provided at the beginning of Chapter 1. Individual costumes and costume changes are always determined by the political and social context in which they are found. To identify these contexts to the extent that is possible, the book includes introductory texts providing this background, hence the title, Costume and History in Highland Ecuador. By including the pre-Hispanic past, we are admittedly stretching the true meaning of the word “history,” which literally refers only to written information. But there is no other concise term in English that includes both written and object-based sources, and in any case, works dealing with “history of costume” frequently rely heavily on visual as well as textual sources. Likewise, the title refers specifically to highland Ecuador, since that is where most of the historic evidence of indigenous costume applies, but for the pre-Hispanic period, there is more evidence for coastal costume, which has therefore also been included. Chapters 1–3 describe the history and costume of what is now Ecuador in chronological order, from the pre-Inca period, with the Inca conquest starting sometime after 1463, through the period of the Inca Empire until about 1534, to the period of the Spanish Empire until 1822. Chapter 4 provides historical
2 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
background on the time after independence, but since costume evidence is so abundant for this period, it is described separately for each geographic area in Chapters 5–11, beginning in the north and proceeding southward. The most information is available for Pichincha Province, in which Quito is located, so Chapter 7 contains the most detailed discussion of costume changes. Ecuador’s small size and the admittedly incomplete costume evidence make it possible to discuss its overall chronology within the confines of a single volume. The available evidence is nevertheless diverse. For pre-Hispanic costume, the best source is representations in ceramic sculpture, since conditions for textile preservation are so poor. For the colonial period, the principal sources are Spanish legal documents such as the governor’s reports, taxation lists, and wills. No pictorial sources are available until the eighteenth century, but the number of such sources increases significantly in the nineteenth century. The increase is due to the larger number of foreign travelers to Ecuador, which in turn was due to the weakening and collapse of the Spanish Empire, which had put restrictions on foreign travel within its borders. There are travel accounts in various languages, paintings and engravings of local costume types, and early photographic images. The travelers include naval officers, ambassadors, naturalists, adventurers, and artists. These sources focus primarily on Quito but also include some information on people from other areas. Not until the twentieth century are there actual costumes to draw on. Yet, when all this evidence is assembled, a more or less coherent picture does emerge. Costume and Ethnicity Costume has been and still is a major visible or public determinant of indigenous and other ethnic identity in highland Ecuador. As Lynn Meisch (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 11) indicates, Ethnicity in Ecuador is complex and subtle. In the country as a whole as well as over time there are differences between how people identify themselves and how they are identified by others, having more to do with social class than with physical characteristics (phenotype) . . . The term mestizo (meaning mixed European and indigenous ancestry) is sometimes used by people to identify themselves or others . . . There are many Ecuadorians of mixed descent, some of whom consider themselves white, others of whom consider themselves indigenous. These distinctions are not racial, but social. Many people who consider themselves whites or
Introduction 3
mestizos have darker hair, skin, and eyes than do people who call themselves indígenas.
Although there is no single self-referential term used uniformly by all of Ecuador’s indigenous groups, indígena (Spanish for “indigenous person”) is currently the most common and accepted designation. It is employed by the national indigenous federation Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (CONAIE), so we follow their lead. Since our text is in English, however, we usually translate the term as “indigenous person.” Although the term “Indian” is often used in North America, the Spanish equivalent, indio, has acquired insulting connotations in South America. Since it is, in any case, a misnomer, we prefer to avoid it. Ecuadorian society has been highly stratified, with indigenous people considered to be at the lowest social level, and such stratification is often marked by costume. The details of such stratification and the interactions of people from different levels vary from one area and one time to another. Documentation on this subject is available primarily for Pichincha and Azuay Provinces and is accordingly presented in Chapters 7 and 10. Occasionally, an intermediate social status marked by a distinctive costume is visible, for example, in the Cuenca area in the twentieth century or in the nineteenth to early twentieth century in Quito and Otavalo. Such people are generally of indigenous descent but have adopted more European cultural features than those who identify themselves as indigenous. The terminology is variable; in the late twentieth century it was usually cholo, but in Quito and Otavalo, bolsicona may be used for the women. The conditions under which this intermediate class developed are explored in detail by Margaret YoungSánchez in her introduction to Chapter 10 on Azuay Province. Since the cholo class still persists in Azuay, there is more information from there, but conditions were presumably similar in Quito and Otavalo, where this intermediate class disappeared in the earlier part of the twentieth century. African slaves were also brought to Ecuador during the period of the Spanish Empire. In the twentieth century, their descendants were more visible on the coast and in lowland valleys such as Chota in northern Ecuador than they were in the highlands, although in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, some were visible in Quito as well. The beautiful painting by Adrián Sánchez Galque of the mulatto lords of Esmeraldas in 1599, in which the men are wearing elegant European clothing with indigenous Ecuadorian gold jewelry, is a unique document (Bernand 1994: 104–105). African-Ecuadorian costume, to the extent that we have information on it, is usually similar to that of other lower-status people, although they do not wear Inca-derived garments.
4 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Orthography Because we respect John Rowe’s scholarship in the matter, and to obtain consistency in the volume, all authors have consented to use the historically attested spellings of Cuzco and Tumbez in place of the current Cusco and Tumbes, as well as his spellings of the names of the Inca emperors and generals. John Rowe also saw no reason to change the five-hundred-year-old spelling of “Inca” in an English (or Spanish) text. He also uses “Cañar” and “Cañares” for the ethnic group, again because these are the historically attested forms, so this usage is also followed in Chapters 1 and 3. But because it is usual for modern Ecuadorians to use “Cañari” and “Cañaris,” this spelling occurs in the remaining chapters. It may also be noted that John Rowe never used “Quechua” or “Quichua” (the latter is more historically correct) for the Inca language, as a matter of principle. In part it was because it is sometimes used in early Spanish sources as the name of a non-Inca ethnic group rather than a language. In addition, the modern people who speak it as their native language usually call it either runa simi (runa shimi in Ecuador), “the people’s language,” or inka simi (inka shimi in Ecuador), “the Inca language.” The practice of calling it Quechua (in Peru) or Quichua (in Ecuador) was a derogatory tactic of Spanish-speaking academics early in the twentieth century who wanted to disassociate the people who still spoke this language from the Incas. Over time, however, the term has become embedded in the literature and is no longer considered derogatory. It thus appears in the book in reference to the modern Inca dialects, although not, of course, in John Rowe’s text. Although local terms are not emphasized here (see our previous work on this subject), in some cases they are unavoidable. We have indicated the origin of some terms by the use of the letter Q for Quichua or S for Spanish. The difficulty in transcribing the Inca/Quichua terms is multiplied by the variant spellings used by Spanish colonial writers as well as the variant modern dialects (exemplified by the words in the preceding paragraph) and the variety of available orthographic systems. When quoting Spanish writers, we retain their original spelling but also give an orthographic spelling to clarify that it is the same word. The orthographic spelling is based on that used by John Rowe, for what he calls “classic Inca,” that is, the language spoken at the time of the conquest (see A. Rowe 1997 for further discussion of Inca costume terms). Some terms are pronounced differently in the modern Ecuadorian dialects, including kushma rather than kusma for the man’s tunic, chumbi rather than chumpi for the woman’s belt, lliglla rather than lliklla for the shawl pinned on the chest, and ushuta rather than usut’a for sandals. These modern spellings are used in the chapters on recent costumes.
Introduction 5
Garment Types We use the term costume to include not only clothing but also jewelry, hairstyles, and other bodily adornments. Although we do include garments worn for special occasions, such as weddings and market days, we do not include masquerade costumes, worn to change identity, which are a separate tradition beyond the scope of the present research. As Karen Bruhns explains in Chapter 1, pre-Hispanic garments consisted chiefly of a wrapped skirt and mantle for women and a loincloth and mantle for men. As presented in Chapter 2, the Inca conquest initiated a radical change in culture and costume, the effects of which can still be seen. Inca women’s costume consisted of a full-length wrapped dress (called anaku in Ecuador), secured by shoulder pins and a belt, and a shawl pinned on the chest. All these garments and their names still exist in Ecuador, although the anaku has changed form and is now usually only a wrapped skirt. Inca men’s dress consisted of a loincloth, a knee-length tunic, a mantle, and sandals. The tunic also survived until modern times, although its format was somewhat variable, sometimes including seams and sometimes not. After the Spanish conquest, it was usually worn with pants (except by some young boys), so it became shorter than the Inca original. Sandals also continued in use in some areas. Spanish costume was also influential of course. In some cases, women achieved a more European silhouette by dividing the anaku into two parts at the waistline and pleating the lower part. In other cases, a blouse-like garment, the camisa, was adopted, derived from the European women’s undergarment. This garment was sometimes also full length, so the most appropriate English translation is the cognate chemise. It was adopted first by the upper levels of indigenous society, and only later by the lower ones, worn with a half anaku. Other indigenous women adopted a blouse (not significantly more than waist length) and a skirt gathered or pleated into a waistband. The gathered skirt was called by various names, including pollera, centro, follón, or bolsicón, in Ecuador. The Spanish derivation of both the skirts and the terms is less straightforward than might be supposed because of frustrating gaps in the documentation of the dress, especially regional dress, of ordinary Spanish women from the mid-seventeenth to the mid-eighteenth century. The available evidence is discussed in Chapter 7 on Pichincha Province. Although the focus of the book is indigenous costume, at times the dress of other social classes is relevant because there was a trickle-down effect, a time lag between the use of a new garment by the upper classes and later by lower-status people. During the colonial period especially, there were marked social differences between upper- and lower-status indigenous people in addi-
6 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
tion to those between whites and indigenous people, and the trickle-down effect applies here too. Although in most cases the costume of the upper classes reflected what was worn in Spain, there are some interesting exceptions in women’s costume, some of which eventually apply to indigenous dress. Although men continued to wear tunics, they adopted other Spanish garments at a relatively early date, especially trousers. Upper-status indigenous men also adopted Spanish-style hats, cloaks, and shoes (but not hose). Highland hats seem to have usually been felted, a European textile process. The early history of the so-called Panama hat is obscure, but this Ecuadorian industry was in full development on the coast at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It diffused to the highlands only in the mid-nineteenth century. Evidence for a European-style men’s shirt (also called camisa) worn by indigenous men does not appear until the nineteenth century. Espadrilles, called alpargatas or alpargates, derived from Spanish peasant wear, are not easy to trace in the historical record, but they did replace sandals in Pichincha and Imbabura Provinces. The most interesting postconquest garments, however, are innovative hybrids: the rebozo and the poncho. The terminology for shawls in Ecuador is not at all consistent and therefore cannot be used to distinguish the different styles. The local terminology is faithfully conveyed in our earlier book (A. Rowe ed. 1998), but here it is preferable to use something more consistent. The shawl style here called rebozo, the usual term for it in Mexico, is similar to the Mexican rebozo in being comparatively long and narrow and later having fringed ends, and is typically worn with both ends draped over one shoulder, usually the left shoulder. The earliest evidence in the Americas for this type of shawl is in seventeenth-century Mexico, and it appears that it arrived in Ecuador via Mexico and not from Spain. The term can be found in Ecuador, although the shawl is more often called paño or macana. In Ecuador it is woven on the indigenous backstrap loom, but the idea of finishing the warp ends with knotting is European, based on treadle-loom technology in which unwoven warp ends are typical. Chapter 7 on Pichincha Province presents a new synthesis of the evidence for the origin and development of the rebozo, based on a review of sources from a wider geographical scope, in contrast to earlier studies that have focused primarily on Mexico. The poncho is also usually (although not always) woven on the indigenous backstrap loom, most often of two four-selvedged pieces, although examples in one piece occur in areas where another type of loom is used. A fringe band, woven with European technology (A. Rowe ed. 2007: 103–106), is sometimes added on all edges. Some Ecuadorian ponchos are made with a short
Introduction 7
warp fringe at each end, but this is more characteristic of examples made for sale than of ponchos woven by a man for himself. Although the poncho does occur in the pre-Hispanic record in Peru, as a large rectangle with a neck slit but no side seams, the contemporary dissemination, in which it is the quintessential indigenous man’s overgarment that replaced the mantle throughout the whole Andean area, occurred in the early nineteenth century in conjunction with the wars of independence. A review of the pictorial evidence also reveals that from the later eighteenth century and as long as horses were the main mode of transport, the poncho was also commonly worn as a riding garment by both men and women of all social classes. A full documentation of this history is presented in Chapter 7 on Pichincha Province. Ecuadorian Textile Technology Ecuadorian textile technology has been thoroughly discussed in our previous books (A. Rowe ed. 1998 and 2007) and in articles in The Textile Museum Journal published in 2005. A brief summary, however, is included here by way of orientation. Some additional information on Ecuadorian textile techniques is presented in Chapter 1, in the section on pre-Inca textile remains, and definitions of the important terms are also included in the glossary. The fibers available in pre-Hispanic times include leaf fibers, cotton, and camelid hair. The most commonly available leaf fiber was from Furcraea andina, also commonly used in Peru. The plant grows wild and under cultivation between 700 and 3,000 meters elevation. Furcraea is closely related to the Mexican genus Agave, one species of which (A. americana) was introduced into Ecuador in the colonial period. Both plants have long, fleshy leaves that emerge from a base close to the ground. The Incas called the fiber of Furcraea andina “cha’war,” a term still used in Ecuador (chawar in the modern Ecuadorian dialects), and since there is no English equivalent, we use the Ecuadorian form. Fiber of Agave americana is usually referred to as maguey or maguey fiber in English. Cabuya, a Taino word from the Caribbean, is used to refer to either fiber and can be used when it is not certain which is meant. Although it is laborious to extract the fibers from the leaf pulp, the fibers are up to a meter (yard) long and can be twisted to make thread by rolling them between the hands, as is done for making looped bags, as well as by spinning (using a spindle), as is done to produce weaving yarn. The fiber is stiff and scratchy, however, and so is used most often for utilitarian items like ropes and bags rather than for costume. The cotton is Gossypium barbadense, indigenous to South America, and was
8 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
cultivated in lowland areas on both sides of the Andes and traded to the highlands. It occurs naturally in several shades of brown as well as a creamy white, and these colors were exploited in indigenous textiles. The fiber is the seed hair, so the fibers are relatively short, though longer than the Asian species of cotton. Because they are so short, they require the use of a spindle to form them into yarn. The fiber-producing animals native to the Andean area are related to the camels of Asia, and all belong to the family Camelidae. There are four Andean camelids, the wild guanaco and vicuña and the domesticated llama and alpaca, all so closely related that they are difficult to distinguish in the archaeological record. Although the hair of all these animals was used for fiber, that of vicuñas and alpacas is the finest. Of the four, the llama, also used as a pack animal, is the most commonly attested species in Ecuador, surviving in small numbers in the central provinces up to the present day. Camelid hair lacks the scales found in sheep’s wool and therefore is softer to the touch. It also occurs in a variety of natural shades of white to black and light to dark brown. Like cotton, it requires the use of a spindle to be made into thread. The Spanish unfortunately did not appreciate the camelids and introduced sheep in large numbers immediately after the conquest. Sheep’s wool has surface scales not found in camelid hair, which not only make the fiber feel more scratchy but also facilitate felting, a process in which the fibers catch on each other when subjected to heat, water, and agitation. The process was introduced into Ecuador both to make felt hats and to finish loosely woven cloth, in which case it is called fulling. Little is known of dyes in Ecuador in the pre-Hispanic period, but they were a major export of the Spanish-American colonies, including indigo and cochineal. The American species of indigo, Indigofera suffruticosa, is a plant whose leaves are just as productive of dye as the (East) Indian species (Indigofera tinctoria) familiar to Europeans. Like cotton, indigo is tropical and was grown in the lowlands on both sides of the Andes. After the conquest, the Spanish introduced the (East) Indian technique of processing indigo, which involved making the dye into cakes that could easily be transported across the ocean and from the coast to the Andean highlands. Indigo used in highland Ecuador was imported from El Salvador until the industry collapsed around 1980. Synthetic indigo is chemically identical to natural indigo but is more expensive, and a less expensive synthetic black has often been substituted for indigo in more recent times. Indigo can be used on cotton as well as animal fibers, and it is also well suited to resist-dyeing techniques, since after it is removed from the dye bath it is stable and does not wick into undyed areas. In Ecuador, the usual resist-
Introduction 9
dyeing technique is bound-yarn resist (sometimes called ikat, an Indonesian word), in which groups of unwoven yarns are tightly wrapped at intervals, so that when they are dipped in the dye, the bound areas remain undyed. The undyed areas combine to create patterns after the yarns are woven. Because it is the lengthwise (warp) yarns in a fabric that are usually treated this way in Ecuador, the technique is called warp-resist dyeing. The beautiful red dye, cochineal, comes from the bodies of female scale insects parasitic on the prickly pear cactus. In South America, no elaborate cultivation techniques are required, in contrast to Mexico, presumably because of more favorable climatic conditions. In pre-Hispanic Peru, cochineal becomes common about ad 500. The most productive species, Dactylopius coccus, was supplemented by a few smaller species, such as D. confusus. One of these smaller species is still cultivated in Salasaca. The dye can produce various shades, depending on the acidity (red) or alkalinity (purple) of the solution. In South America, it was used primarily on animal fibers, which are easier to dye with natural dyes than plant fibers. Of course, many other plant dyes were used in Ecuador, some of which were still being used at the time of our fieldwork in the 1980s, primarily to dye sheep’s wool, but they were less important commercially and artistically than indigo and cochineal. The indigenous method of spinning uses only a hand spindle, a slender stick pointed at one or both ends. To begin spinning, a small weight or whorl may be added toward one end of the spindle, but it is often removed when enough yarn has been wound on to it. In contrast to the southern Andes, where camelid hair or sheep’s wool is spun in part by suspending the spindle (usually called drop spinning), in Ecuador the spindle is always held in the hand. In truth, this technique makes it easier to spin the more slippery cotton fibers. The twist of a yarn can be in one of two directions, either parallel to the central part of the letter S if the spindle is held horizontally, or parallel to the central part of the letter Z if the spindle is held vertically. If two yarns are combined to make a plied yarn, the direction of ply is typically the opposite of the direction of spin. A more detailed description of Ecuadorian S-spinning is presented toward the end of Chapter 1. The Eurasian technique of turning the spindle by means of a wheel was not generally adopted by indigenous Ecuadorians except in Otavalo. In highland Ecuador, weaving on a backstrap loom is the indigenous technique, and the weavers are typically men, although women also weave belts in some areas. In Carchi Province, the loom style changes to a vertical loom and it is the women who weave (A. Rowe ed. 2007: 49–52). Similarly, on the coast, women weave on a vertical loom. Information on the gender of weavers
10 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
in pre-Hispanic times is nonexistent, however, so the time depth of this pattern is uncertain. Since women do predominate as weavers in some parts of the Andes, as well as in Mesoamerica, the few historical sources that say women wove in highland Ecuador could have been based on an unwarranted assumption rather than observation, and indeed observation is not necessarily indicated. More solid information would certainly be welcome. Throughout the Americas, however, men predominate as weavers on the Spanish-style treadle loom, as was the case in Spain. On indigenous Peruvian looms, the warp (the first lengthwise set of yarns put on the loom) is wound back and forth between the two loom bars, forming a single plane, but on Ecuadorian looms, the warp passes around both loom bars, forming two planes. In highland Ecuador, the two ends of the warp pass back and forth alternately around a third stick (eventually just a yarn) in a dovetailed join. The weaving is usually done all the way to the ends of the warp, and the dovetail yarn can be withdrawn to form a flat fabric. The insertion of the last few shots of weft (the set of yarns inserted crosswise during the weaving process) has to be done by darning them in with a needle instead of using the normal loom mechanism, so it is very laborious. Nevertheless, the concept of weaving all the way to the ends of the warp to form a four-selvedge fabric is basic to indigenous weaving in the Andes. It contrasts with the European style of weaving on the treadle loom, in which the warp yarns are usually cut in order to be put on the loom and the ends are not woven. Likewise, the indigenous tradition of making rectangles that were sewn together and draped on the body without being cut contrasts with the Spanish garment tradition of cutting up the treadle-loom woven yardage to make form-fitting clothes. The treadle loom is also much faster to weave on than indigenous Andean looms and is therefore more suitable for commercial production than indigenous looms. The Spanish accordingly did create a textile industry based on treadle-loom weaving in Ecuador, as explained in Chapter 3. Although indigenous garments often continued to be woven on indigenous looms, in some areas treadle looms were adopted for at least some indigenous garments, particularly large, plain items such as the anaku. Conversely, fabric for Spanish-style garments was usually, although not invariably, woven on Spanish-style looms.
CHAPTEr 1
Ecuador before the Incas
The Geography of Ecuador
karen olsen bruhns
The northern Andes are very different from the high, dry mountain and oasis valleys of Peru in that they are both lower and wetter than their neighbors to the south and the climatic zonation is quite different. The El Niño, or ENSO (El Niño–Southern Oscillation), event usually reaches Ecuador every year, causing heavy mists and rain on the coast as far south as Guayaquil on a regular basis. In a strong El Niño year, it may rain heavily for some time, in which case fishermen suddenly become farmers for the bonanza year (Caviedes 2001). However, instead of depending on rivers that originate in the high Andes for irrigation, farmers on the Ecuadorian coast practiced dryland and flood-zone agriculture. Fiber plants, including cotton, were among the earliest domesticates in this seasonally damp environment. Because the Niños were not all that dependable, later people constructed large reservoirs (albaradas) and then practiced irrigation and drained-field agriculture in the deciduous forest and swampy margins of coastal Ecuador. Ecuador can be broken into three major environmental zones (see Map 1), bearing in mind that these are not homogeneous, especially on the coast.1 The Amazon Basin and eastern slope of the Andes do not really concern us here, although the cultures of these zones were active participants in Ecuadorian life and trade. This was the region from which drugs, dyestuffs, feathers, birds, shamans, songs, and dances were traded into the highland and coastal cultures from very early in history. The western montaña, a hilly, tropical, and heavily forested region, is very wide, especially in northern and central Ecuador, and provided many of the same economic and cultural needs as the Amazon. The cultures that lived there, such as the Yumbos and Niguas of late prehistory or the modern Tsáchila (previously known as Colorado) people of
12 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Santo Domingo de los Colorados in northern Ecuador, were farmers and foragers who participated in the major trade networks of their time. Today, of course, the Tsáchila live by tourism, exploiting a new natural resource. Complex societies and dense population developed in Ecuador in two major areas: the large inter-Andean highland valleys and the wide coastal plain, including the immense basin of the Daule and Babahoyo/Guayas Rivers. The highlands increase in wetness from south to north. In the far south, they form a barren continuum with the Andes of highland Peru, but with increasing rainfall (and fog), they have cloud forest on the upper slopes, at the edges of the wet, cold high-altitude scrub and grassland, called páramo, giving way to coniferous forest and then to varieties of montane damp forest on the lower slopes and in the river valleys. The páramo was not inhabited except by hunters and, after ca. 400 bc, by herders of camelids, but the valleys between the mountain ranges and the lower páramo slopes were farmed from the Formative Period (1500 bc–ad 300) onward. In the valleys and on the lower slopes, the climate is cool at night, with frosts common at higher elevations, and warm in the daytime. Rain falls most of the year, with June to September being marginally drier. The temperature gradient through the year is less than 2°C. The main centers of population developed in the ten large intermontane valleys that march up the Andes chain from dry Loja in the south to the chilly and wet Carchi-Nariño Altiplano (a high, cold, grassy rolling plain) in the north. These valleys and the river valleys that run east and west off the Andean rivers were fertile and had abundant natural products such as minerals (including metals). Some of the river valleys, such as the Jubones and Paute in Azuay and the Cañar River in Cañar, were major routes of exchange between ecosystems and cultural areas. The northern valleys are slightly warmer and wetter except for the far northern Carchi-Nariño Altiplano, which marks the northern extent of camelid raising and potato agriculture. Also characteristic of the Ecuadorian Andean chain is volcanic and seismic activity. Although giant Mt. Chimborazo’s last eruption was sometime in the first millennium ad, that is, in time to have been a considerable nuisance to the dense farming communities of the Riobamba region, Mts. Cotopaxi (north of Quito), Pichincha (Quito), Tungurahua (central Ecuador), and Sangay (eastern montaña in the south whose ash plume falls west and has often blanketed Guayaquil in “hot snow”) are all very active and have caused great damage and loss of life and property from pre-Hispanic times to the present, from both eruptions and earthquakes. The wide coastal plain in the far north is an active landscape of sandbars, mangrove swamps, backswamps, and dense tropical vegetation. This area was
Ecuador before the Incas 13
an important center of cultural development from early times. Agriculture could be practiced on the higher islands and behind the mangroves, and the vast rivers, estuaries, and backswamps provided an abundance of fish, birds, and mammals for the local peoples. Going south, the land becomes less wetly tropical, although today deforestation and destruction of the mangroves for shrimp ponds has totally changed the landscape. People occupied the verdant coastal regions first, moving inland into the drier valleys as population growth forced the opening of new lands. The climate here is warm and damp, with, as is common in Ecuador, a greater night-day gradient in temperature than a seasonal one. Rain falls from mid-December to mid-May, followed by hazy skies and mists for the next three months or so. However, rainfall is not uniform over the coast. In the north and along the eastern montaña, there is no “dry” season; however, the Santa Elena Peninsula to the south may not see rain for several years at a time. Rainforest changes to tropical deciduous forest and then to varieties of even more drought-tolerant plants. The southern coast is quite dry, but the coastal mangrove swamps provided abundant subsistence for the local cultures, and large irrigation works (or drained-field systems, in the case of the Guayas Basin) provided ample water for agriculture. Southern Ecuador merges into the Tumbez region of Peru, an area of seasonally damp desert, xerophytic vegetation, and a highly characteristic flora and fauna, now under threat from oil exploration, industrial agriculture, and fish farming. An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ecuador
karen olsen bruhns
The pre-Hispanic cultures of Ecuador have their roots deep in the past. The earliest occupants of the Americas, the so-called Paleoindians, reached the territory of modern Ecuador some time before 8000 bc (Fig. 1.1). All of our evidence for these first occupants is from the highlands, as this is where most investigation of this early time has taken place. Since Paleoindian sites have been found throughout the Ecuadorian highlands, it is evident that the earliest immigrants moved rapidly to occupy the high páramo, perhaps because it supported deer and other larger mammals, including remnant populations of terminal Pleistocene megafauna such as mastodon (Salazar 1984; Bruhns 1994a). Populations seem to have grown rapidly, and within a very short time, people began to inhabit the warm coastal regions with their wealth of productive environments. Here people established and exploited the rich resources of the sea, estuaries, and mangrove swamps, as well as the inland
14 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
1.1 Chronology of Ecuadorian Prehistory AD 1500 AD 500–1500 500 BC–AD 500 1600–500 BC 3000–1600 BC 12,000–3000 BC
Inca Integration regional Development Late Formative Early Formative Preceramic
flood plains where they began to cultivate gourds, squashes, achira (the bulb of the canna lily, Canna edulis), and maize. The Las Vegas culture of the Santa Elena Peninsula is the best known of these first farming cultures, but surely they existed throughout the length of Ecuador’s coast (Stothert 1988). Formative Period By ca. 4000 bc, the first evidence of what is called the Formative Period appears. On the coast of Guayas and Manabí Provinces, the culture of the early ceramics-making farmers and fishers is called Valdivia, after a modern fishing village on the ancient site (Fig. 1.2). The Valdivia peoples lived not only along the coast but began to move inland to farm along the fertile river valleys as their population grew (Damp 1988; Pearsall 1988). They had added cotton to their repertory of cultivated crops, and impressions on a late Valdivia clay lump show that they spun and wove this fiber into cloth (Marcos 1973, 1979). The Valdivia peoples are best known for their ceramics, one of the earliest pottery traditions in South America. It is with Valdivia that the great coastal tradition of representational ceramic art begins (Lathrap, Collier, and Chandra 1975). From this time until the near obliteration of indigenous ceramic traditions in the modern period, coastal ceramics often depicted the natural world, including people, animals, fruits and flowers, and artifacts in figurines and in vessels. Human figurines, in particular, were common and frequently painted and incised to represent details of clothing, ornaments, and body decorations. In the highlands, the ancient foraging and hunting tradition seems to have continued until the Late Formative (ca. 1200 bc) when farming and trading villages were established. In these villages, people made elaborate ceramics and manufactured goods to exchange with the coast and the Amazon forest region to the east, as well as with each other. Such villages are known from near Quito (Cotocallao), Riobamba (Loma Pucara), in the southern provinces of Cañar and Azuay (Cerro Narrío, Monjas Huaycu, Chaullabamba, Pirincay), and farther south in the province of Loja (Putushio, Catamayo
Ecuador before the Incas 15
1.2 Map of Ecuador with sites mentioned in the text. Drawing by Tom Weller.
tradition). The highland ceramic styles seldom featured realistic modeling or painted motifs, so our knowledge of clothing, body decoration, hair styles, and jewelry in the highlands is considerably more limited than for the adjacent coastal regions, a situation compounded by generally less archaeological investigation away from the coast (Uhle 1922; Collier and Murra 1943; Bennett 1946; Guffroy et al. 1987; Bruhns 1989, 1991; Gomís 1989; Arellano 1994; Rehren and Temme 1994; Guffroy 2004). This is unfortunate, since indigenous costume has survived to the present in much of the highlands, albeit in forms heavily influenced by Inca and European styles, whereas it has generally disappeared on the coast. It seems reasonable to suppose that the appearance outside the coastal region of agricultural peoples and of villages whose raison d’être was the production of specialty goods for trade and/or the channeling of goods from one major ecosystem to another was tied to the expansionist Chorrera tradition
16 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
at the end of the Formative Period (ca. 1200–300 bc). The Chorrera culture appears to have been a true horizon style in Ecuador, moving speedily and influencing local cultures from the south coast of Colombia down into northern Peru. It is very possible that the Chorrera penchant for modeling jars and bottles into charming little sculptures of animals and humans was influential on the nascent Chavín traditions of coastal Peru, as Chavín influence was beginning to reach the coast valleys of Peru at the time in which Chorrera or Chorrera-influenced cultures had reached their maximum geographic spread (Bruhns ms.). The coastal Ecuadorian peoples also were divers and purveyors of the “thorny oyster,” an impressive red-orange or purple shell (Spondylus princeps, S. calcifer) that was highly desired by Peruvians for jewelry and inlays, as well as for offerings, from the Chavín tradition onward (Paulsen 1974; Pillsbury 1996). regional Development Period The Chorrera culture along the south coast was succeeded by that of Guangala, which, although not at all well known, seems to have continued the trend of increasing wealth, social hierarchy, and investment in long-distance trade with both the Peruvian and the highland Ecuadorian cultures (Stothert 1993; Reindel 1995). The earliest direct evidence of Ecuadorian interaction with Peru—when llamas make their earliest known appearance in Ecuador—is found from the late centuries bc in the highlands at the little site of Pirincay (Bruhns, Burton, and Miller 1990; Miller and Gill 1990). The local people were quick to exploit this wonderful new source of meat and fiber. Spinning rapidly became important in the local economy; llama-hair thread or textiles may have been traded along with the rock-crystal beads that were a major commodity in exchange with the coast (Bruhns 1990, 1991). In the next valley north, at the contemporary site of Cerro Narrío, quantities of Spondylus indicate that the highland Ecuadorian cultures, as well as those of Peru, wanted shells for jewelry, masks, and, perhaps, for offerings (Collier and Murra 1943). Farther to the north, the site of Cotocallao, now a suburb of Quito, shows us that farming towns with highly developed ceramics, other crafts, and far-flung trading relationships were found throughout the highlands (Villalba 1988). Chorrera influence was strongest along the coast and formed the cultural basis for later developments. In the far north, in the swamps, estuaries, and meandering rivers of the coastal Nariño (Colombia) and Esmeraldas (Ecuador) provinces, are the closely related cultures of Atacames, Esmeraldas, In-
Ecuador before the Incas 17
guapi, Tiaone, Tolita, and Tumaco, often referred to collectively as Tolita or Tolita-Tumaco. Their name comes from the type site, the picturesquely named village of La Tolita Pampa de Oro, “Little Mound on a Plain of Gold,” from the small gold ornaments that eroded out of the earthen platforms of the preHispanic peoples’ vanished houses and temples. The Tolita people are among the first Ecuadorian peoples to have built structures on platforms (tolas) of earth and stone. Surviving ceramic models suggest that the buildings were of wood, bamboo, and thatch, elaborately decorated with carving and painting. The practice of putting buildings on earthen platforms may have arisen because of frequent flooding along the coast, although it was soon adopted in the highlands and along the eastern slopes of the Andes in regions where flooding was not necessarily such a danger. The platforms were constructed of local soil, which, of course, contained the debris of people who had lived there before. Most of the ceramics and figurines from the Tolita culture(s), which are our major source of information regarding their lifeways, have been found eroding out of later house platforms (Sánchez Montañés 1981; Bouchard 1983; Valdez 1987; Banco Central del Ecuador 2004). Figurines and modeled vessels are our major source of information concerning clothing, jewelry, headdresses, architecture, dances, music, religion, etc., for almost all the Ecuadorian peoples. In most cases, we have no idea whatsoever of the function(s) of figurines in ancient cultures. The majority of figurines are found in domestic refuse, having been used, broken, and discarded by the people who made them. Some ended up in graves, but widespread looting of ancient Ecuadorian sites has robbed us of the context of these figurines, so we cannot say that there is any consistent association between, say, figurines that show dancers and musicians and graves of women or those that show supposed priests or ritual acts and graves of elderly men or women who might themselves have been priests or shamans. Various functions, such as use in coming-of-age rituals, in curing ceremonies, or even as idols, have been suggested, but in general all we know is what we can see represented on the figurines themselves. Tolita figurines, and those of the closely related cultures along the northern Ecuador coast, show an enormous number of different types of activities, costumes, personages, and artifacts; systematic study of the subjects has barely begun, and most interpretations (“priest” “shaman,” “chief,” “god”) are fanciful at best. Tolita sites are also famous for the golden artifacts they have yielded: earrings, pectorals, beads, and even fishhooks, needles, and other small tools of gold, platinum, and tumbaga.2 The ancient Ecuadorians were the first in the world to work platinum, anticipating European technology in this metal by more than a thousand years (Bergsoe 1937; Scott and Bray 1980). Like other contemporary coastal cultures, their
18 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
economy was based on agriculture, fishing, and trade, and if we can judge from the elaborate costumes and artifacts shown in their ceramics and from the size and proliferation of their towns and villages, the Tolita-Tumaco peoples probably had ranked societies with hereditary rulers and elites and a very active ceremonial life, whatever the specifics of their religions may have been. Similar evidence of increasing population and social hierarchy is evident to the south in the cultures of Jama-Coaque and Bahía of the central coast of Ecuador. Large sites with platforms that probably supported elaborate temples have been found, indicating that there was a permanent group of religious specialists (Estrada 1962). La Plata Island, off the coast of Manabí, first used as a place of pilgrimage and a sanctuary by the late Valdivia culture, appears to have been an important place for the people of the Bahía culture as well (Dorsey 1901; Damp and Norton 1991). Although distinct types of figurines, modeled vessels, and other ceramics exist, all of the coastal cultures of this time had a great deal in common, especially in terms of costume and economy, which included ever-increasing trade with the rest of Ecuador and also with northern Peru (Bruhns 1994b). In the highlands, parallel developments in terms of increasing population, wealth, and social stratification were taking place. Much less investigation has been done in highland sites of the Regional Developmental Period compared to contemporary sites on the coast. What work has been done suggests that architecture was not as elaborate and that the tendency to live in large towns was not as marked. On the other hand, the information we have from burials shows a high technological and artistic development, especially in ceramics, metal, and textiles (Jijón y Caamaño 1914, 1920, 1951). In Azuay Province, to the north and east of Cuenca, a series of deep shaft tombs looted late in the nineteenth century in the vicinity of the modern towns of Cojitambo, Gualaceo, Chordeleg, and Sígsig show that contact and trade with Peru was not limited to the coastal peoples. These tombs contained a wealth of gold and silver ornaments: bowls, pendants, breastplates, earrings, and crowns (Heuzey 1870; Verneau and Rivet 1912; Saville 1924). One person wore a cloak edged with copper danglers and covered with copper plates, a type of textile common in contemporary Peru, judging from painted and modeled representations in north-coast Moche (ca. ad 0–800), Sicán (Lambayeque area, subsequent to Moche), and Chimú (Moche Valley area, subsequent to Moche) ceramics; others had crowns of gold in a style very popular in northern Peru or had breastplates embossed with Sicán- or Chimú-like designs. A hammered gold mask, a now-lost silver plaque, and a little ceramic bottle now in the Royal Museum of Brussels show clearly that these peoples were trading with the expansionist Huari Empire of northern
Ecuador before the Incas 19
and central Peru (ca. ad 750–950) or with peoples who themselves were trading with or influenced by Huari, such as the Sicán and Moche V (terminal Moche) or early Chimú cultures (Bruhns 1994b, 1998). The tombs suggest that the region, which in historic times was occupied by the Cañar people, was already organized into a series of wealthy political entities who were continuing the patterns of long-distance trade established in the Formative. These peoples, although not urban or in the habit of constructing monumental architecture, had a stratified society in which a few people were very wealthy and took their wealth with them to the grave. Near Quito, on the slope of Pichincha Volcano at the site of La Florida, a series of elaborate tombs excavated by Leon and Megan Doyon show that ranked societies, with a nobility and ruling class who merited elaborate burials and offerings, existed here as well (Doyon 1988). The multiple burials in each deep shaft tomb show that women as well as men had a status high enough to be buried with their servants, jewelry, ceramics, and a wealth of other materials, some imported. Spondylus, mother-of-pearl, and other shell ornaments and shell trumpets show contact with the coast, and gold and gilded copper ornaments indicate that the art of metallurgy was well established in the northern highlands. A rare camelid-hair textile with copper sequins sewn to it suggests that the people, who lived in small villages around the valley of Quito, may have herded llamas themselves, or perhaps they received camelid fiber in return for the much-desired obsidian from the Mullamica and Ilaló sources, which they doubtless controlled (Doyon-Bernard 1994). In the far north of Ecuador, extending into southern Colombia, the Capulí culture buried its dead in shaft-and-chamber tombs (Francisco 1969; Uribe Alarcón and Lleras 1983). The offerings in these reflect the differential status of the deceased occupants. Shallow tombs with a single burial accompanied by one or two plain ceramic vessels are most common. However, there are deep tombs with multiple burials, apparently for an important person and his or her servants. Pedro de Cieza de León, who traveled through what is now highland Ecuador with a Spanish military force in 1547, reports that in much of Colombia and Ecuador, when an important person died, he was buried along with his favorite wives or concubines and servants, and all were accompanied by their personal belongings, including jewelry, clothing, tools, and food (1a pte., caps. xli and xliii; 1984: 136, 141). From archaeological evidence, this would appear to have been a long-standing custom throughout much of pre-Hispanic Latin America. Capulí ceramics are slipped red and have geometric decoration in black organic resist painting. Cups and bowls on annular bases or supported by modeled people or animals are characteristic of this style, as are figurines of seated women in long decorated skirts and men seated
20 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
on benches, with a quid of coca in their cheek. Unlike the elaborate costumes of the coastal peoples, the Capulí figures wear very simple clothing, and there is virtually no evidence from the ceramics of music, dance, or ritual. The lack of excavation in domestic sites of this culture, combined with the lack of information from art, means that, as yet, the Capulí people remain enigmatic. Integration Period By ca. ad 800, the ancestors of cultures that were in existence when the Spanish came some seven hundred years later were beginning to appear. The Manteño and Huancavilca were developing a series of large, powerful kingdoms on the central and southern coasts, respectively, kingdoms whose wealth was based in large part on riverine and coastal trade. They controlled the exploitation of the Spondylus beds from their major sites on Isla Puná, at modern Salango and Manta, and from their somewhat inland (to escape from pirates?) city at Agua Blanca, near Machalilla (Saville 1907–1910; Estrada 1957a, 1957b; McEwan and Silva 1987; McEwan 1992). The appetite of the Peruvians—especially the Chimú and other peoples of the north coast—for Spondylus was increasing tremendously, and the Manteño seem to have taken full advantage of the Peruvian need for ever greater quantities of the red and purple shells (Paulsen 1974; Cordy-Collins 1990; Pillsbury 1996). Ecuadorians wanted Spondylus and Strombus shells for ornaments and trumpets as well, and the thriving business in trading with the highlanders and, very likely, the tropical forest peoples that had begun in the Formative now reached its height. Frank Salomon (1971) and Roswith Hartmann (1971) have documented a special class of traders, the mindalaes, as well as the existence of large established markets and fairs throughout the northern highlands, dealing in such desired commodities as salt, textiles, dyestuffs, gold and silver, shell beads, and slaves. Few of these items would be visible in the archaeological record. Other closely related peoples around the Gulf of Guayaquil, the Santa Elena Peninsula, and inland along the Guayas-Daule-Babahoyo floodplain are better known for their creation of huge expanses of drained-field systems, reclaiming the seasonally inundated floodplains to support dense populations of farmers, traders, and artisans (Valdez 2006). Among these groups, the best known are the Milagro-Quevedo peoples, a series of small warring kingdoms, who created some of the most impressive metalwork in ancient Ecuador. This alone indicates their wealth and position as trading peoples, for the Guayaquil Basin is a region without native metal. Both elaborate ornaments and tools, such as fish hooks, knives, and tweezers, were produced, along with
Ecuador before the Incas 21
axe-monies and heavy “axes” of copper used for ostentation, not for actual work (Hosler, Lechtman, and Holm 1990). This area seems to have been a major producer of cotton and dried or salt fish for trade and was probably also involved in the Spondylus trade, moving the desired shell inland to the highlands (Estrada 1954; Holm 1981). In the far north, the Capulí culture had been replaced by the Cuasmal/ Tuza culture, whose characteristic artifacts were bowls painted in brown on cream, with both geometric designs and representational ones of warriors, dancers, and similar scenes. Another characteristic ceramic form is a Strombus-shaped trumpet that exactly duplicates the interior as well as the exterior form of the shell (Francisco 1969; Idrovo Urigüen 1987). Gold and silver ornaments are in the same style. Some tomb excavation in the neighboring department of Nariño (Colombia) has led to the recuperation of textile fragments from inundated tombs (Cardale de Schrimpff 1979, 2007). Throughout the north, the idea of building houses and temples on earth platforms had become very popular. The best known of the Integration Period sites is Cochasquí, north of Quito (Athens 1980; Oberem 1981). At this site, many high platforms, with and without ramps, have been mapped and preserved as a national archaeological monument. These tolas were both residential and ritual, and many show signs of having been lived on and built up over and over again through the centuries. The northern peoples, like those of the coast, were organized into large, wealthy, and often warring kingdoms. The economy was based on agriculture, herding, mining obsidian and metals, and trading. Peoples who were culturally, though not linguistically, similar lived throughout most of the mountain basins and valleys. In the south, in what are now Cañar and Azuay Provinces, the ancestors of the modern Cañari can be identified. They were likewise organized into a number of small political units and made handsome pottery and metal objects (Oberem 1976). A warlike people, they built a series of fortresses along the mountain chains but lived below in small hamlets. They worshipped the forces of nature and had shrines at springs and mountains. Many of these are still in use, although, of course, the name of the deity worshipped has changed.3 They also used ancient sites as cemeteries; thus, the Formative site of Cerro Narrío contains a fair number of later Cañar burials (Collier and Murra 1943; Fresco 1984). Today it is being encroached upon by the modern town cemetery. The Cañares were involved in trade and warfare (ever closely intertwined) with the adjacent Shuar (Jíbaro) peoples, who lived in the upper reaches of the Amazonian tributaries, a love-hate relationship that continued into the colonial period as they struggled for control of trade routes and salt sources. We know virtually nothing of the pre-Hispanic Shuar, although ex-
22 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
cavations in the vicinity of Macas and around Mt. Sangay have indicated that in the eastern jungles peoples were organized in political groups that were large enough to construct immense earthworks and sites with temple and residential platforms of considerable size. These sites are very different from those of the historic Shuar and indicate substantial cultural change or ethnic replacement in this region in later prehistory (Porras Garcés 1987; Ochoa, Rostain, and Salazar 1997; Salazar 1998; Rostain 1999, 2006). Costume in Ecuador before the Incas
karen olsen bruhns
Ecuadorian cultures from the very beginning were quite different from those of the central Andes. This difference is expressed in many ways, but two of the most salient are in clothing and ornaments. One of the most interesting aspects of prehistoric Ecuadorian costume is how unlike the costume tradition of neighboring Peru it was. Although there is good evidence of everincreasing trade and contact between the cultures of northern Peru and those of Ecuador, including the very probable presence of Peruvians on Isla Puná and some of the other Spondylus ports, Ecuadorian costume largely went its own way. On the coast, it would appear that for ordinary purposes many people simply went about unclothed. If clothing were worn, it consisted of a loincloth for the men and a simple wrapped skirt or sarong, generally without a belt, for the women. Both sexes probably also wore (were wrapped in?) a cape or blanket at night or in cold weather. Such capes are not seen in the figurines, which are our major source of information on ancient costume, but they are mentioned over and over again by Cieza de León in his descriptions of the peoples he encountered. In this context, it is worth mentioning that a similar garment was in widespread use in Peru but is virtually never shown in figurines or painted representations of peoples from any culture. It is only with the European-style drawings of Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, an indigenous administrator with a Spanish education who finished his illustrated manuscript about 1615, that a rectangular wrap is shown and seen to be an integral part of everyday (and ceremonial) dress.4 There are also some less common garments: a tabard (a poncho-like garment with open sides made of stiff material; modern tabards, as worn by some Amazonian peoples, are usually made of bark cloth), a short stiff kilt, an elbow-length cape, a bandolier-slung garment (probably a folded mantle), and a very rare all-in-one garment that was apparently a ritual costume. This garment is not tailored, but made up of six
Ecuador before the Incas 23
webs woven to size: front and back of the torso, “sleeves,” and leg coverings. It seems very likely that in the highlands some sort of upper body garment with a neck slit (perhaps an ancestor of the modern kushma) was worn. Owing to the paucity of representational art from the highlands, however, there is very little evidence for this garment prior to the earliest colonial-period descriptions of numerous groups wearing camisetas (little or short shirts), a term also used for Inca tunics in Ecuador. However, if we compare Spanish descriptions with human representations from the contact period, it seems probable that a camiseta could be any of a variety of tunic-like garments, long or short, side seams sewn or not. Unlike the Peruvian cultures, among whom lack of clothing was a sign of social disgrace, nudity was common in Ecuador, as previously noted. Many peoples appear to have worn only jewelry and headdresses or hair ornaments. As with many peoples who wear little or no clothing, body decoration was highly developed. Body painting appears to have been very common. Most likely body painting was done with achiote, the seeds of the tropical bush Bixa orellana, which, when ground and mixed with water or fat, makes a bright orange stain, and genipa (Genipa americana L.), which makes a black stain that also slowly washes off. Although achiote and genipa are not generally used to dye cloth (they are not permanent), they were used all over tropical America and are still used by some Ecuadorian and Amazonian peoples as body paint and hair dye. In this latter case, achiote is mixed with fat or wax and applied as a heavy sort of hair gel, coloring the hair and turning it into a sculptural mass. The modern Tsáchila people of Santo Domingo de los Colorados still do this, as do the Akwe Shavanti and some other indigenous peoples of Brazil.5 These two colors—red and black—are seen repeatedly in representations of people from ancient Ecuador, and though it is quite possible that other colors were used (such as white and yellow from clays), it seems evident that in the past as in the present these were the main colors of choice, as they are durable and neither flake nor immediately wash off. It is likely that the patterned flat and roller stamps that are so common in preHispanic refuse were used to apply body or facial paint. Similar stamps are still used for this purpose among traditional groups in the Amazon. Tattooing and, possibly, decorative scarification were also practiced. This is shown through incision on the largely monochrome black Manteño ceramics. It is quite possible that incised patterns on figures from earlier cultures refer to tattooing as well, especially since it is shown both combined with body painting and alone. Along the coast, piercing of the ears, face, and even nipples was practiced, and the ornaments hung from these holes were evidently important markers of status and wealth (see below).
24 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
The other major means of bodily decoration used by most Ecuadorian peoples was cranial modification.6 The earliest representations of this practice are seen in Chorrera ceramics, and skeletons with modified skulls were found among the burials of the Chorrera cemetery (Zevallos Menéndez 1969). Although not everyone had their head artificially shaped, and there were always different forms and degrees of shaping, this practice was very widespread. It does not seem to have been as popular in the highlands, where most modeled vessels and figurines show people with “normal” crania. The burials at La Florida (Quito, ca. ad 500) and those at sixteenth-century Inca/Cañar Ingapirca all have “normal” crania. On the other hand, at least one cranium from the Nariño cemeteries excavated by María Victoria Uribe Alarcón shows frontal-tabular modification, a form that is not at all common in the modeled ceramics of this region (Uribe Alarcón and Lleras 1983). It has been suggested that cranial modification may have been a sign of familial status (since it would have had to have been done on a baby) and hence common only among chiefly or noble families. Early Evidence of Indigenous Costume The earliest evidence of bodily decoration we have is from the earliest ceramic period, from Valdivia figurines (Fig. 1.3). Virtually all are nude and have shoulder-length hair. Hair was a major area of ornamentation, and figures show wide parts, tonsures, and decorative shaving and clipping not unlike (in concept, not in designs) modern hair fashions among African American and Latino youth in North America. This hair design, in lengths, thicknesses, and patterned clipping or shaving, is the forerunner of the elaborate hair styles of later Chorrera. Valdivia body painting is simple: usually only wide bands on the torso. Some figures have incised body patterns that may represent tattoos (Fig. 1.4a–b). These are simple geometric patterns probably copied from patterns on baskets or textiles. Since nudity was so widespread, it is very likely that the cotton cloth the Valdivians are known to have woven (Marcos 1979) was used for other domestic purposes, perhaps including a cloak at night or on cold or rainy days. A very few Valdivia figurines show that the basic garments of indigenous Ecuadorian costume, the loincloth and the skirt, were already known. Several figures wearing a loincloth—in later times the hallmark of male costume—are known. These figures all show the same distinctive garment: a striated piece of cloth, or perhaps a bunch of fibers, drawn between the legs and held with a narrow cord belt (Fig. 1.5). Equally rare figures show women with long, figured skirts. It is also possible that some headdresses, identified as hoods by
1.3 Valdivia figurines. These fragmentary figurines of young women (note pregnant
figure) give an idea of the range of hairdos commonly found. Private collection, Quito.
1.4a and b Front and back of the torso of a Valdivia figurine with very marked
tattooing. Private collection, Quito.
26 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 1.5 A rare Valdivia male figurine with
a multistrand (or finely folded textile) loincloth. Private collection, Quito. Drawing by Tom Weller.
Costanza Di Capua (1994), were made of textiles, since these bear geometric designs that are evidently not braiding. Unfortunately, most Valdivia figurines are without archaeological context (and a significant percentage of the known corpus is fake), so that we cannot associate these few clothed examples with any particular region or time (cf. Bruhns and Kelker 2010). By the subsequent Machalilla culture, although there is still little evidence of the widespread use of clothing, ceramics show that body painting had become more complex. The rare painted Machalilla figurines show elaborate designs of narrow stripes and negative circles covering the face and much of the body. Hair was cut short with bangs, and the first artistic evidence of jewelry, in the form of simple one- or two-strand necklaces and multiple ear piercings, foreshadows the elaborate ornaments of later cultures. In the Chorrera epoch, body decoration appears to have become more complex. Chorrera figures show a preference for a more bulbous head and for hair cut into a short casque-like shape or, occasionally, shaved in elaborate patterns of bare skin and decoratively shaped hair clumps (Fig. 1.6). Some figures may be wearing a helmet-like cap.7 The stylization of many Ecuadorian figurines makes it difficult to distinguish between a close-fitting cap and
Ecuador before the Incas 27
a simple haircut. It is possible that the elaborate painted hairdos are caps, although, once more, they could be a mixture of achiote or other colorants in wax or grease, forming the hair into a solid sculptural mass. Occasionally, figures have short-cut hair and a headband. The Chorrera people generally continued to go nude, but body painting and tattooing became very elaborate (Figs. 1.7a–b, 1.8). A favorite pattern involved painting “pants” and a “weskit” (vest) onto the body.8 Some of this corporeal ornamentation may have been applied with the clay stamps and “cylinder seals” common in Chorrera sites. A few Chorrera figurines are wearing a wrapped skirt, either a short, thigh-length skirt or, occasionally, a longer, midcalf-length skirt that presages the later Bahía and Jama-Coaque preferred length. These skirts may be patterned in designs that certainly indicate textile patterns. But many Chorrera figurines are not detailed enough to discern whether they are meant to be clothed or not. Chorrera jewelry was quite elaborate and consisted of two- or three-strand necklaces of shell, colored stone and rock crystal beads, or shell and stone pendants. Nose ornaments appear to have been rare, but earspools and tubes of shell or ceramic were widespread. Occasionally a figure shows that two sets of ear ornaments were worn: a larger earspool in the lobe and a smaller one in the upper ear. The first long, hanging ear pendants also appear in Chorrera. These seem to have been restricted to males, although later females occasionally wore them too. Contemporary evidence from the highlands is largely lacking. A single 1.6 The head of a Chorrera figurine
showing an elaborately cut and dressed hairstyle, probably meant to represent hair that had been dressed with fat and achiote into a single decorative mass. Private collection, Quito.
28 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 1.7a and b Chorrera figurine with elaborately rendered tattooing and body paint in the form of “weskit” and “pants.” Private collection, Quito.
textile impression for Pirincay shows finely woven (cotton?) fabric to have been present by ca. 1200 bc, and from the late centuries bc levels, there is evidence of the introduction of llamas coupled with a great increase in tools for spinning and weaving (Bruhns 1990, 2003). At the same time, metal was introduced, and the lucky find of a small gilded nose ornament indicates that metal jewelry had made its way into the highlands. Pirincay also specialized in manufacturing rock-crystal beads, a commodity apparently highly valued on the rock-crystal-free coast.9 A rare (and fragmentary) Formative Period figurine, found either in the Paute Valley or the lower Tomebamba Valley, shows a decorated loincloth made of a very long piece of cloth wrapped twice around the hips and then passed between the legs (Fig. 1.9). The frequent finds of stamps and roller stamps in this region suggest that body and/or face painting was also important, an idea reinforced by the occasional decoration of cups/ bowls with a modeled and painted human face. The regional Development Period on the Coast With the succeeding Guangala culture on the coast, the first evidence of bead wrist wraps occurs, as does the common use of nose ornaments. Although
Ecuador before the Incas 29
the Guangala people also seem to have gone nude much of the time and continued the Chorrera tradition of elaborate body painting and/or tattooing, clothed figures begin to appear with much greater frequency than before. Men wore a loincloth low on the hips and with a long, narrow front flap that reached to the knees (Fig. 1.10). Such figurines, thought to represent important males because of the small bench, show the elaboration of dress by Guangala times. They also illustrate the difficulties of determining whether an 1.8 Chorrera female figurine. The “skirt,”
rendered in a slash of slip, may represent a short wraparound garment such as are shown in detail on some figurines or body paint. Private collection, Quito.
1.9 A partial figurine in a derived Chorrera
style but from Chaullabamba, in the southern highlands. Museo Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito. Drawing by Tom Weller from Uhle 1922: fig. 96.
30 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 1.10 Guangala seated male figurine. He wears the typical low-slung loincloth of Guangala, along with a decorated cap on his cosmetically shaped cranium. Private collection, Quito.
element is body decoration or represents jewelry. Modeled nose and ear ornaments do approximate those found in archaeological deposits. But the incised lines on his wrists and ankles may represent multiple-strand small bead wraps or tattooing. Incised designs on the shoulders probably refer to body ornamentation. Women wore a short wrapped skirt (Fig. 1.11). It is from the Regional Developmental Period and, especially, from the cultures of Bahía, Jama-Coaque, and Tolita (Tumaco-Tolita and Tiaone phases) that we get our most detailed information on costume in ancient Ecuador. These cultures all produced quantities of elaborate modeled vessels and figurines, showing the great elaboration of costumes and jewelry along the coast of Ecuador in the first 600–800 years ad. Bahía and Jama-Coaque figurines were painted in brilliant colors after they were fired, and where this paint has survived, we can get some feeling for the complex use of color in ancient garments and ornaments. The distinctive Bahía figurines show men and women in elaborate costumes that appear to be related to their rank as well as their occupations.
Ecuador before the Incas 31
Bahía women wear a calf- to ankle-length skirt, often decorated with bold geometric or curvilinear designs and edged with beads (Figs. 1.12, 1.13). On their bulbous or tabular-shaped heads they wear a cap-like haircut similar to the Guangala style or a relatively simple band of cloth or beads. Some women wear a high cap over their heads, but this is not as elaborate as the male headdresses. Men appear to have often gone naked, but a simple loincloth with a wide belt is also seen, probably an all-in-one wrap of a wide strip of fabric. Occasionally the loincloth is simplified to just a wide band around the hips, covering the genitals. Three new male garments make their appearance in Bahía and the contemporary coastal cultures: a short cape, a stiff spiked/flounced kilt, and a tabard.10 The first two garments are relatively uncommon. The cape is above 1.11 Guangala female with infant(?).
She also wears a cap, as does the small figure, perhaps an infant, that she holds. The short, low-slung decorated skirt is likewise typical of Guangala dress. She, too, has wrist and ankle wraps and body ornamentation. Museo del Banco Central, Quito.
1.12 Bahía female with elaborately
patterned long skirt, edged with beads, and a hood. She also wears bead bracelets, a necklace of large beads, and multiple ear studs. Private collection, Quito.
1.13 Standing Bahía woman. Her skirt and shoulder wrap are likewise edged with beads, and her jewelry is similar to that of Figure 1.12. However, she wears a more elaborate hood headdress, with a wide band and with the sides separating into wings that recall metal ornaments worn along the coast at this time. Private collection, Guayaquil. Photograph courtesy of Tom Cummins.
Ecuador before the Incas 33
1.14a and b A Bahía man holding achira plants. His elaborate tabbed garment and huge headdress indicate that he is some sort of ritual performer. Museo del Banco Central, Guayaquil GA-1-2179-82. Photograph courtesy of Tom Cummins.
elbow length and seems to have been sewn with large beads or whole shells. It is most common on figures that are ocarinas or whistles. The short, stiff (leather? Furcraea? bark cloth?) kilt was generally worn with nothing underneath it, unlike the kilts and “back flap” garments seen in contemporary Peruvian cultures, such as Moche (north coast) and Nazca (south coast), although occasionally the kilt was worn over an all-in-one suit or with a loincloth. These skirts may have been some sort of ritual or dance garment. There is not enough contextual evidence to know if they are associated with one particular activity. The tabard, however, was apparently a common garment for ritual or ceremonial occasions and survives to this day in those contexts among the Shuar of southeastern Ecuador (Braun 1995: 41). Bahía tabards are relatively narrow garments that seem to have been made out of a stiff, heavy, and inflexible material (Fig. 1.14a–b). They vary in length from midchest to below knee level and have a rounded neckline that often exposes much of the chest. The rounded neckline may be an indication that tabards were made of leather or bark cloth, since weaving a deep neckline into a garment is difficult and relatively uncommon. Modern tabards are made of bark cloth. Tabards are usually
34 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 1.15 Standing Jama-Coaque man in a tasseled tabard, holding a staff and a bag. The tabard is sewn with fringes, and the band of fringe along its hem also has beads. Note the elaborate shell and metal ornaments as well as the thick textile(?) leg bands. The hood headdress has whole shells on it, and long, metal (probably meant to represent hammered gold) ornaments frame the face of this imposing figure. Museo del Banco Central, Guayaquil GA-1-2267-82. Photograph courtesy of Tom Cummins.
1.16 A seated Jama-Coaque male in a hood and tabard with similar single fringe decorative elements. The hood likewise is decorated with whole shells. Note the bead belt and anklets. This figure is not wearing a loincloth. Museo del Banco Central, Guayaquil GA-4-1234-79. Photograph courtesy of Tom Cummins.
richly decorated, often with edgings of beads or heavy cording, and are then sewn with whole shells, shell ornaments, large beads, or tassels all over the surface (Figs. 1.15, 1.16). It is possible that feathers were also used to adorn them, although no clear evidence of this kind of ornamentation is currently known. Feathers, including whole birds, are the most common decoration on
Ecuador before the Incas 35
modern Shuar tabards, along with large seeds, beetle wings, and painted designs. Other items of clothing include hood-like headdresses with beaded trim and a wealth of other headdresses in many different forms, including feather crowns, headgear ornamented with whole Strombus and/or Conus shells, whole birds, metal ornaments, beads, streamers, and similar adornments, which are probably related to both status and role. Hood headdresses are especially associated with elaborate clothing and ornaments (see Figs. 1.14–1.16). It is possible that these hoods are descendants of the much simpler hoods of Valdivia, antiquity of form being an element in their association with ritual or status. Some figures wear a decorated bag much like the “coca bags” of ancient and modern Peru around their necks or carry them in their hands (see Fig. 1.15). Archaeological evidence indicates that coca chewing had been present on the coast since Valdivia times, if not before, but this is the first time we see represented what was an essential part of male costume elsewhere: the decorated bag in which the coca and other items necessary for chewing it are carried (Ontaneda and Espíndola 2004). Coca leaves chewed with lime are a mild stimulant. Bahía and Jama-Coaque figures show an elaboration of jewelry unknown 1.17 Jama-Coaque male figurine in an elaborate tabard. Note the double tusk pendants on his chest as well as the metal earspools, nose ornament, and large trapezoidal labret. His hood, too, is edged with beads and decorated with large whole shells. Private collection, Quito.
36 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 1.18 Jama-Coaque male figure represented wearing elaborate metal ornaments. Note the pierced nipples with the characteristic ornaments and the bird at the front of his loincloth. Museo del Banco Central, Guayaquil, GA-1-2571-83. Photograph courtesy of Tom Cummins.
earlier or later on the coast of Ecuador. Wrist wraps appear to have become an essential part of both male and female costume, but males add to these ankle wraps and a second set of bead or cord wraps either just below or just above the knee. Earrings assume a bewildering number of forms, including earspools, ear tubes, long pendants, and multiple studs or loops. Women often have three or more studs in their earlobes and then more continuing up the edge of the ear. It is quite possible that the mother-of-pearl “sequins” reported for many sites are, in reality, ear studs. Men have more elaborate earrings than women, and many of these are clay duplicates of forms known from surviving gold, silver, copper, and platinum examples. Necklaces include combinations of bead strands, large collars of beads, and a characteristic pendant that combines a human or animal figure on top with a curved tusk-like body (Fig. 1.17). Actual examples show these to have been made of shell or stone. They are worn singly or in sets of two on a cord or bead necklace. Also common are necklaces that appear to have been made of multiple cords. Nose ornaments also become more elaborate, and often a large bead or flat metal nose hanger in the pierced septum is combined with beads or studs in the nostrils. Three new parts of the body are also pierced: the cheeks, the lower lip region, and the nipples. Bahía figures have a characteristic set of labrets that are inserted below the lower lip just above the chin. These are usually conical and are worn in sets of two or three. Less common is a single trapezoidal labret worn higher up or twin cheek labrets. Jama-Coaque and Tolita males do not wear the elaborate labrets, although some appear to have had a single labret, but they do show that nipple piercing was practiced (Fig. 1.18). A characteris-
Ecuador before the Incas 37
tic metal ornament in the shape of a small semicircular knife was worn hanging from each nipple. Such ornaments have been found, but they are generally labeled as “earrings” in museum collections. Other areas of the face and body were sometimes pierced as well. Multiple ear ornaments, for example, are found in all coastal cultures in this period. Since the modern habit of piercing various parts of the body is dependent on the ready availability of antibiotic ointments, it would be interesting to know what sorts of anti-infection agents the ancient coastal Ecuadorians had. In this climate, wounds fester speedily, and the elaborate piercing of the face and body seen in Bahía, Jama-Coaque, and Tolita could not have been feasible without some infection-fighting substance.11 Jama-Coaque figures wear virtually the same garments as those of Bahía, although the kilt is not stiff and dagged, but appears more like a fabric skirt. Both men and women in Jama-Coaque art wear long ear pendants, although men in general have more elaborate jewelry than women in all the ancient Ecuadorian cultures. Earspools also appear to have been more popular in Jama-Coaque. The Jama loincloth was either a long strip drawn between the legs and looped and tied around the waist or a belt holding up a cloth. The Peruvian-style loincloth, a rectangle with side ties that was so popular at the same time along the Peruvian coast, is rare along the Ecuadorian coast, where loincloths are generally held on with a belt or are made of a long single piece of cloth (some of the Capulí-style loincloths may be of the Peruvian type). A new combination in Jama-Coaque is a double tabard: a longer, plain tabard is worn with a short, heavily beaded and shell-adorned one worn on top. This double garment is reminiscent of a practice still seen among the modern Cañari, who often wear two ponchos, one shorter than the other. Some of the Jama-Coaque tabards have a dagged and beaded edging much like the short skirts of Bahía. In general, coastal tabards are so heavily decorated with shells, beads, tassels, and other adornments that they are more jewelry than clothing. Jama-Coaque male headdresses are often extremely elaborate and covered with whole birds, feather panaches, or whole shells like those of Bahía. One new aspect of headdresses, seen in all the coastal cultures of the time, is a pair of long flaps attached to the upper part of the headdresses and falling to shoulder length or even lower. These flaps are usually decorated, often with beads or sequins, and generally have a fringe or other decorative edging (Fig. 1.19). The flaps usually fall behind the ear and frame the elaborate ear ornaments. These flaps occur on both male and female headdresses, unlike the hooded garments, which, despite their derivation from the Valdivia hoods worn only by women, are a male headdress.
38 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 1.19 Coastal figurine with an elaborate spiked headdress and metal side flaps. He, too, wears a tusk-shaped pendant, and his bracelets appear to be made of small, half bivalve shells. He has the characteristic double labret of Bahía male figures. Private collection, Quito.
Both Bahía and Jama-Coaque figures occasionally wear an all-in-one garment that covers the arms and legs (Fig. 1.20). A few figures show clearly that the “trousers” were independent rectangles of cloth wrapped around the leg and hung from the belt, which also held the loincloth or kilt. The long “sleeves” were apparently also separate pieces, but were attached at the shoulder to the upper garment, a tabard sewn up on the sides to make a waistlength tunic, a rare appearance of tunics in pre-Inca Ecuador. Some of these suits seem to have been decorated with stiff plates of leather, while others more approximate a long coat made of “shingles” of fabric or bark cloth (Fig. 1.21). Yet others were tasseled or even covered with what appears to be hair (Fig. 1.20), similar to the outfit still worn by sacha runa dancers in highland Ecuador. Similar figures occur in the stone sculpture of San Agustín, at the head of the Magdalena River Valley in Colombia, but there does not seem to be any association of these suits with warrior figures, as in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. In coastal Ecuador, the all-in-one garments seem to be associated with rituals or dances. In the contemporary Tumaco-Tolita cultures, headdresses are generally less elaborate than those of Bahía and Jama-Coaque, although they too have versions of the elaborate headdress formed as the entire head of a serpent, feline, or some less distinguishable toothy creature. The face of the wearer appears in the mouth of the animal. Tolita headdresses and accouterments also show that the practice of shrinking heads, today only known in the eastern jungle,
1.20a and b A figure from Tolita in an all-in-one suit of scales with a large collar and an animal mask, similar to modern sacha runa dancers. This outfit is an animal costume of some sort, judging by the large, evidently false tail behind. Private collection, Quito.
1.21 A large standing Bahía male wearing
an all-in-one suit of leather (?) plates. Note the extremely elaborate combination labret, with two points and a flat plate. The hooded headdress is typical of these figures. Museo del Banco Central, Quito.
1.22 A small, eroded ceramic plaque from La Tolita, showing an amorous couple. The woman’s short skirt is clearly loosened and unwrapped. Private collection, Quito.
1.23 Tolita/Tumaco figure wearing a
woven, shaped loincloth. Museo del Oro, Bogotá.
1.24a and b Another Tolita scale-covered all-in-one suit showing how the matching headdress is made separately and the join hidden by a thick necklace. This suit was worn with a loincloth to cover the waist and “pant leg” joins. Note the small double labrets in the face. Private collection, Quito.
Ecuador before the Incas 41 1.25 A Tolita figure in a simple all-inone outfit with a kilt and a face-framing headdress. He, too, wears double labrets. Private collection, Quito.
was known on the coast. Such heads were worn, probably as part of ceremonial costume (Di Capua 1978). Tolita clothing in general seems less elaborate than that recorded in the Bahía and Jama-Coaque figurines, although this may be a function of the construction of most figures, which were made in simple one-piece molds. Tolita females wear a short wrapped skirt. The lack of a belt is shown clearly in the erotic plaques, where the woman is lying on her back with her skirt suggestively folded loosely in front (Fig. 1.22). The male loincloth is fairly wide; often the front, hanging section is shaped, perhaps specially woven to a curved flare (Fig. 1.23). The hanging ends of the loincloth tend to bear simple incised decoration, perhaps representing either woven patterns or embroidery. Tolita men also wear decorated tabards and the all-in-one suit. In Tolita-Tumaco, this is often covered with shells or what appear to be tassellike tufts of yarn or hair (Fig. 1.24). It is possible that these suits were also decorated with feathers, but most decorations are clearly tassels or scales of some sort. A variant is of plain fabric that seems slightly stiff, as if it was bark cloth or a similar light, stiff material, with embroidery and beads at the wrists and ankles. This suit is sometimes worn with a kilt over it and is usually accompanied by an elaborate face-framing headdress or with a mask that covers both face and head (Fig. 1.25). Some of the men wearing these suits appear to be deity impersonators.
42 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Wrist, knee, and ankle wraps; collars; and two- to three-strand necklaces of small beads or of small and large beads are common along the north coast. Tolita people apparently frequently wore multiple earrings, and some males have long, trapezoidal, presumably metal earrings as well. Multiple face piercings with ornaments inserted and nipple ornaments identical to those of Jama-Coaque are also common. Incised and modeled figurines show that tattooing and facial scarification were practiced. Face and body painting were probably also common, but the eroded condition of most Tolita ceramics precludes any systematic study of body paint. The regional Development Period in the Highlands The Regional Development Period in the highlands is less well known. Tombs in the Chordeleg/Gualaceo region and near Quito at La Florida have preserved both cotton and camelid-hair textiles, the latter with copper danglers and sequins. Rare figurines show nudity or the same clothes as on the coast: a loincloth or a wrapped skirt (Buys and Domínguez 1988). The existence of golden ornaments of decidedly Peruvian aspect, as well as imported ceramics, suggests that the southern provinces were in close contact with Peru (Bruhns 2009). It may be no accident that shortly thereafter the northern Peruvian Sicán culture began to depict Spondylus divers in its art, and the Chimú artists of Chan Chan, to the south in the Moche Valley, showed the same scene in their architectural friezes (Antze 1930; Pillsbury 1996). This must have been a reflection of the ever-increasing trade in the red shell. The appearance of “dragon” forms of the sort associated in northern Peru with the Moon Animal as seen in Recuay textiles suggests that there may have been a trade in actual textiles (Bruhns ms.) Rare figurative vessels from the little-known Panzaleo culture of the provinces of Cotopaxi and Tungurahua show men in ample striped garments, some of which were apparently open in the front and wrapped across the body (Fig. 1.26). The governor’s report of 1582 for Otavalo, admittedly far to the north, refers to a similar garment being worn before Inca clothing was adopted: a large garment of cotton wrapped twice around the body (Paz Ponce de León [1897] 1965, II:237, para. 15). One Panzaleo figure shows a warrior with a painted torso and wearing a penis string, a “garment” worn in eastern Ecuador to the present.12 The Capulí culture of the far northern province of Carchi (and adjacent Colombian department of Nariño), however, produced modeled vessels and figurines in quantity. These show males with simple short haircuts, either nude or wearing a narrow belt or a loincloth, seated on benches, and chewing coca (Fig. 1.27). Some men wear a piece of cloth slung diagonally across
1.26 Panzaleo vessel showing a male wearing a wrapped, striped mantle. These figures usually have red and white striped face paint as well. Museo del Banco Central, Quito.
1.27 Capulí coca-chewing figure wearing a patterned loincloth and a mantle folded bandolier style across his shoulder. Museo Arqueológico de Caldas, Cali, Colombia.
44 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
1.28a and b Capulí lady wearing a long patterned skirt. Museo Arqueológico de Caldas, Cali, Colombia.
the upper body. In more detailed figures, this cloth appears to be folded, which may be an indication of the way people carried the garments when not wearing them. Women wear an ankle-length skirt and long hair with bangs in front like the men (Fig. 1.28). In some rare examples, the skirt is a sarong, covering the upper torso and breasts and reaching to the calves or near the ankles. The skirts are decorated with the same geometric patterns as the other ceramics, although these may also approximate the designs the garments actually had. Capulí figurines, in contrast with those of the coast, do not wear quantities of jewelry, although finds in the tombs of the region indicate that people wore elaborate ear and nose ornaments; necklaces; and other ornaments of metal, stone, seeds, and shell.13 Integration Period Representations of costumes from the Integration Period show that the same garments—or lack of garments, as the case may be—as in previous centuries were being worn. In its painted ceramics (Fig. 1.29), the Cuasmal/Tuza cul-
Ecuador before the Incas 45
ture of Nariño depicts men wearing elaborately decorated tabards. Cieza de León (1a pte., cap. xxxiii; 1984: 111), passing through the land of the historic Quillacingas—who may partly, at least, correspond to the people who made the Cuasmal/Tuza-style pottery—says that the men wore a loincloth and a cotton mantle that was wide and open at the sides, similar to the garments shown on Tuza bowls. The Quillacinga women wore little mantles as skirts and another above that covered the shoulders and fell over the breasts. At the time of the Spanish conquest, cotton, bark cloth, and, apparently, Furcraea fiber were used to make clothing in this area (Cieza de León, ibid.). The question of base materials is important, as it influences the sort of decoration used. Capulí figurines occasionally show elaborate geometric designs on the skirts worn by women. It is likely that these were tapestry or a supplementaryweft technique if the garments were made of cotton. Furcraea cloth and bark cloth are more commonly painted, a technique that frees the designer from the need to follow the basic textile structure. Textiles found in Nariño are made of both camelid fiber and cotton with woven patterning (Cardale de Schrimpff 2007). There is virtually no archaeological evidence concerning the prehistoric dress of the Cañares. The rare figurines found at Ingapirca and at other sites known to have had Cañar residents show little evidence of clothing. Several of the female burials at Ingapirca contained copper dress pins similar to Inca ones, which suggests that some women, at least, were wearing Peruvianrelated clothing at that site.14 Some strange copper objects (perhaps spatulas 1.29 A Tuza bowl depicting a circle of males in identical tabards and simple hood-like headdresses. Museo del Banco Central, Quito.
46 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 1.30 A Cañar bronze ornament showing a male (?) figure in a long patterned garment. Drawing by Tom Weller from Verneau and rivet 1912: fig. 13.
1.31 A Cañar ornament
showing a female in a bellshaped skirt. Neither of these ornaments has any provenience aside from “southern sierra,” and their cultural affiliation is weak. Drawing by Tom Weller from Verneau and rivet 1912: fig. 21.
for the lime flasks associated with coca chewing) illustrated by Verneau and Rivet (1912: pls. XXI and XXII) show human figures with conical or crescent headdresses (Fig. 1.30). A few of these figures appear to wear patterned tabards, while others are nude. The garments have geometric patterns in horizontal or diagonal bands, designs that may emulate fabric patterns. Some female pendants show a long conical skirt (Fig. 1.31). Although the Cañares wore quantities of clothing by the early colonial period (see following chapters on colonial costume), we really have little evidence that this was a custom that predated the Incas. Cieza de León, citing hearsay evidence, mentions that some of the coastal people were tattooed, comparing it to the Moorish custom (1a pte., cap. xlvi; 1984: 154). Tattooing of the face in geometric designs, both curvilinear and rectilinear, is still found among various Moroccan groups, especially the Berber, and must have been well known to sixteenth-century Spaniards. Manteño ceramic figures often have elaborate incised designs on the face and, occasionally, the upper body (Figs. 1.32, 1.33). Those ceramic figures that are clothed wear tabards or sarongs/skirts (Fig. 1.34). Many figurines are nude, perhaps because of the ritual purpose of many of the modeled pieces; ancient modes of dress are often retained for ritual activities or for religious
1.32 A Manteño incensario. The man seated on a bench may represent a chief, shaman, or priest. He is nude save for elaborate tattooing on one side of the face and body and, of course, his earspools. The hand position is apparently symbolic (Guinea Bueno 2004b). Museo del Banco Central, Quito.
1.33 A Manteño figurine of a dwarf. This seated male wears a small loincloth and the Manteño version of the hoodlike headdress favored on the coast over the centuries. He wears earspools but is not tattooed, suggesting that tattooing may have been a symbol of social importance. Museo del Banco Central, Quito.
48 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
1.34a and b A Manteño lady wearing a stiff wrapped skirt with a point in back. Her cosmetically shaped head is quite plain, although she, too, wears earspools. The metal nose ring is a modern addition. Private collection, Quito.
1.35 Two heads from Manteño male figures showing the head-covering caps typical of this culture. Nose ornaments as well as earspools indicate that these heads represent figures of some status. Private collection, Quito.
professionals. Manteño figures wear a headdress consisting of a cap pulled down to cover most of the head (Fig. 1.35). These caps often have designs and could have been made of cloth or leather. None survive, but similar cloth caps, although with long tabs, occur in northern Peru at about the same time (A. Rowe 1984: figs. 70 and 75). Some of the caciques (the Inca term for in-
Ecuador before the Incas 49
digenous lords) and other prominent people had gold inlays in their teeth, a custom reported archaeologically all along the coast from the Regional Development Period onward. Pre-Hispanic Costume of Ecuador in Perspective What the archaeological record of Ecuador tells us is that although weaving of cotton and other fibers appeared very early, most of the textile industry was probably aimed at nonclothing needs. Even the ubiquitous mantles (large rectangular cloths) may well have been as much bedclothes as outer wear. Nudity, body painting, and jewelry were the rule, joined somewhat later by garments that covered the genitals (although this does not seem to have been very important to the Ecuadorians) and some other garments, such as tabards, capes, and all-in-one suits that appear to have been more ritual or ceremonial than practical in function. Although one might think that the highlanders wore more clothing, this does not seem to have been the case, despite the fact that they had camelid hair as well as cotton from the Late Formative onward and very likely had some garments, or at least mantles or blankets, of this useful fiber. However, given the rainy conditions of much of the highlands, people might well have gone nude or near nude when working, donning a dry mantle indoors or only wearing a mantle or tabard-like garment when it was sleeting or snowing and being outside the house was essential. Also, in general, the Ecuadorian Andes are much warmer than the corresponding mountainous regions of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, so that wearing no or few garments is quite practicable much of the time. Although we have little way of knowing exactly how depictions of clothing on figurines and modeled or painted vessels parallel everyday dress, the fact that these depictions are consistent through the centuries and also tally with historic descriptions of the sixteenth century suggests that they are not such a bad guide to ancient costume. Thus it would appear that the hegemony of two physically prudish cultures, the Inca and the Spanish, were what led to the adoption of the long dresses and other covering garments that formed the basis of historic and then modern indigenous costume. Evidence for Pre-Inca Textiles
ann pollard rowe
Since Ecuador has regular rainfall, textiles are seldom preserved in archaeological contexts, a stark contrast to the substantial corpus of well-preserved
50 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
textiles that has survived on the desert coast of Peru. Instead, it is necessary to use indirect evidence such as spindle whorls, llama bones, and textile impressions on ceramics, which, combined with the careful analysis of those few fragments preserved by burial adjacent to metal artifacts, enables us to make informative inferences about textile technology in Ecuador, even if we can say little about its artistic quality.15 Earliest Evidence The earliest evidence of possible textile production in Ecuador consists of the identification of cotton seeds in the Valdivia I and II levels of the site of Real Alto in the Chanduy Valley (Damp and Pearsall 1994). These levels are radiocarbon dated to between 3500 and 2300 bc. Wild cotton does occur on the Ecuadorian coast, and it could well have been locally domesticated. The middle Valdivia site of San Pablo, excavated in 1959–1960 by Carlos Zevallos Menéndez and Olaf Holm, provides some additional evidence (Zevallos Menéndez and Holm 1960; Holm 1978, 1980). The finds include perforated clay discs interpreted as spindle whorls (cf. also Lathrap, Collier, and Chandra 1975: nos. 136–139), weights for fishnets, hooks for fishing lines (Zevallos Menéndez and Holm 1960: lám. 25), and shell beads that would presumably have been strung or sewn onto textiles. There was also an impression in clay of a plied yarn assumed to be cotton (Zevallos Menéndez 1971: lám. 5b). This identity is strengthened by the earlier evidence of seeds. Since cotton is stronger when wet, it is useful for fishing. The yarn is spun in the S-direction, and then plied in the opposite or Z-direction. From the Valdivia VI level (ca. 2000 bc) at Real Alto, Jorge Marcos (1973, 1979, 1988) recovered a piece of partially fired clay containing imprints of two different plain-weave textiles. At the same site, Marcos also found perforated potsherd discs, which could have been spindle whorls (1979: 23; 1988: 305). Marcos reports that the unplied yarn in the impressions, which is quite fine, “appears to have been Z-spun” (1979: 23). The spin direction is evidently not visible in the original lump, and was determined by examining the cast under magnification. In the published magnified photographs of the cast, however, the spin direction is unclear, and in the more open weave example, it even appears to me as if it might be S. This uncertainty needs to be considered in comparison with all other evidence, including that from San Pablo cited above, which overwhelmingly supports the predominance of S-spinning in Ecuador. The possible spindle whorls and the fineness of the yarns in the impressions do suggest a fully developed spinning technique. The whorls and the cotton seeds imply that cotton was being spun at Real Alto.
Ecuador before the Incas 51
One of the Real Alto imprints is a balanced open weave with single warp and weft yarns, while the other is a more tightly woven balanced weave with paired warp and weft yarns. The fine spinning and evenness of the interlacing suggests that a true loom-weaving technique was in place by this time, with mechanical devices for raising and lowering alternate warp yarns to make an opening into which the weft can be inserted, although evidence for clothing is scarce. The Real Alto evidence contrasts with the situation on the north coast of Peru, where most of the reported early cotton plain-weave textiles have warp yarns S-spun and 2-plied Z and weft yarns of S-spun pairs.16 These Peruvian textiles may be slightly later than the Real Alto impression, since two gourds with carved designs that may relate to ceramics of the Valdivia III–IV style were found in a Preceramic burial at the Huaca Prieta site in the Chicama Valley.17 The Preceramic complex in Peru is pre-weaving. The textiles from the Huaca Prieta are cotton but are mostly made with weft twining, in which pairs of weft yarn are twisted around each warp yarn in turn, a much more labor-intensive technique than weaving (Bird, Hyslop, and Skinner 1985). From this admittedly slender evidence, it appears that both weaving and ceramics began earlier in Ecuador than in Peru. In the highlands, the cloth in the early (ca. 1300–1200 bc) textile impression recovered at Pirincay in Azuay Province by Karen Bruhns (2003) appears to be finely woven, but the impression is too faint for the spin direction to be evident. In levels dating from about 500 bc to the first centuries ad from the same site, Bruhns (1990) also recovered skeletal remains of llamas, as well as deer or llama bone implements, including needles and pointed tools used to beat down the weft or to select warp yarns for patterning similar to those used today for belt weaving. She also excavated flat disc spindle whorls made from perforated potsherds, mostly from contexts associated with llama bones, suggesting that llama hair was being spun. These finds constitute the earliest evidence for the use of llama hair in Ecuadorian textiles. Llamas were probably domesticated in the southern Peruvian highlands and introduced into Ecuador from the south. In the late 1980s, fine llama hair was still being spun and woven on the páramo near Mount Chimborazo (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 155–158). Coastal Developments Many impressions of textiles on coastal ceramics exist dating from around 1000 bc (Late Formative, i.e., Chorrera) and later. The majority are from mold-made figurines of the Regional Development Period, coinciding with the most extensive depictions of clothing on figurines. The textile impressions
52 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
were created by pressing clay against a cloth during the process of forming the ceramics. Because the textiles were being used for this strictly utilitarian purpose, they are generally plain, but often both the spin and the weave of the fabrics can definitely be determined. Estrada (1957a: figs. 65, 70) illustrates three impressions from Playas and Chanduy on the Guayas coast, for which he gives no dates. According to Karen Stothert (personal communication, 1994), these impressions are probably from large plates that would be terminal Guangala at the earliest, but more likely early Manteño, about ad 1000. Stothert et al. (1991) use a sample of 203 impressions taken from unprovenanced figurines, stylistically belonging to late Chorrera, early Tolita, and the full extent of Jama-Coaque and Bahía, ranging from 1000 bc to ad 500. Stothert and Staples (ms.) discuss fifty sherds excavated from sites along the Tambo River on the Santa Elena Peninsula, including both Guangala (starting at ca. 100 bc) and Libertad (starting at ca. ad 1000) phases. A report on six additional impressions from Esmeraldas, ranging from a Chorrera figurine to an example of the late Atacames style from after ad 1100, is also available (Guinea Bueno 2003). The sample thus covers most of the Ecuadorian coastline. Most of these textiles are plain weave with S-spun yarns, used either singly or paired. Examples with elements used singly in both directions, paired in both directions, and singly in one direction while paired in the other are all common, although the latter is the most common. Actual remains of similar plain-weave cotton fabrics adhering to copper, of the Manteño (Libertad) phase, were excavated by Geoffrey Bushnell (1951: 99) on the Santa Elena Peninsula. Two of the reported Jama-Coaque impressions show twill weave (type unspecified; Stothert et al. 1991: 771–773), and ten of the Santa Elena impressions show gauze weave (with warp crossing and re-crossing), including both Guangala and Libertad examples (Stothert and Staples ms.). These impressions are therefore especially valuable in revealing the range of weaving techniques used on the Ecuadorian coast. In addition, finely made ceramic spindle whorls are abundant both on the coast and in the Guayas Basin, again dating from the late Formative (Chorrera) through to the Spanish conquest (Fig. 1.36).18 The whorls were made especially for this purpose and many have varied geometric and zoomorphic designs incised on them. The size and conformation of the spindle whorls is consistent with spinning techniques for cotton recorded in recent times in Ecuador. Manteño whorls are particularly notable, both for their abundance and their artistic quality. Bone awls and copper and gold needles also occur. A small ceramic figurine from La Tolita, Esmeraldas Province, dating from the Regional Development Period, shows that the spinning technique used at this time was the same as that recorded in the twentieth century for
Ecuador before the Incas 53
1.36 Pre-Hispanic ceramic spindle whorls from the Ecuadorian coast. The Textile
Museum 1965.26.1–2, gift of Everett rassiga, Inc.
spinning cotton on the north coast of Peru and in both coastal and highland Ecuador (Fig. 1.37).19 The spinner is a woman, with clearly modeled breasts. She sits in front of a quadripod, with her left arm extended to draft the fiber. The slot for the spindle in her right hand is horizontal, and the hand is clearly palm up. Holding the spindle in this manner and rotating it by moving the thumb forward past the fingers produces an S-spun yarn. On a bench or rock
54 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
to her right is a spindle with whorl. The fact that her left arm is higher than the right also corresponds to contemporary spinning practice. Quadripods and tripods to support cones or hanks of unspun cotton fiber have also been recorded in the twentieth century on the Ecuadorian coast (Fig. 1.38; see also Barrett 1925: pl. CVIII; Klumpp 1983: 82, foto 4) as well as occasionally in the northern highlands (Meisch, Miller, Rowe 2005: 80, fig. 8). The La Tolita quadripod is missing its unspun cotton, but another small sculpture (without a spinner) does show a bundle probably representing fiber tied to the top where the four legs are joined (Klumpp 1983: foto 5, right). The quadripod with spinner has a shelf attached midway up between the legs. Modern cotton spinners use such a shelf variously for setting the spindle down temporarily or for extra spindles or whorls, for example in Manabí (Klumpp 1983: 82); for extra unspun cotton (Barrett 1925: pl. CVIII); or for a container of powder (chalk, talc, or ashes) into which to dip the fingers to dry them while spinning.20
1.37 La Tolita spinning statuette, ca. 200 BC–AD 400. Museo del Banco Central, Quito, LT 34-112-70. Photograph courtesy of Karen E. Stothert.
Ecuador before the Incas 55
1.38 Spinning cotton in the aboriginal Ecuadorian technique, 1983. Sra. Gavina
Laínez Tomalá (deceased), Muey (José Luis Tamayo), near La Libertad, Santa Elena Peninsula, Guayas Province. Slide by Karen E. Stothert.
It is interesting that modern Santa Elena spinners hold the spindle on the other end but still horizontal, with the hand palm down, in order to rotate it in the opposite direction, to obtain a Z-twist for plying (Stothert 1997: fig. 9). This technique contrasts with that recorded on the north coast of Peru and in much of highland Ecuador in which the spindle is held vertically to produce a Z-twist (Vreeland 1986: fig. 11; Meisch, Miller, Rowe 2005: figs. 3, 5, 11–14, 16–17). Burial at La Compañía The biggest cache of actual textile remains from the coast was found by Betty J. Meggers, Clifford Evans, and Emilio Estrada in a salvage excavation at the Hacienda La Compañía, on the Babahoyo River in the Guayas Basin in Los Ríos Province, of the Late Milagro style (ca. ad 1200–1550).21 The fragments were in a burial urn with many copper objects. Joan Gardner
56 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
1.39 Fragment of cotton cloth in warp-predominant plain weave with paired warp
and silver bangles, three edges, and an overlay of a warp-resist-dyed fragment. Late Milagro style (ca. AD 1200–1550). 50.5 × 46 centimeters (197/8 × 181/8 inches). Fragment 1, burial 1244, site r-B-3, Los ríos Province. Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
did conservation work on the textiles, and the numbers in parentheses are her specimen numbers. The identifiable fibers are all cotton, although some pieces have stripes where yarns have rotted out that might have been camelid hair. Most of the fabrics are woven of S-spun, unplied yarns in shades of tan and brown, but a few have blue stripes in either warp or weft (21, 24, 26). It would be plausible if the blue were indigo, but it has not yet been analyzed. Thicker yarns, used, for example, to finish the ends of the fabrics, are S-spun, Z-plied.
Ecuador before the Incas 57
The finer fabrics are balanced or weft-faced plain weave with the warp and weft yarns used singly. A group of coarser fabrics with silver bangles (Fig. 1.39) are a warp-predominant plain weave with paired warp and single weft yarns, similar to Chimú textiles of the same period on the north coast of Peru (compare A. Rowe 1984: 24). Since these fragments are the remains of high-status grave goods and not potters’ utility cloths, many have some type of decoration. Included are balanced plain-weave plaids, similar plaids with embroidered decoration, plain weave with bound warp-resist (ikat) patterning, plain weave with supplementary-warp patterned stripes, and plain weave with supplementaryweft patterning. One group with supplementary-weft patterning has a weft-faced plain-weave ground (Fig. 1.40). They can be identified as weftfaced because one example (21) has a warp edge finish and some of the supplementary-weft yarns are discontinuous.22 The other supplementary-weft patterned fragments are coarser and have a balanced ground weave in white with continuous brown supplementary-weft yarns (Fig. 1.41). The patterns are primarily geometric—for example, warp-wise or diagonal bands with frets— but there are also some bird motifs (see Fig. 1.40).
1.40 Fragment of cotton cloth in weft-faced plain weave with weft stripes and
supplementary-weft patterning. The straight vertical lines in the photograph are mounting stitches. Late Milagro style (ca. AD 1200–1550). 20 × 40 centimeters (77/8 × 153/4 inches). Fragment 20, burial 1244, site r-B-3, Los ríos Province. Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
58 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
1.41 Fragment of cotton cloth in plain weave with brown supplementary-weft
patterning. Late Milagro style (ca. AD 1200–1550). 29.5 × 22.5 centimeters (115/8 × 87/8 inches), warp shown horizontally. Fragment 43, burial 1244, site r-B-3, Los ríos Province. Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
The presence of warp-resist (Fig. 1.42 and see Fig. 1.39) and supplementarywarp patterning (Fig. 1.43) is of special interest in view of the importance of these techniques in Ecuador today. The bound warp-resist fragments use a brown dye, however, rather than the indigo used in modern fabrics, and the fabrics have a lower thread count and more open weave as well. Also, the supplementary-warp patterning is on a balanced plain-weave ground, versus the warp-predominant ground of modern belts, and both supplementarywarp and weft yarns are used paired and are inserted after each ground warp or weft, whereas modern belts use yarns singly and have the supplementarywarp yarns after every second ground warp. Therefore, no relationship between these pre-Hispanic and the modern examples can be posited. As important as the patterning techniques and designs on these textiles are the fabric edges, since these provide a clue to the loom type. Only four fragments have complete loom widths, which are 22.5 centimeters (see Fig. 1.41), 27 and 29 centimeters (15, with warp-resist patterning), and 46 centimeters (see Fig. 1.39). The side selvedges are plain, but the warp ends are finished in an interesting way. Nine of the fabrics with end finishes have groups of four
1.42 Fragment of cotton cloth in plain weave with bound-warp-resist patterning
and a cut end finish. Late Milagro style (ca. AD 1200–1550). 23 × 26 centimeters (9 × 101/4 inches). Fragment 14, burial 1244, site r-B-3, Los ríos Province. Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. 1.43 Fragment of cotton cloth in plain weave with supplementary-warp patterning along the side edge and a cut end finish. Late Milagro style (ca. AD 1200–1550). 10.5 × 10 centimeters (41/4 × 4 inches). Fragment 9, burial 1244, site r-B-3, Los ríos Province. Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
60 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
to eight warp yarns tied together with a heavier final weft yarn and the ends cut, leaving a short fringe (see Figs. 1.39, 1.42, 1.43). This type of end finish suggests that the loom might well have been the same as that recorded on the coast of Ecuador in the 1970s for weaving double bags (Klumpp 1983; Hagino and Stothert 1984), as well as by the Chachis (formerly called Cayapa; Barrett 1925: 259–274) and Tsáchila (Calazacón and Orazona 1982: photo after p. 330).23 These looms are vertical, and the warp is wound in a continuous circle, which must be cut in order to form a flat rectangle (Fig. 1.44). Two of the fragments with metal bangles (2 and 6A) have a fabric with a heading-cord end selvedge similar to, though more substantial than, those found on Peruvian fabrics. The first three weft passes next to the end have thick weft yarns, and above this is an area with paired weft yarns. Since another similar fragment has the fringed end described above (see Fig. 1.39), Gardner suggests that the heading cord appeared on one end of the fabric and the cut fringe on the other. No complete loom lengths were found, however. Nevertheless, the appearance of even a single heading-cord selvedge im1.44 Vertical loom with circular warp in coastal Ecuador, 1983. Sra. Gavina Laínez Tomalá (deceased), Muey (José Luis Tamayo), near La Libertad, Santa Elena Peninsula, Guayas Province. Slide by Karen E. Stothert.
Ecuador before the Incas 61
1.45 Backstrap loom with circular dovetailed warp characteristic of highland
Ecuador. Segundo Mena, Pualó, Cotopaxi Province, 1988. Slide by William H. Holmes, EW 88-10-30.
plies a different kind of warping method than that previously noted. In fact, hammocks, a wider textile product than the double bags, have recently been recorded as warped with a different method in Manabí. The hammock warp is also circular, but the warp yarns turn back alternately around a dovetail stick or cord (Klumpp and Waddington ms.), as is usual throughout highland Ecuador in modern times (Fig. 1.45). When the dovetail cord is withdrawn after weaving, a rectangle with warp loop ends results. Although the coastal hammocks do not have end selvedges, this warping method does allow that potential, and indeed it is easier to weave a selvedge at the starting end than it is at the finishing end. It is therefore possible that both warping methods were practiced on the coast in pre-Hispanic times, or, alternatively, that the pieces with end selvedges were imports. Developments in the Northern Highlands Another group of less well-preserved textiles, dating to approximately ad 500, are from the highlands, from the site of La Florida, in Pichincha Province
62 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
near Quito (Doyon 1988; Doyon-Bernard 1994). They were excavated from four deep shaft tombs by Leon and Megan Doyon and also were preserved by contact with copper and shell artifacts. According to Doyon-Bernard, the La Florida textiles are woven with S-spun cotton yarns, except for one 2/2 (over two, under two) twill-weave fabric of S-spun, Z-plied camelid-hair yarns. Most of the cotton fabrics are plain weave, but three are gauze weave and one is plain weave with an area of discontinuous paired weft yarns contrasting with an area of single warp and weft yarns. The twill-weave fabric has gilded copper plates sewn to it. One fragment has an edge in which the first two yarns are heavier than the rest and are paired, which may be an end selvedge, as Doyon-Bernard suggests (1994: 90). If so, this fragment offers important evidence that the loom style might have been the one characteristic of the Ecuadorian highlands in recent times, with circular warp and dovetailed ends as described above. A better-preserved fragment, though alas of unspecified fiber, found in Pichincha Province is from the site of Jardín del Este, east of Quito, in a collection of Integration Period material.24 It has a checkerboard design in white and tan that appears to have been made with discontinuous warp yarns. Joins in the other direction are apparently sewn. There are lighter stripes within the darker squares. The predominance of cotton in highland textiles at this time is significant. It is clear that the trade with lowland areas was so well established that the availability of camelid hair had not seriously altered either the lowland trade or the local textile tradition. Other textile finds have been reported in Imbabura Province, but the published descriptions are sketchy ( Jijón y Caamaño 1920: 185). Some textiles found in the shaft tombs of Urcuquí are described only as de hilos gruesos (of thick yarns). A diagram is provided of a looped textile from a tomb de la segunda época (“of the second period”; ibid.: fig. 40). The diagram shows a combination of simple looping and the addition of a twist in each loop (loop and twist). The material of which it was made is not identified, though frequently looping is done with long leaf fibers so that the yarn can be formed by rolling it between the hands as the work progresses (cf. Miller et al. 2005). In modern times, the fiber of Furcraea andina, called chawar, has been used in this way, and this seems a likely possibility for this fragment. Jijón y Caamaño (1920: 184) notes that at Urcuquí, no spindle whorls were found in the shaft tombs, but in tombs in the tolas, spindle whorls made of potsherds were common. At Rumicucho, a hill fort near Quito with preInca and Inca occupation, there were bone and ceramic spindle whorls; bone needles; bone weaving picks; two combs of the type depicted by Guaman
Ecuador before the Incas 63
Poma for Inca tapestry weaving, also of bone; and a small bone weaving sword (Almeida Reyes 1984: 50, 79–83, 88–89).25 The great majority of the spindle whorls were made of potsherds (ibid.: 72). Actual textile remains have also been recovered in Carchi Province, as well as some in Nariño in southern Colombia that are likely to be from the same cultural tradition as those from Carchi. Unfortunately, the published descriptions of the Carchi fragments again leave something to be desired. Francisco (1969: 28) only mentions Capulí 1–2 “wool” textiles in passing. Grijalva (1937: 226–227) mentions a “manto” from a tomb at El Angel in Carchi Province that was ornamented with small trapezoidal gold plaques. The textile is described only as a modo de gasa, which probably means only that it was a relatively open weave. González Suárez (1908, I:139–140; 1910, II: pl. 39) includes a watercolor of a woven cloth that appears to be twill weave of a dark color. The piece is from a grave in the parish of La Paz or Pialalquer but is undated. He identifies it as “cabuya” fiber (by which he probably means chawar), but it seems possible that he might have been mistaken, since twill-woven textiles of camelid hair are common among the Nariño finds, and archaeological camelid hair can be stiff and brittle. The textiles from Nariño have been well described by Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff (1979, 2007), and the dyes analyzed by Beatriz Devia Castillo (2007). All were found in deep tombs associated with metal artifacts. The earliest (which Cardale de Schrimpff lists as “style I”; 2007: 26, 39–43) are fragments of narrow cotton headbands from a tomb at Yacuanquer, with two radiocarbon dates whose calibrated range runs from ad 435 to ad 797. They are warp-predominant and decorated only with warp stripes, but the yarns do include some blue ones dyed with indigo, the earliest recorded use of indigo in the area under consideration, and reddish brown from Relbunium sp., a red root related to madder. At the site of San Isidro in the municipality of Guaitarilla, a deep tomb was found with preserved implements of chonta wood, yielding a radiocarbon date of ad 410–ad 675 (Cardale de Schrimpff 2007: 13). This date is earlier than would normally be expected from the style of the carving (identified as Piartal), so it is possible that old wood was used. The tools include spindles with whorls having incised geometric designs, weaving swords with carved decoration, and other wooden sticks that could also have been used for weaving (Cardale de Schrimpff and Falchetti de Sáenz 1980). The weaving swords are 43 and 57.3 centimeters (17 and 225/8 inches) long, which is less than the width possible on a vertical loom, but narrower textiles could certainly also have been made. The cultural associations of the remaining finds are Piartal (usually called
64 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
1.46 Drawing of a textile in twill weave of camelid hair with a central dovetailed join and tapestry-woven border, “style II,” from El Cultun, Corregimiento of La Victoria, municipio of Ipiales, dept. of Nariño, Colombia, now in the Museo de Oro, Bogotá, MO T.N. 2. Calibrated radiocarbon date of AD 880–1020. Drawing by Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff from Cardale de Schrimpff 1979: fig. 11. (See also Cardale de Schrimpff 2007: figs. 15, 17.)
Tuncahuan in Ecuador) or Tuza, with radiocarbon dates between the tenth and fourteenth centuries ad. By this time camelid bones are common in the area and the textiles are predominantly camelid hair. Three different styles can be discerned. One group (“style II”; Cardale de Schrimpff 1979: 247–259, 270–281; 2007: 43–47, 55–61), from the cemeteries of El Cultun and Miraflores, has S-spun and Z-plied yarns, mostly in 2/2 twill weave, but some pieces have slit tapestry-weave borders with fancy geometric designs (Fig. 1.46). One of the twill textiles has discontinuous warp yarns double interlocked in addition to a tapestry design. Double interlocking, in which the yarns of each color turn around two successive turns of the adjacent color at the edges of design areas, forms a more secure join in twill weave than single interlocking, in which the discontinuous yarns link with only one turn of the adjacent color. Several of the textiles have clear end selvedges, with a single row of weft twining at the
Ecuador before the Incas 65
edge of the woven area, followed by a fringe of warp loops. The presence of loops is important, since it necessitates a dovetailed warping system as used in the same area today (Cortés Moreno n.d.: 20, 22). Reds and yellows are found in the tapestry borders, with Relbunium the main identifiable component dye, and three unknown dyes. One example has a red dyed with Galium sp., a related root dye. The twill-weave fragment reported by González Suárez (1908) in Carchi could originally have been similar to these pieces. The same rich Miraflores tomb also yielded three fragments of white cloth, possibly cotton, one in 2/2 twill, but the others were too deteriorated to identify the structure (Cardale de Schrimpff 1979: 252; 2007: 34). Some five warp-faced plain-weave camelid-hair textiles with warp stripes and four selvedges have also been found (“style IV”; Cardale de Schrimpff 2007: 75–77), although only one has provenience information and that is from Guachucal. The yarns are S-spun singles, used singly in both directions. These fabrics are woven all the way to the edge, as is common in many modern highland Ecuadorian and Colombian examples. Fringed ends are, however, more common in modern Ecuador than in Peru. A third group of the same period (“style III”; Cardale de Schrimpff 2007: 62–75) has designs in rectangular checks woven in warp-predominant plain weave with discontinuous single interlocked warp yarns (and one dovetailed warp join in the center). The yarns are S-spun singles, with paired warp and single weft except at the ends, adjoining the warp loop fringe. These textiles are in two sizes, 182 × 68 and 216 × 178.5 centimeters (711/2 × 263/4 and 85 × 661/4 inches). In most pieces, the weft yarns are continuous, but in one they are discontinuous, mostly double interlocked but sometimes single. The colors are black, dark brown, reddish brown, cream, and yellowish cream, and are the natural colors of the fiber plus Relbunium and Galium. The documentation is scanty; out of eight fragments, one was found in a tomb in Jongovito, inside a jar, and two were supposedly found in El Tambillo with Piartal ceramics. These sites are slightly farther north than those associated with the preceding group (Cardale de Schrimpff 2007: 7). However, a similar fragment, some 50 × 30 centimeters (193/4 × 12 inches) in size, exists in the Museo del Banco Central in Quito (Cardale de Schrimpff 2007: 24), presumably found in Ecuador, although no specific provenience information is available. Another group of fragments was found in a cemetery in the municipality of El Tambo, some 30 kilometers north of Pasto, slightly farther north than the preceding group. They are from at least two plain-weave cotton fabrics, of S-spun singles, which appeared to have circular and star-shaped metal plaques sewn on (Cardale de Schrimpff 1979: 261–263; Plazas de Nieto 1979: figs. 5–17, 6–3). In the same tomb was a band of 2/2 tubular interlacing, pos-
66 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
sibly of palm fiber (Cardale de Schrimpff 1979: 263, 280, pl. XI). Noteworthy unassociated objects from Nariño include the remains of a square basket made of strips of gilded tumbaga interlaced in 2/2 twill (Plazas de Nieto 1979: lám. 2; Cortés Moreno n.d.: 13; Cardale de Schrimpff 2007: 80, fig. 42) and a donut-shaped object made of what appears to be strips of Carludovica palmata leaf buds (the same material as used for Panama hats) or some type of palm leaf, with an interlaced geometric design of square meshes contrasted with solid areas (Cardale de Schrimpff 2007: 79, fig. 41). Although this sample suggests a fragmentation of different regional textile styles in Nariño, the similarity to textiles found in Ecuador means that we do not yet have enough evidence to explain the variation, which could be due to time or status differences, trading patterns, or some other factor. Developments in the Southern Highlands From the central highlands of Ecuador, a fragment of cotton cloth, woven of S-spun yarns in plain weave with paired elements in one direction and single elements in the other, was found adhering to a copper pin in the Riobamba area (Estrada 1957b: 79–80, fig. 66). Its cultural affiliation is not completely certain, but it seems to be late pre-Hispanic, though not Inca.26 It has a single selvedge edge parallel to the direction with the single elements, and adjacent to this edge the first twenty-four elements are paired instead of single. Estrada interprets this edge as an end selvedge, but without any other edges on the textile and in the absence of other more complete pieces with similar edges, this interpretation cannot be considered conclusive. Some textile remains have also been found in Azuay Province, but unfortunately they have not been published in any detail. One is simply described as having plates of gold and silver and a fringe of small tubes of gold (Saville 1924). Some small fragments also exist in the Ingapirca Museum in Cañar Province, from a looted tomb of unknown provenience, including examples of warp resist and embroidery, as well as a piece that appears to have had feathers on it (Holm 1980: 311 and personal communication, 1993). There is also a mummy, in an extended position, fully dressed, in the Museo del Banco Central in Quito. It was part of a purchased collection, so no information on its provenience is available, but the most likely possibility is the area of Paltacaló overlooking the Jubones River near Yúluc and Manú in the northwest corner of Loja Province and Chilla in the adjacent part of El Oro on the western slopes. This area is hot and dry, and has rock shelters where naturally desiccated bodies with fabrics have been reported (Verneau
Ecuador before the Incas 67
1.47 Textiles probably from the area of Paltacaló overlooking the Jubones river in the northwest corner of Loja Province, from the late pre-Hispanic period. Museo del Banco Central, Quito. Slide by Ann Pollard rowe.
and Rivet 1912: 128–130). The mummy is assumed to date to late in the preHispanic period. The chest has a hole that might have been caused by a spear. The skull does not belong with the rest of the body, and the clothes also appear to have been mixed up, since there is a tunic, which is probably a man’s garment, and a skirt, which is likely a female garment (Fig. 1.47).27 The vendor presumably assembled better-preserved items from several bodies. The following description is based on my 1988 observations through the glass exhibit case, so some details could not be recorded. The tunic, of red camelid-hair yarns, shown somewhat rumpled, appeared to be more or less square or slightly longer than wide, below waist length. It is warp-faced plain weave, of two panels, with seams up the sides and front. The neck opening is long, so partially unsewn. The cotton skirt emerges from
68 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
below the tunic and covers the mummy to about knee level, but would be longer if not rumpled up. Two panels, sewn together along the side selvedges, are apparent, worn with the warp horizontal. One is visible at full width, about 45 centimeters (18 inches) wide, and part of another extends under the tunic. The cotton fabric is undyed, a light tan color, of warp-predominant plain weave with paired warp and single weft yarns, and with patterning in camelid-hair supplementary weft in simple zigzag and diamond motifs. The brownish red and purple supplementary-weft yarns float over the pattern areas and are inserted parallel to the plain-weave weft between pattern elements. There is a wide border of patterning along the lower edge of the garment, a narrower row of diamonds at some distance above the edge, and a further zigzag line at a distance above that. On one side there is also a heavier camelid-hair weft put through all the way across, forming a vertical dotted line. The patterning on the partially visible panel at its lower edge is similar to that on the lower panel. All the camelid-hair yarns are Z-plied, thus presumably S-spun. The cotton yarns are unplied, and although the yarns are too fine for direction of spin to be clearly visible through the case, the sewing thread on the skirt is Z-plied. The spinning of the yarns is thus local, and not Inca. The end selvedges of the tunic are visible and are the kind found on Peruvian textiles. That is, the cloth is woven down to the ends of the warp loops, and the first two weft yarns are thicker than the others. This feature suggests a weaving tradition different from that of Nariño. The ends of the skirt fabric are not visible as exhibited. Lying once over the tunic and once over the skirt is a belt woven of camelid-hair yarns. It is warp-faced, red with three stripes of six alternating black and white warp yarns with occasional three-span warp floats aligned in alternate pairs in simple block and diamond designs. The lower end of the belt is stitched to a folded band made of fabric like the skirt, torn where it attaches to the rest of the belt, so possibly the stitching is spurious. The mummy also has a looped bag, probably of chawar, with an openwork pattern of loop and twist. These yarns also appear to be Z-plied. While the ground weave of the cotton fabric is congruent with Chimú textiles and with the coastal textile in Figure 1.38, the supplementary-weft technique is distinct both from that found in the La Compañía textiles and from Chimú examples. The tunic and belt show a greater similarity to the highland Peruvian textile tradition than to that found in more northern parts of Ecuador. In Loja Province, sherds of ceramic bowls with textile impressions are common, all with plain-weave interlacing, dating to late in the period be-
Ecuador before the Incas 69
fore the Inca conquest (Belote and Belote 2000b). Over 90 percent of these employ warp and weft yarns used individually, rather than paired in one direction, as is usual in modern Saraguro weaving. Several of the illustrated impressions have a higher count of elements in one direction than the other (perhaps warp-faced). Where visible (not often), the spin direction is S. Conclusions It appears that cotton was the most important textile fiber both on the coast and in the highlands, with camelid hair as a supplement. There is an overwhelming predominance of S-spinning, with cotton weaving yarns unplied and camelid-hair yarns plied. It seems likely that the cotton spinning technique recorded ethnographically is of great antiquity. Evidence for loom styles is still scarce, but the cut ends in the majority of the La Compañía textiles do suggest the vertical loom style with ring warp that has been recorded ethnographically on the coast. Although more evidence of end selvedges on highland textiles would be welcome, those available have end loops, congruent with the modern highland loom style, which may also be of some antiquity, especially since the characteristic dovetailed warp join is not Inca (see Chapter 2). It is interesting that the spinning technology seems to have been similar throughout Ecuador (extending to the northern Peruvian coast), whereas the loom styles exhibit contrasts, both between the coast and the highlands and between Ecuador and Peru. The mechanism and timing of their distribution must have been different. The spinning technology is more portable than weaving, and may have been imported to the highlands along with the cotton fiber. The similarity of spinning technology on the Peruvian north coast may date from contacts in the Formative Period, also suggested by the carved gourds at Huaca Prieta. The highland loom seems to relate to the south (backstrap tension) and the north (dovetailed ends) more than to the coast, but the coastal evidence is meager. It may be a later development, but there is not yet enough evidence to trace it. In terms of decorative techniques, however, there seems to be little continuity between the pre-Hispanic period and recent history, parallel to the evidence for costume.
CHAPTEr 2
Ecuador under the Inca Empire
The Incas in Quito
john howland rowe The Incas conquered the highland part of what is now Ecuador and incorporated it into their empire. We are not informed in detail by our Spanish sources about the political organization of the peoples the Incas conquered in this area. Elsewhere, Spanish officials who asked the local people what things were like before the Incas came got detailed answers as late as 1586, but in what is now Ecuador, the questions were asked of other Spanish residents rather than native informants. The Incas, however, did preserve some information on this matter in their historical traditions.1 They were ruled by monarchs and naturally considered monarchy to be a superior form of government, so they were especially concerned to keep a record of the native kings they conquered. Kings are identified by the Inca word qhapaq, “king,” written as capac in Spanish texts. According to Inca traditions, the Cañares, in what is now Azuay and Cañar, had three kings, Pisar Capac, Cañar Capac, and Chica Capac (Sarmiento de Gamboa, cap. 44; 1906: 87; Cabello Balboa, 3a pte., cap. 16; 1951: 320; Murúa, lib. 1, cap. 21; 1962–1964, I:52; J. Rowe 1986: 89). Pisar Capac was king of Tumi Pampa (Sarmiento de Gamboa, cap. 46; 1906: 89); perhaps Cañar Capac was king of Hatun Cañar and Chica Capac was king of Cañari Pampa. The kings of the Cañares are the only kings the Inca traditions recorded in what is now Ecuador. The chief or war leader of Quito was named Pillahuaso; he is not called capac in the Inca records (Sarmiento de Gamboa, cap. 46; 1906: 89; Cabello Balboa, 3a pte., cap. 17; 1951: 321; Murúa, lib. 1, cap. 21; 1962–1964, I:52).2 Two chiefs (caciques) or war leaders of the Cayambis were
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 71
2.1 Inca ruins in Tumi Pampa. Photograph by Lynn A. Meisch, 1978, 78-50-14A.
remembered by the Incas, Canto and Pinto (Sarmiento de Gamboa, cap. 60; 1906: 109; Cabello Balboa, 3a pte., cap. 23; 1951: 382; Murúa, lib. 1, caps. 35–36; 1962–1964, I:97–98). They are not called capac either. The Inca Conquest The first campaigns of the Inca conquest took place between about 1463 and 1471, according to Cabello Balboa’s chronology. These campaigns took place in the reign of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, the real founder of the Inca Empire. The military commander was Pachacuti’s son, Tupa Inca, then a young man learning how to command. Tupa Inca’s first campaign started in what is now Peru and ended with the conquest of the Paltas, in Loja, and the Cañares. Tupa Inca built a fortress at Quinchicaxa to hold the Cañar country, and he founded the Inca town of Tumi Pampa (at what is now Cuenca; Fig. 2.1). The Spanish residents of Cuenca who wrote the reply to a royal inquiry about local history in 1582, Antonio Bello Gayoso and Hernando Pablos, explained that the area had been conquered by the Incas in the reign of Inca Yupanqui (Pachacuti); they summarized subsequent Inca history in full agreement with the Inca traditions recorded in Cuzco, the Inca capital (Bello Gayoso 1965: 267). They said that the Cañares fought with one another be-
72 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
fore the Inca conquest, in spite of speaking the same language. The priest who answered the inquiry for Azogues also said that the area was conquered under Inca Yupanqui (Gallegos [1897] 1965: 275). Subsequently, the Cañares revolted and made an alliance with Pillaguaso, the chief of Quito. Tupa Inca undertook a second campaign in which he defeated the allies, reduced the Cañares to obedience, and conquered Latacunga and Quito. He had left his wife, Mama Ocllo, at Tumi Pampa, and she bore him a son there; the son was named Titu Cusi Huallpa. Next, Tupa Inca marched to the coast and campaigned in Guayas and Manabí. The Incas had a tradition that he assembled a fleet of sailing balsas at Manta and made a maritime expedition in the Pacific to two islands called Nina Chumpi and Hahua Chumpi. According to the tradition, Tupa Inca brought back from these islands some people and some objects that were preserved in the fortress of Cuzco until the Spanish came. The problem with this story is the people. The only Pacific islands off the coast of Ecuador are the Galápagos Islands, which are indeed west of Manta. The Galápagos Islands are supposed to have been uninhabited when they were discovered by the Spanish. When Tupa Inca returned to Cuzco from his second campaign in the north, with his wife and infant son, Pachacuti was delighted with his grandchild, born in the field of war. He renamed the boy Huayna Capac, “young king,” a name that stayed with the lad all his life (Betanzos, Ia pte., cap. XXVII; 1987: 132). Pachacuti wanted to retire, so he had Tupa Inca crowned in his place, thus ensuring an orderly succession. Pachacuti died some two years later. Tupa Inca was a great conqueror who did much more campaigning as emperor. He never returned to Tumi Pampa and Quito, however. He died about 1493, and Huayna Capac succeeded him. Huayna Capac was devoted to his mother, and to please her, he did not go either to Quito or to Chile as long as she lived; she died about 1500. After that, Huayna Capac campaigned in Chachapoyas, and then, from about 1505 to about 1509, he was engaged in an extended visitation of Colla Suyu. He finally went back to his birthplace, Tumi Pampa, about 1517. Huayna Capac built some sumptuous buildings at Tumi Pampa. He had a gold statue of his mother made, and in the belly of the statue he deposited the placenta in which he had been carried in his mother’s womb, along with much gold and silver. The statue was named Tumi Pampa Pacha Mama, “Tumi Pampa, Earth Mother.” To house this statue and a statue of the Sun and other divine images, Huayna Capac built a magnificent structure named Mullu Cancha. The name suggests a comparison with Cori Cancha, the temple of the Inca state religion in Cuzco. Qori cancha means “gold enclosure,” while
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 73
mullu kancha means “Spondylus shell enclosure.” The handsome red and white Spondylus shells were in great demand among the Incas, who considered them at least as valuable as gold. Cori Cancha was a set of one-room rectangular buildings arranged around a courtyard and surrounded by an enclosure wall; Mullu Cancha probably had a similar plan. The walls of Mullu Cancha were inlaid on the inside with Spondylus shell and strips of gold and silver. The floor of the building was paved in the “golden roots” pattern; this term is not explained in our sources. The walls of the courtyard were lined on the outside with cut crystal, brought from the province of Huancavillca (Guayas). The Cañares served this temple; they said it was only proper for them to do so, because Mama Ocllo was their mother and aunt. In addition to Mullu Cancha, Huayna Capac built separate temples at Tumi Pampa for the Creator and the Thunder, after the pattern of Cuzco. He built an usnu structure, called Choque Pillaca, in the plaza. The usnu was a conoidal stone that was a symbol of the Sun; it stood on a raised platform. The stone was the focus of public ceremonies, and offerings of chicha (maize beer) were poured over it. Huayna Capac also reproduced all the huacas (shrines and holy objects) of Cuzco in and around Tumi Pampa. He brought in people from Cuzco and many other places in the empire and settled them in his new town. The information on Huayna Capac’s activities at Tumi Pampa comes from Cabello Balboa (3a pte., cap. 21; 1951: 364–365) and Murúa (lib. 1, cap. 31; 1962–1964, I:81). The accounts of these two writers are clearly based on a common source, the information for which was collected in Cuzco, very likely from informants who had themselves seen the splendors of Tumi Pampa. No other Inca buildings anywhere are described in such detail in the historical narratives that have come down to us. Huayna Capac also did some building in Quito, but we have no details. At Añaquito, he made a lake as a preserve for hunting water birds (Rodríguez de Aguayo 1965: 201). His residence in the north was at Tumi Pampa, but Quito was developed as the capital of another Inca governorship. No source tells us where the northern limit of Tupa Inca’s conquests was, but it was probably not far north of the city of Quito. The northern part of Pichincha and highland Imbabura and Carchi were conquered by Huayna Capac, apparently in three campaigns. The inhabitants of northern Pichincha and highland Imbabura were the Cayambis, while the people of Carchi were Pastos. Neither of these peoples had a central government in peacetime, but both managed to combine to fight the Incas. There were many hill forts with concentric fortification walls in the Ca-
74 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
yambi country, and two of them were stoutly held against the Incas, one at Cochasquí and one near Carangui; both were ultimately taken. The first Inca assault at Carangui was beaten off, and in the Inca withdrawal, Huayna Capac fell to the ground and was in danger of being killed or captured. Inca rulers rode in litters; in battle, they were supposed to be protected by a royal guard of elite Inca warriors. Huayna Capac was rescued by some of his own people on this occasion and returned to Tumi Pampa, but he blamed his guard for deserting him. To show his displeasure with the guard, he put it on short rations, while rewarding other troops. The guard mutinied and started to go back to Cuzco. There was a Cañar priestess in Mullu Cancha who ministered to the statue of Mama Ocllo and spoke for her. Huayna Capac asked her to beg the mutineers in his mother’s name at least to put off their departure. They did so, and Huayna Capac gave them rich presents of food and clothing, assuring them of his favor. The mutiny was over. Huayna Capac then sent his brother, Auqui Tuma, with a large force to attack the fort by Carangui again. Auqui Tuma managed to take four of the five concentric defense walls of the fort but was killed in the attack on the last one. His death demoralized the Inca army, which retreated. The Cayambis attacked it, turning the retreat into a rout in which many were killed. Huayna Capac thereupon took command personally. He sent a detachment of men around the right side of the fort and another around the left, with orders for both to halt beyond the fort and attack it from the rear in five days. Meanwhile, the Inca ruler attacked the fort from the front. On the fifth day he had his men retreat, feigning defeat to draw the defenders out of their stronghold. The scheme worked; the Cayambi warriors pursued the retreating Incas, and the two Inca detachments walked into the now undefended fort from the other side. The Cayambis, caught in the open between two Inca armies, were completely routed. The survivors took refuge among the rushes surrounding a nearby lake. Huayna Capac was angry about the losses the Incas had suffered, and he ordered a massacre of the fugitives. The lake, which is just outside Ibarra, is still called Yaguar Cocha, “blood lake.” The Pastos in Carchi were conquered in another campaign, but not without difficulty. Atau Huallpa, one of Huayna Capac’s sons, was with the Inca assault force; this force was routed in battle with the Pastos, and Atau Huallpa fled with the rest. Huayna Capac was so angry that he accused his son of cowardice. On this occasion he again took personal command and finished the war, halting at Rumi Chaca, “stone bridge,” the natural bridge over the Carchi River that marks the northern boundary of present-day Ecuador, on the road between Tulcán and Ipiales. From Rumi Chaca, Huayna Capac sent an Inca force north into what is
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 75
now southern Colombia, where more of the Pastos lived. This force marched as far as the valley of Atres, where the Spanish built the city of Pasto. The valley of Atres was in the territory of the Quillacingas (Inca killa senqa, “moon nose,” from the nose ornaments they wore). The Quillacingas were cannibals, and the Incas did not approve of cannibalism. The Inca commander set up boundary markers in Atres and returned to report that the Pastos were very poor and the Quillacingas had reprehensible customs. Huayna Capac decided to leave the Quillacingas alone. Instead of visiting them, he set out to follow the Carchi River, which flows east at Rumi Chaca. The river then bends north, where it is called the Huaitara, and then west, becoming the Patía; it flows into the Pacific north of Tumaco. At some point short of the coast, Huayna Capac turned south, back into what is now Ecuador, and followed the coast to the Gulf of Guayaquil. Near Manta he fought a battle with the Paches, who inhabited that area; after he won the battle, the Paches showed him presents, including fine garments, given them by his father when he campaigned there. He received an invitation to visit the Island of La Puná and did so, leaving most of his army on the mainland in Huancavillca. When Huayna Capac returned to the mainland, he received word that a severe epidemic had struck Cuzco, killing the governors he had left in charge there and many other important people. It was obvious that he needed to take prompt action to restore his government, and he set out for Quito. There he, too, succumbed to the epidemic, dying in 1528, the year the Spanish first visited the Inca Empire. On his deathbed, Huayna Capac named his son Huascar as his successor. Huascar was his son by a wife who was also his sister; in naming him heir, Huayna Capac was following a rule laid down by Pachacuti. Huascar was only about nineteen when Huayna Capac died; he had remained in Cuzco when his father went to Tumi Pampa, so his father had not seen him since he was about eight. Huascar had no military experience and no administrative experience. When he heard that he was the heir to the throne, he had himself crowned at once and took as his advisers other young relatives and friends with no more experience of government than he had. There was thus no continuity between Huayna Capac’s regime and Huascar’s. Atau Huallpa, the son of Huayna Capac who had been accused of cowardice by his father, remained in Quito after his father died instead of returning to Cuzco. He assumed the governorship of Quito, acting as Huascar’s representative. He was about five years older than Huascar. His mother was a descendant of Pachacuti, which made him a possible successor if anything happened to his brother.3
76 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Inca Administration The territory Atau Huallpa governed extended from Mocha to Rumi Chaca, thus including what is now Tungurahua, Cotopaxi, Pichincha, Imbabura, and Carchi. The rest of what is now highland Ecuador, south of Mocha, was governed from Tumi Pampa by another Inca governor (Bello Gayoso 1965: 267). The governorship of Quito was divided into two saya, or parts, by a line running through the town of Quito; Hanan Saya, “upper part,” lay to the south of the line, and Hurin Saya, “lower part,” lay to the north of it (Salomon 1986: 174–176). Cieza de León described Latacunga in Hanan Saya as an Inca town in the same class as Quito and Tumi Pampa (1a pte., caps. XLI and XLII; 1984: 134–137). Carangui was the only Inca town in Hurin Saya where Cieza de León reported both a royal palace and a Temple of the Sun (1a pte., cap. XXXVII; 1984: 122). There was a similar division in the governorship of Tumi Pampa, and again Hanan Saya lay to the south and Hurin Saya to the north (Caillavet 1987: 300–301). In Hanan Saya of this governorship, Cieza de León mentions only Cañaribamba as a place with important Inca buildings; in Hurin Saya, he mentions Riobamba, Tiquizambi, and Hatun Cañar (1a pte., cap. XLII; 1984: 138; cap. XLIII; 1984: 142). The Incas constructed a magnificent system of roads to provide communication in their empire. There were no wheeled vehicles in the Americas, so Inca roads were designed and built for people on foot and pack animals (llamas). On steep slopes, stone steps were constructed; causeways were built across marshy areas, and bridges were provided at river crossings. In places where a modern highway connects the same points that an Inca road did, the Inca road is usually straighter, covering the distance with less length of road. The main Inca roads, called qhapaq ñan, “royal road,” were from 2 to 8 meters wide, wider where ground was more even and narrower on steeper slopes where the roadway had to be supported by a terrace wall. In the mountains, much of the roadway was paved with stones. Roads of secondary importance were generally narrower than main roads. Rest houses (tampu) were constructed at intervals along Inca roads. People living in the area provided service for official travelers. There were stone markers at intervals of an Inca league (tupu), about 71/4 kilometers. The Incas maintained a post service of runners along the main roads to relay messages to and from Cuzco, enabling the emperor to receive prompt information from the provinces and send the necessary orders. Presumably, the message center was Tumi Pampa when Huayna Capac resided there.
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Cieza de León, who traveled the main Inca road north to south in what is now Ecuador in 1547, picked up the north end of the road just before reaching Rumi Chaca. He followed it to Carangui, Otavalo, Cochasquí, Quito, Panzaleo, Mulahaló, Latacunga, Muliambato, and Mocha in the governorship of Quito. In the governorship of Tumi Pampa, the road went by Riobamba, Teocajas, and Tiquizambi (Cieza de León, 1a pte., caps. XXXVII–XLIII; 1984: 121–142). The course of the main Inca road from Tiquizambi to the southern border of Ecuador has been traced on the ground by Antonio Fresco (1983), and a central section of it is described in detail by John Hyslop (1984: 19–36). The description of this section of the road in Cieza de León’s work is less clear and detailed than that of the road farther north. Both Fresco and Hyslop discuss a lateral road that ran from Tumi Pampa to Molleturo, providing access to the coast. Frank Salomon (1986: 151–159) describes a complex network of roads in the area around Quito, based on early colonial documents. The Inca road system effectively defines the area fully incorporated into the Inca Empire. Huayna Capac’s commanders may have set up boundary markers for him in the valley of Atres, but there is no evidence that the Incas directly ruled any part of what is now the Colombian department of Nariño. On the coast, Huayna Capac had an Inca governor at Tumbez who was responsible for the frontier of the empire in the Gulf of Guayaquil. The main Inca road on the coast ended at Tumbez; beyond the Gulf, there was no Inca road, and the coast does not appear to have been under direct Inca rule. Inca campaigning there, however, had left the area sufficiently pacified so that traders from Tumbez, using large balsa wood rafts with sails, could trade in Guayas, Manabí, and probably Esmeraldas as well, giving gold and silver objects, fine garments of camelid hair and cotton, raw materials for weaving, beads of precious stones, and pottery for the Spondylus shell produced on those shores.4 Inca subjects also visited the Island of La Plata, off the coast of Manabí, to make offerings there, because it was a holy place. George A. Dorsey explored the island in 1892 and found a rich Inca burial that contained fragments of two skeletons, full-size copper dress pins (tupu) of the sort worn by Inca women, and six female figurines, three of which were of gold and one of silver, with miniature gold and silver dress pins, suggesting that at least some of the figurines were originally dressed. There was also some miniature Inca pottery (Dorsey 1901: 255–260). This selection of objects parallels that found in Inca offerings on the summits of Andean mountain peaks (Beorchia Nigris 1987; Reinhard 1992). The bodies in this grave, like those buried on mountain peaks, were presumably human sacrifices, in this case of women. More recent
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archaeological work on the island has documented the presence of Inca and Chimú pottery associated with local-style pottery at an occupation site not far from Dorsey’s burial (Marcos and Norton 1981: 146). The Inca Empire was divided into four great districts, suyu, with boundaries that met at Cuzco. What is now Ecuador was the extreme north end of Chinchay Suyu. The other districts were Anti Suyu, approximately east of Cuzco; Colla Suyu, extending south to central Chile, and Cunti Suyu, approximately west of Cuzco. Each of these great districts was governed by a close relative of the emperor. The districts were divided into large provinces, like those of Quito and Tumi Pampa, and each of these had an Inca governor. Under these governors, the native population was organized in decimal units, the largest of which was ten thousand married men. Adult men were not permitted to remain single. Each unit of ten thousand consisted of ten units of one thousand, and each unit of one thousand was made up of ten units of one hundred. The smallest units were composed of ten men. The Incas took a census every three years and adjusted the decimal units to keep them close to their nominal numbers. The officers in charge of the large decimal units were called curacas (kuraka), and curaca positions were inherited. Officers in charge of one hundred men or less were appointed. The Inca system of administration thus introduced hereditary privilege even in areas where it had not previously existed; the curacas, who were drawn from the local population, became provincial nobles. The Incas did not have any kind of money, and the Inca government did not require any payments in goods from the people it ruled. What it did require was labor. The decimal system provided a mechanism by which the government could requisition labor reasonably and fairly, assessing a percentage of labor draft on each of the decimal units in the population affected (Julien 1988). The Inca government accumulated food by requiring people to produce it by cultivating lands belonging to the state; it acquired clothing by distributing the fiber harvested from state-owned herds of alpacas to weavers who made the fiber into garments, and so forth. Farming and some weaving were skills everyone was supposed to have. Other crafts, such as some kinds of fine weaving, pottery making, and metal work, were done by craft specialists who worked for the government. The Incas organized these artisans into specialized communities. One such community, at Guano in Bolívar, contained not only artisans from nearby places but others from Chimborazo and Pichincha (Cantos 1965: 257). It was regular Inca policy to take people, ordinary farmers as well as artisans, from one part of their empire and resettle them in another, often on a
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 79
large scale. Anyone who had been moved and resettled, so that he was not living in his place of ethnic origin, was called mitma or mitmaq in the Inca language; the Spanish wrote and pronounced the word mitima. Companies of mitimas were settled in newly conquered areas and areas in which the Incas doubted the loyalty of the native population. Such mitimas were told that their mission was to help the Incas hold the area in which they had been resettled. In Tupa Inca’s second campaign in what is now Ecuador, he settled some Cañares as mitimas in the Latacunga area at the time he conquered it. One hundred and fifty years later, their descendants remembered their responsibility with pride (Carrera Colin 1981: 133). At least six different languages were spoken in the highlands of what is now Ecuador before the Incas conquered the area. These languages were, from north to south, Pasto (Carchi), Cayambi (Imbabura and northern Pichincha), Panzaleo or Lata (southern Pichincha, Cotopaxi, and Tungurahua), Puruhuay or Puruhá (Chimborazo and Bolívar), Cañar (Cañar and Azuay), and Palta (Loja). We have no information on what language was spoken in the vicinity of Quito; there may have been a seventh language there. The Incas introduced their own language and ordered their subjects to learn it. The most urgent need was for the local nobility to understand and speak it so that orders could be transmitted; the sons of provincial nobles were sent to the Inca court to learn the Inca language and Inca customs. People from the neighborhood of Cuzco, who spoke Inca, were settled as mitimas in the provinces to provide examples. There was one such settlement at Cojitambo, north of Tumi Pampa (Gallegos [1897] 1965: 275). The Spanish arrived before language unification was complete, but it had gone far enough so that in most areas the Spanish priests found it convenient to use Inca for preaching and pastoral work. Hence, Inca continued to spread under Spanish rule. We have some reports on the language situation from the Cayambi and Cañar language areas in the 1580s. In the Cayambi area, some men spoke Inca but virtually no women (Borja 1965: 249). In the Cañar areas, we are told that everyone spoke Inca as well as Cañar in Paute (Pereira 1965: 272) and Azogues (Gallegos [1897] 1965: 275). Ultimately, Inca replaced all the local languages in the highlands; these died out before any record of them was made. The Inca Civil War and the Spanish Conquest The situation that developed in the Inca Empire after the death of Huayna Capac, with Huascar ruling the empire from Cuzco and Atau Huallpa acting as the Inca governor of Quito, was potentially unstable. Atau Huallpa
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was one of the princes in line to claim the throne if anything happened to Huascar, and Huascar worried that Atau Huallpa might try to take it. Huascar did not feel strong enough at first to take any action against his brother, however, so there were no hostilities between them for more than two years. Atau Huallpa did a little campaigning on the borders of his governorship and some building at Carangui. In 1531, however, Huascar acted. He sent two officers with orders to put together a large military force, march to Quito, take Atau Huallpa, and kill him. The officers sent word ahead to the Inca governors that they had orders to raise troops, and the word got to Atau Huallpa also. He had just enough warning to be able to raise an army himself. He appointed some very able commanders from among the Incas in Quito, the foremost being Challcu Chima and Quizquiz. Huascar’s army was joined by a Cañar contingent and marched to invade Atau Huallpa’s governorship. A pitched battle was fought at Ambato in which Atau Huallpa’s forces won a great victory. Atau Huallpa then occupied the governorship of Tumi Pampa and inflicted a savage punishment on the Cañares for having fought against him. He then had himself crowned. Next, Atau Huallpa went to the coast, where Tumbez submitted to him. The Inca governor, who was loyal to Huascar, went to the Island of La Puná, the inhabitants of which were traditionally hostile to the people of Tumbez. Atau Huallpa attacked the island with a fleet of balsas from Tumbez. The attack was repulsed, and Atau Huallpa was wounded, so he went back to the highlands (López de Gómara, cap. XII; 1979: 168). The supporters of Huascar retook Tumbez and burned it. Meanwhile, Huascar sent his brother, Huanca Auqui, to take command against Atau Huallpa. Huanca Auqui rallied the fugitives from Tumi Pampa at Cusi Pampa in Loja. Nevertheless, Challcu Chima and Quizquiz won another victory there for Atau Huallpa and marched on south into what is now Peru. The rest of the action in the Inca civil war took place in Peru; Challcu Chima and Quizquiz won one battle after another in a six-month campaign that ended with the capture of Huascar near Cuzco. Atau Huallpa was not with the victorious army, as he had stayed in the north to keep an eye on the Spanish force that had invaded the country while the civil war was going on. The Spanish force, under the command of Francisco Pizarro, had landed at Esmeraldas, on the northern coast of what is now Ecuador, in January 1531, and had spent most of that year working its way down the coast, with a long stopover at Coaque. The Spanish spent the rainy season at La Puná and were in Tumbez by April 1532. Pizarro founded a Spanish town at San Miguel, near Piura, where his camp was visited by emissaries from Atau Huallpa. From
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San Miguel Pizarro marched to Cajamarca to meet the new master of the country. Pizarro’s plan was to kidnap Atau Huallpa, and he succeeded in doing so at Cajamarca on November 15, 1532, only a few days after Atau Huallpa received word that his commanders had taken Huascar. Atau Huallpa agreed to pay an immense ransom in gold and silver for his life and liberty. Then he sent secret orders to his commanders to kill Huascar and all the other members of his family who might have a claim to the throne. He also ordered them to punish all who had supported Huascar. In June 1533, Pizarro declared that Atau Huallpa’s ransom had been paid, but he refused to release the Inca ruler, saying that he would become a danger to the Spanish. Atau Huallpa was no longer a source of treasure; he was an embarrassment. The Incas who had supported Huascar recognized the opportunity. Tupa Huallpa, the son of Huayna Capac that these Incas considered next in line for the throne, made a surreptitious visit to Pizarro to ask for Spanish support. It is clear from the events that followed that Pizarro’s condition for an alliance was that Tupa Huallpa make formal submission to the king of Spain, while Tupa Huallpa’s condition was that Atau Huallpa be killed. A bargain was made. Atau Huallpa was accused of plotting to have an army free him by force, and he was put to death on July 26, 1533. A few days later, Tupa Huallpa was crowned in his place and made his formal submission to the Spanish king. Tupa Huallpa died at Jauja on the way to Cuzco with the Spanish. The next prince in line, in the view of the Incas who had supported Huascar, was Manco Inca. He met Pizarro’s company shortly before it got to Cuzco and made a bargain like Tupa Huallpa’s. His condition for making an alliance was the death of Challcu Chima, Atau Huallpa’s best general, who was with Pizarro. Pizarro had Challcu Chima burned to death; Manco was crowned in Cuzco and duly made submission. Manco Inca and the Spanish then had a common goal: to eliminate what remained of the armies of Atau Huallpa. One of these armies, under Quizquiz, had been holding Cuzco before the Spanish came; it was still nearby. The other army was in Quito. Manco and his Spanish allies attacked Quizquiz’ army. After some severe fighting, Quizquiz decided that he could not win in hostile country. He set off with his army to march to Quito, laying waste the country along the way. The Inca military commander in Quito was Rumi Ñahui, another of Atau Huallpa’s generals; the governor of Quito was Zupa Zupahua. They had custody of Atau Huallpa’s children. Rumi Ñahui continued Atau Huallpa’s program of punishing the Cañares for their support of Huascar. The Cañares ap-
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pealed for help to the Spanish commander at San Miguel, who was Sebastián de Benalcázar (or Belalcázar; the family used both spellings). Benalcázar’s orders were to receive Spanish reinforcements and send them on to Pizarro. However, there was much loose talk among the Spanish about a great treasure that was supposed to exist in Quito, simply because Quito had been Atau Huallpa’s base. Some of the Spanish settlers at San Miguel announced that they were going to go to seek the treasure of Quito, with or without Benalcázar. He decided to lead the expedition and left San Miguel in February 1534, with some two hundred men who should have been sent to Pizarro. He went up into the highlands to Carrochamba (Loja) and then to Tumi Pampa. The Cañares welcomed him and provided a small force of armed men and supplies.5 Rumi Ñahui and Zupa Zupahua led a large force from Quito to meet the advancing Spanish; they picked a place near Teocajas (Chimborazo) for the engagement. The Spanish attacked the Inca position, and the battle lasted all day, ending at nightfall without a clear victory for either side. The Spanish, however, did not stay to renew the fighting the next day. They wanted to get to Quito to take the fabled treasure, so they marched around the Inca flank under cover of darkness and went on their way. The Inca leaders fell back to Riobamba to make another attempt to stop the Spanish. They had suffered heavy losses at Teocajas because the Spanish had horses, which gave them a significant military advantage over men fighting on foot. At Riobamba, the Incas constructed pitfalls in front of their line, hoping to trap the horses. Someone told the Spanish about the pitfalls, however, and guided them around the Inca position. That was the pattern all the way to Quito, which Benalcázar reached at the end of June 1534. The Incas had constructed earthworks at Quito, which they defended in a final attempt to stop the Spanish there. The Spanish succeeded in carrying the fortifications, however, and the defenders evacuated the city, setting fire to the buildings. The Spanish then searched Quito for the treasure they were so sure was there, but they found only a little gold and silver. They presumed that Rumi Ñahui and Zupa Zupahua had taken the treasure with them or hidden it. Rumi Ñahui was in the mountains west of Quito. Benalcázar sent a large force against him, and Rumi Ñahui ordered his men to try to retake Quito while the Spanish forces were divided. The Cañares who were assisting the Spanish fought effectively, making it possible for them to hold the city. The Spanish made several attempts to capture Rumi Ñahui, and on one of them, they captured Atau Huallpa’s children and a substantial amount of gold. Benalcázar and his men inquired insistently about the treasure they had not found. They heard stories that there was treasure in the Cayambi coun-
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 83
try, so they went to look for it. What they found there was that the Temple of the Sun at Carangui was ornamented with gold and silver plates, which they quickly removed (Fernández de Oviedo, lib. XLVI, cap. XIX; 1851–1855, IV: 239). Meanwhile, another Spanish captain was on his way to Quito. Pedro de Alvarado, the Spanish governor of Guatemala, heard about the wealth of the Inca Empire and thought he could take a piece of it. Pizarro’s contract with the Spanish Crown granted him a patent for the area between the river of Santiago (Esmeraldas) and Chincha, on the coast of Peru. Alvarado proposed to sail to a place south of Chincha and invade the southern part of the Inca Empire. He raised a force of some five hundred men for this enterprise. When he tried to sail down the coast, he was delayed by contrary winds. His large force ran out of drinking water while he was still off the coast of Ecuador, so he landed at the Bay of Caraquez on February 28, 1534, and proceeded by land to the neighborhood of Puerto Viejo. Alvarado and his men had heard the same stories about the treasure of Quito that circulated at San Miguel, but they did not know that Benalcázar was already on his way there. His officers persuaded him to change plans and invade Quito, so he turned inland. There were no Inca roads for him to follow. Unable to find a reliable guide, he took a particularly difficult route over a high pass, suffering heavy casualties. Diego de Almagro, Pizarro’s partner, got word that Alvarado had landed, and hastened to San Miguel, where he found that Benalcázar had gone to Quito. Almagro set out for Quito, too, getting there before Alvarado did and while Benalcázar was away in Cayambi, about mid-July 1534. Benalcázar came back, and he and Almagro went to Riobamba to take care of some trouble in that area. Alvarado’s men finally came out of the mountains, only to find the prints of Spanish horseshoes on the Inca road. Almagro hastily founded a Spanish city, Santiago de Quito, at Riobamba and waited there for Alvarado. Founding a city was a convincing act of possession. In the discussions with Alvarado that followed, Almagro convinced the governor of Guatemala to sell his ships and equipment to Pizarro and Almagro for 100,000 gold pieces and return to his governorship, leaving his men to join the Pizarro and Almagro enterprise. The agreement was reached on August 28; Almagro and Alvarado left at once to find Pizarro, who had the money. Some of Alvarado’s men stayed in Quito, where Benalcázar was again in charge. Soon after, Quizquiz arrived with the Inca army that had occupied Cuzco for Atau Huallpa. His vanguard was defeated in an encounter with Benalcázar. His men became so discouraged at finding the country occupied by a strong Spanish force that his officers urged him to surrender. Quizquiz refused, whereupon one of his officers killed him, and the army disbanded.
84 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Rumi Ñahui and the other Inca officers who were still in arms were captured one by one before December, and all were put to death. Inca resistance in what is now Ecuador was at an end. Benalcázar disestablished the Spanish city at Riobamba and refounded it at Quito under the name of San Francisco de Quito. Costume under the Inca Empire
ann pollard rowe
Considerable historical and archaeological evidence throws light on Inca costume and textile traditions (see A. Rowe 1997). This tradition can be demonstrated to be both distinct from that found in pre-Inca Ecuador and influential during the period of the empire and later, most notably a number of the basic garment types. General Features of Inca Weaving Inca textiles are woven with yarns Z-spun and S-plied, either two- or threeply. This spin direction is opposite to that typical in Ecuador, and the use of plied instead of single yarns is also different. As a south highland people, the Incas favored camelid hair, and used that of all four camelids, but Inca-style cotton textiles woven with yarns of the same structure also exist. Women spun using a drop spindle, supporting the prepared fiber either on a small Y-shaped distaff held in the left hand or wrapped around the wrist. Virtually all Inca cloth is either weft-faced (finer fabrics) or warp-faced (belts and more ordinary fabrics), instead of the balanced and warp- or weftpredominant weaves of pre-Hispanic Ecuador. Fine patterned fabrics were called qompi (which the Spanish usually wrote as cumbi ). The available evidence suggests that the weft-faced fabrics were woven on a vertical loom, while the warp-faced fabrics were woven either on a backstrap loom (north of Cuzco) or on a four-stake loom (south of Cuzco). In highland Peru today, the warp yarns are bound to the loom bars and not doubled back as in Ecuadorian looms (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 27, figs. 10–11; 2007: 15–16, figs. 1.2, 1.3), and presumably Inca warps were also bound to the loom bars. Inca fabrics normally have embroidered edge bindings, unlike Ecuadorian ones. Spinning and weaving for the household were women’s tasks, but men made footwear and slings, and the finest cloth was made by male specialists and by women chosen for religious service (see also J. Rowe 1979: 239–240).
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 85
Inca Women’s Dress The earliest description of Inca dress, published in 1553, is by Pedro de Cieza de León, who was traveling southward from what is now Colombia, so that he first encountered Inca customs in the northern highlands of Ecuador. In reference to the town of Panzaleo in what is now the southern part of Pichincha Province in Ecuador,6 he says: Some women wear elegant clothes in the Cuzco style, with a large mantle (manta S) which covers them from the neck to the feet but not the arms. They secure it at the waist with a belt they call chumbe [chumpi Q ], in the style of an elegant and very fine band (reata S) but somewhat wider. With these they tie and cinch the waist, and then they put on another narrow mantle called liquida [lliklla Q ], which they wear over their shoulders, descending almost to the feet. To secure these mantles they have some large pins of silver or gold wide at one end, which they call topos [tupu Q ]. On the head they wear an elegant headband, which they call vincha [wincha Q ], and they wear sandals called oxotas [usut’a Q ] on their feet. In conclusion, the costume of the lords of Cuzco is the best and most rich and elegant that I have seen up to now in all of the Indies. The women take great care with their hair and wear it very long. (Cieza de León, 1a pte., cap. 41, fol. 60–60v; 1984: 132; A. P. Rowe translation)
It should be emphasized that Cieza de León specifies that this description is of Cuzco-style costume (a vso del Cuzco), worn in Panzaleo by “some” women. It fits the costume illustrated by Guaman Poma de Ayala for the Incas in Cuzco (Fig. 2.2). Other sources indicate that the woman’s wrapped dress is called either aksu (which the Spanish wrote as acso) or anaku (which the Spanish wrote as anaco). Dictionaries that include both terms indicate that anaku is used in Chinchay Suyu, the northern part of the empire that includes what is now Ecuador (A. Rowe 1977: 12 and 40nn35–36), and anaku is indeed found in most Ecuadorian sources (see below). Archaeologically, there are two styles, one made in three panels forming a long rectangle, worn folded in half at the shoulder, and a second style in two panels forming a square. It is not clear if these styles correspond to the terms aksu and anaku, but some colonial sources describe the anaku worn in the north as square, and the modern Ecuadorian full-length anaku is also square, of two panels. The finest surviving Inca examples are the three-panel style and have complementary-weft (or -warp) patterned bands in a zigzag and dot design, but most are decorated only with solid-color stripes at the upper and lower edges.
86 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 2.2 Inca emperor and his wife,
drawn by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, whose manuscript was finished in 1615 (1936: 242).
Archaeologically preserved Inca belts are woven in warp-faced double cloth and have a narrow tie on each end. They have zigzag and dot and other geometric designs. The belt wraps twice around the body, and the ties are knotted together in back. The headbands are woven in a complementary-warp weave with designs similar to those in the belts. Inca pins have a head that is a part disk shape, with the end near the pin sometimes being cut off flat or slightly concave. The pins range in length from 10 to 28 centimeters (4–11 inches) and are made of gold, silver, or copper. The disk has a hole near the pin through which it may be secured with a cord. The shoulder pins were often connected by a decorated cord, from which were suspended small shell ornaments. Two styles of shawls (lliklla) are preserved archaeologically, a large twopanel style, worn folded in half, and a small rectangular one-panel style, worn unfolded. Most preserved two-panel shawls are weft-faced and have complementary-weft (or -warp) patterned bands in zigzag and dot designs similar to the most elaborate dresses. Most preserved one-panel shawls are warp-faced and are divided into three warp stripes of equal size. Regardless of whether the stripes of the dress or the shawl were warp-faced or weftfaced, the stripes were worn horizontally. Inca shawl pins (t’ipki ) were usually
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 87
smaller than the dress pins (tupu). In Ecuador, however, the word tupu is used for both kinds of pins. Only the most noble ladies wore a headcloth, seen in Figure 2.2. Inca sandals, worn also by men, are described as having untanned leather or braided cabuya soles and camelid-hair ties. Coca leaves were carried in woven bags, called istalla in the case of women’s bags and ch’uspa in the case of men’s. These bags had vertical stripes, sometimes woven weft-faced and weftpatterned, and sometimes warp-faced and warp-patterned, again usually with complementary-warp or -weft zigzag and dot designs. Inca Men’s Dress Cieza de León also describes the male costume in Panzaleo, which again is similar to what Guaman Poma shows (see Fig. 2.2): They wear tunics (camisetas S) without sleeves or collar, with openings at the sides for the arms and at the top for the head, as well as large wool mantles and some of cotton. And the costume of these lords was very superior, with many colors and very perfect. For shoes they wear some oxotas [usut’a] of a root or grass they call Cabuya, which is from large fleshy leaves, from which they derive white fibers like hemp, very strong and useful. And from these they make their oxotas or sandals (albarcas S) [modern alpargata], which serve them for shoes. And on their heads they wear cords (ramales S).
Other Spanish authors note that Inca tunics were knee-length, as confirmed by archaeological examples. They are usually made of a single piece of fabric with the neck slit woven in. It is clear from artistic representations that they were worn unbelted. The finest tunics were tapestry woven, but plainer ones were worn by ordinary people. Although the usual Spanish word for tunic is camiseta, the Inca term used around Cuzco is unku, and the dictionaries give cusma (kusma) as the Chinchay Suyu term (A. Rowe 1977: 25 and 43nn94–95). Cusma is used in Atienza’s 1570s account of men’s costume in the Quito area (quoted in Salomon 1986: 85, 227), and kushma is the usual modern term throughout highland Ecuador for a tunic or a tunic-derived garment. The Inca man’s mantle (called yaqolla) was rectangular, made of two panels, and undecorated except for the edge binding. It was worn loosely draped or with two corners knotted together. Inca men also wore a small shaped breechcloth (wara). Two kinds of headbands are mentioned in the sources. One, associated
88 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
with the Cuzco area, is a long braided band, called a llawt’u, written llauto by the Spanish. Men of higher status often had some sort of ornament tucked into the llawt’u over the forehead. The second type of headband, called pillu, written pillo by Spanish writers, is defined as a plump (rollizo) circlet (corona or rodete) of wool (Anonymous [1586] 1951; González Holguín [1608] 1952: 285). The geographic range of the pillu is unclear, but it is mentioned as being worn in Quito (see below). Circular fringed headbands, called pillu, have also been preserved in some Bolivian communities (Adelson and Tracht 1983: 59, fig. 25). Men who were ethnic Incas wore their hair very short, and noblemen also wore large earspools, but elsewhere hairstyles and jewelry were variable. Most Inca bags have complementary-warp or complementary-weft patterned stripes similar to those found on women’s garments. But some examples have stripes woven with two dark yarns alternating with one light one, creating a speckled effect in plain weave. Then a zigzag is embroidered by carrying a yarn under a sequence of the matching woven yarns (Fig. 2.3).
2.3 Inca bags. Both have stripes with embroidered zigzags like the poncho in
Figure 2.4. The left bag has a central stripe in complementary-warp weave. Both are warp-faced with camelid-hair yarns. Left: 20 × 23 centimeters (8 × 9 inches), excluding handle; right: 16 × 14.5 centimeters (61/4 × 53/4 inches). The Textile Museum 91.326, collected by George Hewitt Myers (left), and 1961.30.146, gift of Burton I. Jones (right).
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 89
2.4 Ecuadorian poncho with embroidered zigzags. Probably Cañar Province. 1.24 ×
1.23 meters (483/4 × 481/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1988.17.24, Latin American research Fund.
This technique is not known from any other pre-Hispanic fabric, but is found in a twentieth-century poncho collected in Ecuador that has a Cañari style of edge binding (Fig. 2.4). Surely this technique represents a survival of Inca influence. Provincial Inca Costume The available evidence indicates that the general costume of a pinned and belted dress with a pinned shawl for women and a knee-length tunic for men appears to date back at least as far as the time of Huari and Tiahuanaco (ca. ad 750) in the highlands of most of what is now Peru and south into Bolivia (A. Rowe 1997: 33–37). The proportions and designs on these garments dif-
90 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 2.5 Woman’s costume in Colla
Suyu. Guaman Poma de Ayala, ca. 1615 (1936: 177).
fered from Inca examples, but the basic concept was the same. The costume was therefore already similar enough to Inca practice that the Incas probably felt no need to modify it. Accordingly, the item most frequently mentioned by Spanish observers as varying from one province to another is headgear. Although a survey of provincial costume in non-Ecuadorian parts of the empire is beyond the scope of this book, some costume details documented in other provinces are in fact found in Ecuador and presumably represent imports brought by Inca or colonial-period migrants. For example, Colla women, on the northern end of Lake Titicaca, between what is now Peru and Bolivia, wore their hair cut short over the ears but long in back, and over it a hood, with a seam centered over the top of the head, as shown by Guaman Poma (Fig. 2.5). This hood is also mentioned in the late-sixteenth-century governor’s reports for Guaqui (called tanga) and for Viacha (called palta in Aymara, the local language), both in the province of Omasuyu east of Lake Titicaca (Mercado de Peñalosa 1885: 51, 57). The same report also says that the Lupacas, on the west side of the lake, wore it. Vásquez de Espinosa, writing in 1628 (lib. 4, cap. 98, para. 1615; 1948: 562), says all the women of the Collao wore it and that it was made of black wool, more than one-half vara in height, and called panta (the vara is a Spanish unit
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 91
of measurement, about 84 centimeters, or 33 inches). It is still worn in some areas of Bolivia, such as on the southern shore of Lake Titicaca and in western Cochabamba, where it is called phant’a, clearly a modern version of the same word. It is made of rectangular fabric, folded in half, with the folded edges sewn together on one side. The Kirkawi example in Figure 2.6, collected by Elayne Zorn, is made of two strips of treadle-loom woven fabric. It is now usually worn with a Hispanic-style hat over it (Zorn 1990: fig. 3). This headgear is relevant because among the nineteenth-century costume types is a woman from the Riobamba area in Chimborazo Province who wears such a hood (see further discussion at the beginning of Chapter 9). The gar-
2.6 Woman’s hood, Kirkawi people, Bolívar area of western Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Plain-weave wool fabric. 52 × 50 centimeters (201/2 × 193/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1991.2.45, Latin American research Fund.
92 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
ment did not survive into the twentieth century, but the hairstyle cut short over the ears continued, although by the time of our fieldwork in the 1980s, it was no longer universal. So it is possible that some people now in Chimborazo Province are descended from Collas who were moved there under the Inca Empire. A belt style called kawiña chumbi in Chimborazo Province and a similar style in eastern Imbabura also appear to have been introduced by mitimaes, from the Inca province of Kawiña, south of Cuzco (A. Rowe ed. 2007: 189–190, 192–195). Pre-Hispanic textiles in the same color scheme and with designs similar to the Ecuadorian belts exist that presumably can be characterized as Kawiña (A. Rowe ed. 2007: pl. 5).7 There are also unusually detailed descriptions of women’s costume of the Inca province of Rucana (around modern Ayacucho and Huánuco in Peru), provided by four different Spanish governors in 1586. It is similar to Inca dress, except for the belts. For Vilcas Guaman, Atunrucana, and Rucanas Antamarcas, the authors mention two types of belts, a wide one called “mamachumbi” (or “mother belt”) and over it a narrower one called “chumbi ” (Carabajal 1881: 147, para. 15; Córdova 1881: 189, para. 15; Monzón 1881: 207, para. 15). The second belt is described as long and patterned. These two types of belts are still worn together by women in the Otavalo area, in Central Chimborazo Province, and formerly also in the Quito area. The mama chumbi in these areas is red, with green side borders, and a chawar weft to make it stiff. A common source is surely indicated. The narrow supplementary-warp patterned belts of these areas are also similar, but they are in turn similar to belts in other parts of highland Ecuador, and it is possible that this distribution took place in the colonial period (see A. Rowe ed. 2007: chap. 4). Ecuadorian Costume under the Inca Empire In Chapter 1, it has been shown that in Ecuador pre-Inca costume was different from that in Peru. The best documentation for highland costume at the time of the Inca conquest is from the north, both because of the availability of figurative art and because the Inca conquest was relatively recent. It is clear that the local costume lacked both the man’s tunic and the woman’s dress pinned on the shoulders. The 1582 Spanish governor’s report for Otavalo (Paz Ponce de León [1897] 1965: 111, para. 15) contrasts what was worn before and after the Inca conquest, and the pre-Inca man’s costume is similar to that described in 1553 by Cieza de León for the Pasto people (see Chapter 5): a large cotton mantle wrapped twice around the body.
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 93
It appears that the relatively scanty clothing of the northern Ecuadorian peoples did not meet with Inca approval and that they consequently imposed Inca dress in this area. Speaking in general of Inca practice, which first came to his attention in northern Ecuador, Cieza de León says, “They imposed good customs on all their subjects: they gave orders about what to wear . . .” (1a pte., cap. 38, fol. 56v; 1984: 124). He repeats the same idea with respect to the people of Imbabura Province, “and required them to wear their tunics and large mantles . . .” (ibid., 1a pte., cap. 39, fol. 57v; 1984: 125). The 1582 Spanish governor’s report for Otavalo, mentioned above, goes on to say that “after the Incas came, they wore tunics and square cotton mantles.” The report describes the current women’s costume using Inca names for its components: anaco, lliclla, topos. In discussing Quito, Cieza de León says, “They lived with the same rites as the Inca kings; . . . since formerly they were like their countrymen, poorly dressed . . .” (1a pte., cap. 40, fol. 59; 1984: 129). However, the only costume he describes in detail for this area is that worn by the Inca elite in Panzaleo, already quoted. He does say that in the Quito area, much cotton and many camelids were available (1a pte., cap. 40, fol. 59; 1984: 130). A better idea about what most other people were wearing in the Quito area is provided by Atienza, who around 1575 describes men’s dress as a kneelength tunic (camiseta or cuzma), a cotton mantle two and a half varas long and two varas wide, and a headcloth called a jojana, which passes under the chin, leaving only the face exposed (Salomon 1986: 85, 227n21).8 He further says that the clothes vary in color and weave. It appears that the Incas introduced the tunic, but that it was woven and decorated in a local style. The headcloth seems to be of local origin. Atienza also says they carry a bag, called pixa, with a hair or leather carrying cord. In another place, he describes women spinning or making net bags (gicaras) as they walk along the road (Salomon 1986: 154 and 231n9). The bags are undoubtedly shigras (Q ), looped of chawar, like twentieth-century examples. Another document on the Quito area, written in 1557 by Domingo de Orive, also mentions the general use of tunic and mantle for men and anaco and lliquida (lliklla) for women, all of cotton. It also describes the headcloth, xoxona, as small, made of cotton, and dyed (pintado) (Vargas 1960: 357; Salomon 1986: 85 and 226–227n20). Both men and women wore their hair long. The Spanish governor’s report of 1573 for Quito also provides a brief description of men’s costume, again tunic and mantle and long hair, but the headdress mentioned is the pillo rather than the xoxona (Salinas Loyola [1897] 1965: 92, para. 164). The pillo is described as “a little thicker than the thumb,
94 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
round, worn on the head; it is of colored wool worked in the manner of a rug, since it is velvety (velludo).” Men wearing the pillo may have been of nonlocal ethnic origin. For the areas farther south, the available costume descriptions are much less detailed. In the case of Cieza de León, whose narrative proceeds from north to south, the implication is that the costume is similar to what he has previously described. In the Riobamba area, for example, he says, “They and their women were dressed. They had the same customs as their countrymen. And in order to be recognized they wore a headband (ligadura S)” (cap. xliii, fol. 64; 1984: 140–141). Such a comment indicates only that the costume was consistent with provincial Inca norms. For the Cañar area, he says much the same, “When the natives were conquered and ruled by the Inca kings, they kept the customs of those that I am describing: and they spoke the general language of Cuzco: and they and their women went dressed” (cap. xliii, fol. 65: 1984: 142). The 1582 governor’s report for Azogues is more helpful, since it says that before the Incas came, the Cañares wore only two or three tunics (camisetas), and that the Incas gave mantles, loincloths, and sandals to those who served as police (Gallegos [1897] 1965: 173, para. 15). If this solitary bit of evidence is reliable, it appears that tunics were already being worn in what is now southern Ecuador, and that the Incas were only responsible for accessorizing the costume of those who were working directly for them. The 1582 governor’s reports for Chunchi (Gaviria 1897: 190, para. 15) and Alausi (Italiano 1897: 193, para. 15) in what is now Southern Chimborazo indicate that there people wore only a camiseta of cotton or cabuya, mid-leg length. The use of cabuya is the distinctive feature in this description. Both Cieza de León and Garcilaso de la Vega describe the distinctive Cañar headdress. Cieza says: “Men wore their hair very long, and wrapped it around the head” and that they also wore “a round crown of wood, thin like the rim of a sieve” (1a pte., cap. xliiii, fol. 66v; 1984: 146; 2a pte., cap. xxiii, fol. 30; 1985: 68). He also says that women have long hair and wear it wound around their head in a different way. Garcilaso de la Vega says that men wore their hair long, “gathering it all up on top of the head, where they twisted it into a knot; the more noble and skillful men wore the hoop of a sieve, three fingers in height at the middle of the hoop; they made braids of different colors; ordinary men, and those less skillful or lazy, made in place of the hoop of a sieve another similar one from a gourd” (lib. 8, cap. iv; 1945, II:164; A. P. Rowe translation). For Loja, Cieza de León says only that all were dressed in their tunics and mantles, with the llauto for recognition (1a pte., cap. lvii, fol. 82v, 83v; 1984:
Ecuador under the Inca Empire 95
181–182). Neighboring eastern lowland groups are described as nude and as not having been conquered by the Incas (1a pte., cap. lvii, fol. 82, 83v; 1984: 179, 182). The 1571–1572 governor’s report for Loja also describes a men’s costume indistinguishable from Inca dress: knee-length tunic of camelid hair or cotton, mantle, and sandals (Salinas Loyola [1897] 1965: 214, para. 161; 216, para. 169, 172). Garcilaso de la Vega notes that the distinguishing headdress of the Palta people was that they flattened their skulls by binding a board in front of and behind babies’ heads (lib. 8, cap. V; 1945, II:165), undoubtedly a pre-Inca practice. A mid-sixteenth-century Italian traveler to Guancavilca on the coast, in the area of the Santa Elena Peninsula, reports that men wore a tunic (similar to those worn in Puerto Viejo) and a loincloth, the end of which hung almost to the ground in back, and that women wore a garment tied at the waist that covered them to the middle of their legs (Benzoni 1985: 113). The Incas seem not to have influenced this costume. In highland Ecuador, it does appear that something resembling Inca dress was worn at the time of the Spanish conquest, whether introduced by the Incas, as in the north, or having existed there previously, as may have been true in the south. Inca costume was considered sufficiently decent by the Spanish that it seems they reinforced its use in areas where it had not been worn earlier.
CHAPTEr 3
Ecuador under the Spanish Empire
An Introduction to the History of Colonial Ecuador
suzanne austin
Conquest and Settlement Following the capture of Atau Huallpa at Cajamarca in 1532, Francisco Pizarro dispatched his lieutenant, Sebastián de Benalcázar, to explore and conquer the northern area of the Inca Empire. The Spanish received a mixed reception in the region of what would soon become the Audiencia of Quito. With the assistance of Cañar soldiers from Tumi Pampa, Benalcázar and his men defeated the native armies of the Riobamba area and continued northward, encountering resistance in some places and welcome in others. With few exceptions, the Spanish found little treasure, fueling their frustration with Quito’s indigenous inhabitants. In at least one instance, disappointment over the paucity of loot erupted into a massacre at El Quinche, northeast of Quito. But the Spanish were not the only ones terrorizing the native population; the Inca generals Rumi Ñahui and Quizquiz slaughtered inhabitants of the Pomasqui Valley for collaborating with the Europeans. On December 6, 1534, Benalcázar and some two hundred Spanish soldiers founded the city of San Francisco de Quito. Although native resistance continued in isolated areas for several years, Benalcázar exercised control over much of the region by 1535. Within weeks of the city’s founding, the Spanish had begun to seize control of the best lands for themselves. In the city itself, Benalcázar ordered all indigenous houses destroyed to make space for the buildings of the conquerors. Most of the now homeless natives were resettled close by in the valley of Guapulo so that the Spanish would have easy access to their labor. To pre-
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vent flight through mass migration and to ensure a steady supply of workers, the cabildo (town council) of Quito soon passed legislation mandating that all natives remain permanently in the communities where they resided at the time of the Spaniards’ arrival. Distribution of land to the city’s new European residents quickly encompassed the most fertile areas in the region, including Pomasqui, Cumbaya, Cotocollao, Pinta, Chillos, and Guayllabamba. Five years later, in 1540, the cabildo was distributing land as far north as Cayambe and as far south as Riobamba, because all of the land close to Quito had already been claimed.1 In keeping with Spanish policy, the leading citizens of Quito received encomiendas as rewards for their participation in the conquest and settlement of the region. An encomienda was a grant from the Spanish Crown to an individual, the encomendero, usually for one or two lifetimes, entitling them to tribute and personal service from specified indigenous districts. Disappointed with the lack of gold and silver in the Quito area, Benalcázar abandoned his governorship of Quito and, in 1536, embarked on the conquest of New Granada. His was not the only expedition to leave the region during this period. In fact, military campaigns and exploratory expeditions placed such a drain on the indigenous population that in 1537, the cabildo ordered an end to the practice of forced recruitment of indigenous people for these particular ventures. Legislation did not guarantee compliance, however, and between 1534 and 1580, at least twenty-nine major expeditions, including approximately 50,000 indigenous men and women, left Quito. Few returned; most died of disease or starvation, and some were sold into slavery in New Granada (Larrain Barros 1980, 2:56–57). In 1538, Gonzalo Pizarro, youngest brother of the conqueror of Peru, arrived in Quito to assume the governorship. But he did not remain long; in 1541, he departed at the head of an expedition to explore the Amazon Basin. He returned two years later only to discover that his brother had been assassinated in Lima. Hostilities between the youngest Pizarro and representatives of the Spanish Crown festered; when Blasco Núñez Vela, first viceroy of Peru, arrived, civil war erupted. During a battle on the outskirts of Quito in 1546, Pizarro’s troops defeated the royal army and killed the viceroy. The apprehension and execution of Pizarro and his closest supporters by Spanish officials two years later left many encomiendas vacant in the Quito area. Those who received these grants became the new elite; they and their descendants dominated the province for the remainder of the century. The Council of the Indies created the Audiencia of Quito in 1563. The Audiencia was both a territorial unit encompassing all of modern-day Ecuador as well as large areas of Colombia and Peru and a court of appeals. The
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judges who served on the Audiencia administered a region that was divided into smaller units called corregimientos. Many of Quito’s corregimientos correspond approximately to today’s provinces. Provincial administrators, or corregidores, supervised the collection of tribute from local indigenous communities, enforced royal policies, and, in theory, acted as mediators between the Spanish and indigenous populations. In practice, however, they were often the officials who most severely exploited the indigenous people under their control. Until the end of the sixteenth century, Spanish encomenderos organized gold-mining operations in the Cuenca area. But by 1600, most of the accessible ore had been mined and these ventures were abandoned. From that point on, Quito’s lack of mineral wealth relegated it to the status of a backwater of the Viceroyalty of Peru. For the remainder of the colonial era, the economy of the Audiencia centered on agricultural enterprises and textile production. Throughout the colonial period, the focus of European settlement was the city of Quito and provincial capitals such as Ibarra, Otavalo, Latacunga, Ambato, Riobamba, Guaranda, Cuenca, and Loja. Some Spaniards resided in smaller towns, and some lived on haciendas scattered throughout the highlands. Others dwelled on the coast, especially around the port of Guayaquil; while a few, mostly members of the clergy, attempted to colonize the edges of the Amazon Basin. But the vast majority of Europeans chose to congregate in the capital of the Audiencia or in the larger towns of the highlands. As was the case throughout the New World after 1492, Quito’s indigenous population declined dramatically as the result of the introduction of Old World diseases, especially smallpox, measles, and influenza. Using demographic data from the mid-sixteenth century and the depopulation ratio of 4:1 offered by Audiencia president Hernando de Santillán (1564–1568), one can estimate that the preconquest population of highland Ecuador would have numbered approximately 1,080,000 (Alchon 1991: 18). Following severe epidemics in 1524–1528, 1531–1533, 1546, 1558–1559, and 1585–1591, the number of indigenous people had dropped to 105,000 by 1598. Thus, between 1520 and 1600, more than three-quarters of the indigenous population perished largely as the result of epidemic disease (Alchon 1991: 35–56). Colonial rule In theory, the institution of encomienda was one of reciprocal obligations: indigenous people provided specified amounts of tribute and labor to the encomendero each year; for his part, the Spaniard was expected to safeguard the welfare of his Indians and ensure that they received proper indoctrination in
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Christianity. In practice, however, encomenderos seldom fulfilled their part of the arrangement. And indigenous tribute obligations were often extremely onerous. For example, in 1563, the indigenous people of the encomienda of Luisa, belonging to Martín de la Calle, one of Quito’s most wealthy and powerful citizens, owed him the following items: 1,389 pesos of gold; numerous different types and sizes of cloth, including cotton, wool, and cabuya; corn; wheat; pigs; chickens; beans; salt; peppers; wooden trays and utensils; spools of cotton thread; partridges; rabbits; eggs; dried deer meat; rope; quinoa; potatoes; coca; and sweet potatoes. Such a long and varied list of tribute demands was not unusual during the sixteenth century; what made it particularly burdensome for the residents of Luisa was that several of the items, such as gold, cotton, salt, peppers, and coca, were not available locally and had to be purchased through regional markets or obtained by barter. The Spanish also demanded tribute in labor, and many encomenderos, ignoring royal edicts, forced their subjects to work for them without recompense for periods far longer than those established by law. To boost royal income and increase government control over its New World colonies, by the end of the sixteenth century, the Spanish Crown and the Council of the Indies had begun to take control of encomiendas as their possessors died. But other institutions for extracting indigenous tribute and labor remained available to Quito’s Spanish population. Following the conquest, Europeans adopted the use of the mita, the traditional Inca labor obligation; under Spanish rule, one-fifth of all adult males were drafted for specific periods of time to work in mines, in obrajes (textile factories), on public works projects, or for individual Spaniards. In addition, the Spanish devised a similar system to supply Indian laborers to landowners for specified periods on a rotating basis. In the wake of the devastating epidemics of the sixteenth century, Spanish officials, concerned with ensuring a steady supply of native labor for European colonists, resorted to the forced relocation of entire indigenous communities, a policy known as congregación. The seizure of indigenous lands was another motive behind such actions. For example, during the early 1560s, the cabildo of Quito ordered the relocation of two villages so that the city could expropriate their properties. According to Spanish witnesses, the natives, who had already been relocated once before, were forced to vacate their lands, which the cabildo then divided up and sold. Indigenous residents were resettled in two locations, both far less hospitable than the places from which they had just come. In 1570, the First Church Council of Quito ordered the relocation of all indigenous people to within 1.5 leagues of their parish churches (Cushner 1982: 23). Such widespread resettlement never took place; but in areas where
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decline had been particularly severe, officials often combined the vestiges of two or three villages into one. Tribute lists and other colonial documents reveal the frequency of this practice, as in 1601 in Otavalo, where indigenous people testified that during the 1570s, a Spanish official had relocated the remnants of various populations into one community.2 But perhaps even more important in determining the resettlement patterns of Quito’s indigenous population were the waves of massive migrations that took place throughout the colonial era. In response to the onerous demands of royal officials and private citizens, thousands of indigenous people left their communities. During the sixteenth century, the mining mita forced many to travel long distances, and even local mitas frequently required tributaries to leave their homes for extended periods. Others left to work as personal servants of the Spanish or to move to distant communities, hoping in that way to avoid tribute and mita obligations. As a result, many indigenous families separated. Often, too, young men remained single because they could not afford to marry and support a family. Over time, migration and demographic decline led to the disappearance of entire towns and to the diminution of indigenous families. By the end of the seventeenth century, more than half of the indigenous population resided elsewhere than their ancestral place of origin. Recognizing displaced indigenous people as a potentially lucrative source of income, royal officials began to organize forasteros (“foreign” indigenous people) into Crown-controlled ayllus (extended family units often corresponding to neighborhoods). In addition to exemptions from local mita obligations, indios vagamundos de la real corona, as members of these ayllus were labeled, paid less than half the tribute of natives. Not only did the Crown benefit financially from this arrangement, but it helped undermine further the rapidly shrinking power of Quito’s encomenderos.3 The demise of the encomienda and the dislocation of the indigenous population led to the appearance of family farms and haciendas as the primary forms of Spanish landownership and labor exploitation. Farms and large estates producing agricultural commodities for sale mostly at local markets grew up during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Jesuit-owned hacienda-obraje complex at Chillos, southwest of Quito, provides a revealing example of the ways in which Spaniards expanded and consolidated their control over indigenous land and labor. In the mid-sixteenth century, Francisco Ruiz, one of Quito’s original conquerors, owned extensive properties in the Chillos area. During the first half of the seventeenth century, the Jesuit College of Quito acquired much of Ruiz’ land, in addition to other neighboring parcels. Jesuit properties in Chillos included farms, ranches, and a large obraje.
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The farms and ranches supplied food for obraje workers and wool for textile production (Cushner 1982: 41–65). Several factors made life on a Spanish estate attractive to indigenous tributaries. Not only did an hacienda worker receive a salary, meager though it was, and access to a plot of land on which he could grow at least some of his food, but the hacendado assumed responsibility for his tribute payments; this proved a major incentive for young males who had no other way to pay their taxes and who only increased the financial burden on their families by remaining at home. In addition, hacienda Indians were exempt from mita service, yet another reason for choosing the estate over the indigenous community. Colonial Textile Production With the decline of Quito’s mining economy, textile production became the primary means of generating revenue, both for the conquerors and the conquered. The Spanish Crown received income through the sale of licenses to those seeking to open obrajes; encomenderos and other Spaniards with enough capital to invest in them earned income from the sale of the textiles produced in their factories; and indigenous workers received a wage with which they could pay their tribute obligations. Much of the cloth produced in Quito’s obrajes was eventually sold in mining areas of Peru and New Granada. Three types of textile operations developed in the Audiencia during the sixteenth century. Obrajes de comunidad (community obrajes) were usually large operations of several hundred laborers, located in indigenous villages and theoretically owned by the indigenous community. Proceeds from the sale of textiles went to pay tribute obligations. Local mitas supplied the labor for these types of operations. Most obrajes de comunidad were located in the corregimientos of Otavalo, Riobamba, and Latacunga because of their large indigenous populations. In rural areas, hacienda owners and religious orders established their own enterprises. These ranged in size from factories of more than 500 workers to much smaller facilities of 30–60. The Jesuit-owned obraje at Chillos, with a labor force of some 250, produced ten different types of textiles and generated handsome profits annually for the order (Cushner 1982: 99, 114). In addition to privately owned rural obrajes, many Spaniards opened smaller workshops in urban areas of Quito and provincial capitals. Most of these operations, known as obrajuelas or chorillos, employed fewer than 30 workers. According to historian Robson Tyrer, by the end of the seventeenth century, at least eighty obrajes with work forces ranging from thirty to several
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hundred, and some one hundred obrajuelos with less than thirty workers existed in Quito. Tyrer estimates that at least ten thousand adult indigenous people labored in these factories, producing cloth valued at over one million pesos annually (1976: 104). By the early seventeenth century, royal officials in Lima appointed all administrators of community obrajes. In exchange for a salary and royal patronage, administrators assumed responsibility for the purchasing of supplies and the supervision of the production and sale of the finished product. Within this sector of the economy, the opportunities for engaging in corruption were many: administrators received kickbacks on supplies; they purchased cloth at extremely low prices and sold it for high profits; and they sold defective textiles under false pretenses. In the private sector, obraje owners employed managers who assumed the same responsibilities as those who ran the obrajes de comunidad. Here, too, similar opportunities for graft and corruption existed. Working conditions within obrajes were notoriously bad, and as a result, royal officials as well as indigenous workers instituted many legal actions against owners and administrators. Legislation stated that obraje laborers could work no more than nine hours a day, six days a week. In reality, many worked twelve hours and more a day, often seven days a week. Although the Crown forbade the use of child labor in obrajes, many children as young as six worked alongside family members. Inadequate ventilation and poor sanitation contributed to a generally unhealthy atmosphere; and many indigenous people suffered chronic illnesses as a result of overwork, poor nutrition, and unsanitary working conditions. Indigenous people who did not fulfill their obligations or who tried to run away were often beaten and locked up in obraje jails. Some workers died as a result of the abuses they received at the hands of obraje administrators. The Crown also regulated the wage scale for textile factory workers according to the functions they performed. A document entitled “Regulations for Mills,” issued by the government in 1621, lists the following occupations and annual salaries: sorter—18 pesos; dyer—24 pesos; washer—18 pesos; wool beater—18 pesos; carder—40 pesos; card setter—no sum given; spinner—18 pesos; warper—24 pesos; weaver—18 pesos; spooler—18 pesos; reeler—24 pesos; cloth finisher—18 pesos; napper—18 pesos; shearer—30 pesos; fuller—42 pesos; carpenter—40 pesos; ironmonger—90 pesos; and presser—no sum given (Cushner 1982: 100). Salaries were based on a work year of 312 days, or rayas. For various reasons ranging from illness to family obligations, few workers ever accumulated the requisite number of days that would entitle them to receive their full salary. After subtracting tribute payments (7–9 pesos per year) and debts incurred throughout the year for food
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and other supplies, most workers never received a peso in payment. If they received anything at all, it was often cloth or grain. Quito’s textile mills produced a variety of products throughout the colonial period, including cortes de paño (fine woolen material), sayales (course sackcloth), fresadas (blankets), and pañetes (inferior woolen cloth). In addition, many factories produced rugs, spreads, hats, and shawls. But by far Quito’s most important textile product was paño azul, a fine blue wool cloth, exported in large quantities throughout the viceroyalty of Peru. Tyrer estimates that during most of the seventeenth century, Quito’s factories turned out approximately 100,000 varas (a unit of measure slightly less than a meter or yard in length) per year. During this period, prices per vara ranged from 2 to 4 pesos, so that the sale of annual production would have generated between 200,000 and 400,000 pesos per year in income (Tyrer 1976: 167–175). Because of a chronic shortage of currency throughout the region, Spanish residents and local officials depended heavily on the sale of textiles to bring in much-needed currency. Textile production in the Audiencia peaked sometime around 1690. After that, owing to a variety of factors, this sector of the economy experienced a prolonged, severe decline. During the 1680s, royal officials threatened to close all obrajes because of abuses committed against indigenous workers and because of rampant administrative corruption. Although local officials ignored royal orders to shut down factories and workshops, many community obrajes had already closed their doors, while the few that remained operated in the red. In addition to gross inefficiency and corruption, wages at community obrajes were 30–50 percent lower than those in the private sector. Thus, obrajes de comunidad were simply not competitive by the end of the seventeenth century (Tyrer 1976: 137). But the rest of the industry faced serious problems as well. A series of devastating epidemics and natural disasters during the 1690s reduced the native population by approximately 40–50 percent. This in turn, led to a severe labor shortage lasting well into the eighteenth century. In fact, while Quito’s indigenous population had increased rapidly after the demographic disasters of the sixteenth century, recovery was slow and halting throughout the 1700s (Alchon 1991: 89–99). Obraje owners and administrators complained loudly and for many years that they were unable to secure enough laborers for their operations because they were forced to compete with hacendados for the reduced pool of workers. To make matters worse, increased competition from cloth producers in Peru and Europe lowered the demand for Quito’s products. The decline of mining production in Upper Peru (Bolivia) during the seventeenth century
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had prompted many Peruvian entrepreneurs to turn to textile manufacturing as an alternative form of investment. In addition, by the first decade of the eighteenth century, large quantities of European cloth began flooding markets throughout the viceroyalty. Increased competition reduced prices by 40–50 percent between 1700 and 1750; and as profits shrank, textile production in the highlands of Ecuador declined sharply (Tyrer 1976: 184–226). The eighteenth century was a period of demographic stagnation and economic depression in the Audiencia of Quito. Even by the end of the century, as the wars for independence drew near, the Audiencia was still mired in serious problems, in sharp contrast to other areas of the Spanish Empire where the 1700s were a time of population increase and economic expansion (Alchon 1991: 113–124). Colonial Costume
lynn a. meisch
Sixteenth Century Most of the available sixteenth-century writings on the costume of the indigenous population of highland Ecuador describe the kind introduced by the Incas, probably with local stylistic variations (see Chapter 2). We have text on such costume for both men and women from Otavalo dated 1582 (Paz Ponce de León [1897] 1965: 237), and a report for Quito by Domingo de Orive to the cabildo of Quito dated January 23, 1573 (Vargas 1960: 357; Salomon 1986: 85). Another description of indigenous men’s costume in Quito in 1573 says that men who dealt directly with the Spanish were by this time wearing hats, though ordinary men still wore the Inca pillo (pillu) of wool pile (Anonymous [1897] 1965: 225). This document also describes the hairstyle (probably indigenous) as long and held in place by a thread around the head, and jewelry consisting of both necklaces and bracelets. Inca costume is also described for men in the city of Loja in 1571–1572 (Salinas Loyola [1897] 1965: 302) and for Cañar men in Azuay in 1582, with the proviso in the latter case that some items were being woven of sheep’s wool (Gallegos [1897] 1965: 278). Cotton grown in or bartered from the western lowlands also continued to be used. A royal decree of 1593 reported that Inca and indigenous elite of Quito wore Inca-style garments made of silk on Sundays and for fiestas. The use of silk so angered the Spanish that they sometimes confiscated this clothing on the pretext that the native people were wearing foreign dress (Espinosa Soriano 1988, II:225).
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The governor’s report from 1573 on the city of Quito notes that there were fifty men, Spaniards, who made their living selling clothing imported from Spain and made locally (de la tierra). Goods that were made locally include cotton mantles (mantas de algodón); white, black, and gray woolens (paños); blankets ( frazadas), hats (sombreros), twills (gerga), coarse woolens (sayal ), sandals (alpargates), and ships’ rigging. There was trade in raw cotton (algodón en pelo) and much linen (lino), although the women did not spin it locally (Anonymous [1897] 1965: 218; Meisch translation). A discussion of the Quito obrajes mentions the production of all the woolen goods and hats listed above and that another business involved buying cotton and making mantas in the home. Other products made at home (of unspecified fibers) included belts (chumbas, that is, chumpis), pillos, alpargates, and riding gear (ibid.: 226; Meisch translation). Indigenous people who were in personal service to Spaniards (indios y indias anaconas), performing such tasks as delivering letters; serving as pages (pajes); and working as laundresses, cooks, and house cleaners, were paid primarily in clothing. The men were paid two mantles (mantas), two tunics (camisetas), and two pesos annually, while the women received four mantles (mantas), two liquidas (lliklla), two anacos (anaku), and two pesos (ibid.: 226; Meisch translation). The difference between the manta and lliklla for women is not entirely clear, but perhaps one was used as a shawl and the other as a carrying cloth. Further information on sixteenth-century costume and textiles is provided by documents enumerating the tribute that the Spanish exacted from their indigenous subjects. A large chunk of what is now Imbabura Province, including the town of Sarance (modern Otavalo), as well as San Pablo la Laguna, Cotacachi, Atuntaqui, Urcuquí, Salinas (also known as Tumbabiro), and Intag, was given in encomienda to Rodrigo de Salazar (Paz Ponce de León [1897] 1965: 233). A 1551 valuation (tasa) lists the tribute permitted to be exacted every six months by Salazar, which included agricultural produce, animals, cabuya fiber, and gold, as well as garments and other textiles (Espinosa Soriano 1988, III:12–16). The garments were “165 cotton women’s dresses (vestidos de mujer), by which is understood a body wrap (anaco) and a shoulder wrap (lliquida, i.e., lliklla). The anaco is to be two varas in length and width” (Espinosa Soriano 1988, III:12–16; Meisch translation), about 168 centimeters (close to 6 feet) square, while the lliquida was to measure a vara and a half in length and width. A tribute list for the Caranqui-Cayambe area gives measurements of 2 varas square for men’s mantles (mantas), while tunics (camisetas) were to be a vara and one-eighth by a vara and seven-eighths (ibid., II:130). For an encomendero to realize an income from such indigenous garments, he would have
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sold them, obviously to other indigenous people. The Spanish routinely forced indigenous people to buy goods at inflated prices. In 1579 in Otavalo, such commercial goods included colored mantles (murolliquillas) at six tomines, and white mantles at a minimum of one peso (ibid., II:129–130). In addition to the garments, the tribute list for Otavalo indicates that three tablecloths (sobremesas); three medium awnings (toldos medianos), the size of which he would specify; three mattresses (colchones), all of cotton; and fifty one-libra (1.1 pound) balls of cotton thread for banner, canopy, or tent fabric (pauillo, i.e., pabellón; Espinosa Soriano 1988, III:13) were required. Salazar was to supply the cotton for the garments owed him, but there were constant complaints that the cotton he supplied was not enough to meet the finished clothing he demanded (Ducasse 1985: 100–101). A 1562 tribute assessment (visita) for the same encomienda mentions that the indigenous people made their clothes from cotton that they obtained in trade and that some of these clothes were sold for gold to pay their tribute (Espinoza Soriano 1988, III:27). The tribute required is similar to that listed eleven years earlier, with some important exceptions. In this case we know that the tribute payers amounted to 2,548 men above the age of eighteen. Undoubtedly, then as now, the entire family pitched in to see that the textiles and other tribute was produced on time. The tribute was actually collected for the encomendero by members of the native nobility, who were given the title of cacique. Just in terms of cloth, each cacique owed annually five hundred articles of clothing (vestidos de ropa), half for men and half for women; one hundred colored llikllas (moroliquidas); six awnings (toldos); one hundred pounds (four arrobas) of cotton yarn; six tablecloths and fifty napkins (seis tablas de manteles y cinquenta pañuelos). The term “moroliquida” seems to be a combination of Spanish and Quichua. “Moro” in Spanish meant Moor, a native of North Africa. It also meant a black horse with white markings, or a dappled or spotted horse; by extension, something colored. Another possibility is that moro is a Spanish pronunciation of the Quichua word muru, which means “seed, something small and round, or something spotted or stained.” In addition to these items, two heraldic hangings (resposteros), two table runners (sobremesas), and two curtains to be hung in front of doorways (antepuertas), all of cumbi, for which the encomendero was to supply the wool (lana) (Espinoza Soriano 1988, III:28–29) were required annually. These items were presumably being produced by the cumbicamayos (Inca weaving specialists) in the region who were also mentioned in the document (ibid.: 27–28). Note that the cumbicamayos were not producing indigenous clothing but rather furnishings for the encomendero’s houses. They might, however, also have woven gar-
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ments directly for the caciques on a commission basis. Only the cumbi textiles are designated as being made of wool; the other textiles are likely of cotton. The last mention of cumbicamayos I have found for the Otavalo region is in a document dated 1580 (published in Espinoza Soriano 1988, III:54–55). A slightly later tribute list (ordenanza) for the Otavalo area, from 1612, includes 5,572 white cotton mantles of four threads (which probably meant a 2-ply warp and 2-ply weft), 21/2 varas long and 2 varas wide, finely and well woven (San Félix 1988: 178; Meisch translation). Seventeenth Century Information on seventeenth-century indigenous costume comes from the wills of members of the native nobility, the caciques and their wives, who were allowed to retain some of their wealth and privileges in exchange for their tribute-collecting duties. The caciques’ wealth included land, houses, animals, agricultural produce, cash, and household goods such as dishes, furniture, textiles, and clothing. The use of Spanish materials to make Inca-style garments is evident in wills. For example, among the many garments listed in the 1596 will of Maria de Amores, an indigenous woman of Inca and native Ecuadorian descent in Quito, were llikllas of scarlet satin, of green Castilian damask with gold edging, of Castilian light silk or linen, one embroidered with cochineal dyed silk and the other blue (Salomon 1988: 333–336). The will of don Agustín Chalozaca, the cacique of San Bartolomé in Azuay, who died in 1611, lists a silk damask lliklla (una lliquilla de damasco) and one of taffeta (tafetán; Chacón Zhapán 1990: 528–536). While it is unusual for a man’s will to mention women’s garments, textiles were given as gifts at important events, and as cacique, don Agustín undoubtedly both gave and received fair amounts of cloth. Another characteristic of the clothing in these wills is that many garments are made of fabric woven in other parts of Ecuador rather than locally. For example, in the will of Maria de Amores mentioned above, one anaku came from Goancavilca, around Guayas Bay on the coast, another from the Quixos, people living between Archidona and Baeza in the Oriente, and her llikllas came from sites as distant as Cañar and Cajamarca in Peru. The will of Lucia Coxilagunago, the wife of the native cacique of Otavalo who died in 1606, also lists anakus from Quixos and Guangavilca (Caillavet 1982). Other items from her will indicate local production, since she also lists 25 pounds (an arroba) of cotton to make a manta and camiseta, 30 balls of wool, cotton and azul (probably indigo), and 189 sheep (see also Meisch 1998). Although only Inca-style garments are mentioned in the women’s wills,
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contemporary men’s wills include both native and Spanish items. One such will is that of the husband of Lucia Coxilagunago, don Alonso Maldonado, who died in 1609 and was governor general of the repartimiento of Otavalo and a grandson of the cacique who was conquered by Benalcázar (Caillavet 1982). He was quite the colonial gentleman, with a wardrobe that included both native and European luxury garments. His Inca-style tunics, possibly inherited from his grandfather, were of cumbe (qompi), some also decorated with macaw feathers (de plumas de papagayo), or with stamped silver pieces (camenteras y patenas de plata, marcadas, grandes y pequeñas). He also had llautos (llaut’u). These items were willed to don Alonso’s legitimate son, Pedro, “because they come to him by right as his inheritance.” Don Alonso also willed land in Salinas for growing cotton, and 12 arrobas of cotton. Other garments listed in don Alonso’s will are European, including a red cloak (manta) from Spain decorated with a braid of yellow silk, two hats, four pairs of full knee breeches (balones) of a coarse wool fabric (raxete) and of local wool cloth (paño de la tierra), three pairs of wool stockings, a vara of new hatband decoration from Castile (toquilla de Castilla, nueva), and a cape (capote) of local wool cloth. He also willed 562 sheep, six pieces of colored taffeta, five headcloths ( jojonas), including two of printed cotton from Rouen, and one white and one colored towel (tobaja). Still other garments in don Alonso’s will combine the two traditions, including two camisetas of blue wool (paño azul) and one of black wool (paño negro), and three of embroidered calico (de calum y labradas). The term camiseta generally refers to a pre-Hispanic-style tunic, but these appear to be made of yardage rather than of backstrap-loom woven cloth. The blue and black wool fabrics are the type produced in the local obrajes, while the calico was probably imported. Likewise, don Alonso had several mantas de hombre, a term referring to the native-style man’s mantle in this context, three dyed (pintadas) and three white (blancas), which might have been of indigenous manufacture, but also one of greenish twill-weave fabric (de guergueta verdosa), and one of a delicate twill-weave fabric (anascote). These twill-woven fabrics are described with European fabric names. Altogether, this testament is remarkable for the luxury, variety, and quantity of the garments listed. Don Agustín Chalozaca’s will, mentioned above, also includes both Inca and Spanish items (Chacón Zhapán 1990). The Inca items include an antique tunic (una camiseta vieja) de tameñete with edging, a yellow-dyed cotton mantle (una manta de lienzo de chapico), a red wool tunic, a blue wool mantle with edging, and two pairs of lacquered wooden Inca drinking vessels. The
Ecuador under the Spanish Empire 109
meaning of tameñete is uncertain; chapico is an evergreen shrub of the Solanacea family whose spiny leaves give a yellow dye. His Spanish clothes included blue wool breeches (calzones), a wool cape (capote), an old cape (un capote viejo), and a lined hat with its hatband (un sombrero aforrado con su toquilla). He also lists various Spanish-style household textiles, such as mattresses (colchones), blankets ( fresadas), and saddle blankets (aparejos de enjalmas). The early-seventeenth-century cacique costume thus seems to consist of an Inca-style tunic, with Spanish-style pants and hat, and a cape in either Inca or Spanish style. The difference between men and women in the pattern of adopting Spanish dress is probably caused by a variety of factors. One possibility is that Inca women’s dress was considered by the Spanish to be sufficiently modest with little modification, while the Inca men’s costume left the limbs exposed to a much greater extent than Spanish dress of the time, so there may have been more pressure on men to change. The loincloth seems to have been especially objectionable, with pants considered to be more modest attire. Also men probably had more dealings with Spanish administrators, and felt the Spanish scorn of their former costume more directly. The picture provided by these wills is similar to that shown in Guaman Poma’s drawings, made ca. 1615 in Peru, which show most women and ordinary native men wearing simple Inca-style clothing, but native men of some status and a few noblewomen wearing an amalgam of Inca and Spanish dress. Nevertheless, high-status Inca clothing was still sometimes used as a symbol of defiance of Spanish authority. For example, at the end of 1666, don Alonso Arenas Florencia Inca, a descendant of the Inca royal family, arrived in the Otavalo region to assume his position as corregidor (governor) of Ibarra. He was greeted by the indigenous people of Lake San Pablo with effigies of the Inca and his queen wearing a llawt’u (translated as borlas in the original Spanish). Although the llawt’u was a male headpiece, the effigies’ dress was a guesswork reconstruction by local people more than 125 years after the end of Inca rule. Don Alonso immediately caused concern among the Spanish by visiting local villages wearing a tunic of qompi and inciting millenarian ideas of the return of the Inca. This culminated in an attack by the indigenous people on the whites of Ibarra during Carnival, and don Alonso was ultimately removed from his post and sent to Lima under arrest. The testimony against don Alonso frequently mentioned his use of Inca clothing (Espinosa Fernández de Córdoba 1989). The wearing of Inca dress was an integral part of neo-Inca revivals and revolts throughout the Andes in the centuries following the Spanish invasion. The Otavalos fiercely opposed the Inca invasion of their territory in the
110 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
fifteenth century, and later such indigenous enemies of the Incas as the Cañares fought with the Spanish. However, as Spanish rule became increasingly onerous, native Andeans looked back on Inca rule with a hazy nostalgia, as evidenced by the reception of Don Alonso. Between 1780 and 1782, a major but ultimately unsuccessful rebellion swept Peru. The main rebel leader, José Gabriel de Tupac-Amaru II, wore a mixture of colonial and Inca-style clothing. After his capture in 1781, the Spanish visitador in Cuzco prohibited the wearing of Inca-style tunics, mantles, and headpieces (Areche 1836: 50). This concerted effort to control indigenous dress was more successful in the Cuzco heartland than in remote areas. Eighteenth Century For the eighteenth century, we have not only a detailed description of costume in Quito, by two Spaniards, Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa (1748: lib. V, cap. V), who landed in Guayaquil in 1736 on an eight-year exploration of South America as escorts of the French La Condamine expedition, but also pictorial sources. Since these sources pertain only to the Quito area, and lead naturally into the plentiful nineteenth-century information on Quito costume, this evidence will be considered in Chapter 7 on Pichincha. In this context, one can simply note that in the 1730s in Quito, most indigenous women, except those working as house servants, were still wearing Inca-derived costume, and that most indigenous men, except the most highstatus ones (caciques), were still wearing a knee-length tunic, though by this time they were also wearing calf-length loose pants and a hat. If costumes retaining so many Inca features were worn in the capital, it is reasonable to suppose that in other areas of highland Ecuador the Inca element was at least equally prevalent. Despite the repression following the 1780s uprisings, the longevity of this tradition in Ecuador is indeed remarkable.
CHAPTEr 4
Historical Developments in Nineteenthand Twentieth-Century Ecuador
margaret young-sánchez In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, great political, economic, and social changes occurred in the territories that are now Ecuador. The colonial Audiencia experienced revolution, confederation, and finally independence as a republic. Political control oscillated frequently between coastal and highland factions, representing constituencies with widely disparate ecologies and economies. Despite such regional rivalries, political power in the nineteenth century was consistently monopolized by a white, urban, European-oriented elite class, while rural and indigenous populations were exploited and oppressed. By slow and painful increments, that situation began to change in the twentieth century, as Ecuador’s rural population gained economic power and a voice in national policy. This change was accompanied by improvements in transportation and communications that increasingly linked together Ecuador’s urban and rural areas. The process of unifying diverse ethnic, economic, and regional interests, and forging a new, inclusive national culture is incomplete but ongoing. Late Colonial Unrest The late eighteenth century was a period of considerable interethnic strife throughout the central Andean region. Although Tupac Amaru’s influence did not extend as far as the Audiencia of Quito, this region also experienced a succession of small-scale, local indigenous rebellions throughout the second half of the eighteenth century, which continued into the first decades of the nineteenth century. These uprisings, which often led to attacks on Spanish haciendas, towns, and officials, were frequently sparked by increases in taxa-
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tion or events (such as censuses) believed to precede such increases. As Moreno Yánez documents, these rebellions were not directed against the colonial social or governmental structure per se, nor did they involve an attempt to unite the entire indigenous population against its white oppressors (1985: 397– 416). Typically, the uprisings were led by one or more charismatic local leaders who were not, in most cases, caciques (these indigenous nobles usually sided with the Spanish authorities). Spanish strategy for suppressing the rebellions focused on capturing and publicly executing the ringleaders; speedy collapse of the uprising usually followed (Moreno Yánez 1985: 416–423). Much of this turmoil in the Andean region can be linked to the Spanish Crown’s attempts to increase tax revenues to pay for the empire’s escalating military expenditures. Both to facilitate this goal and to improve living conditions for its colonial subjects, the Crown also attempted to reform colonial governments by improving efficiency and reducing corruption. An important aspect of the reforms involved centralizing government authority in Spain, and replacing Creole (American-born) officials with peninsular Spaniards (Mörner 1985: 95). The Crown’s reform measures were undertaken at a time of serious economic problems throughout much of the Andean region. As noted by Austin (this volume) and Tyrer (1976), the Audiencia of Quito’s textile industry was declining because of both decreased demand and competition from imported European goods. This situation, in turn, brought about lower tax revenues for the colonial government, which was then forced to rely on the tribute levied against indigenous people for an increasing share of its needs. The worsening economic situation of the Audiencia’s indigenous population contributed not only to the armed rebellions mentioned earlier but also to large-scale internal migration as indigenous individuals and families sought to escape tribute and mita obligations (Espinoza, Achig, and Martínez 1982: 43). In 1767, the Jesuit order (regarded as a threat to the government’s social, political, and economic power) was expelled from Spain and its colonies. In Ecuador, the order’s schools were closed and its agricultural estates and manufacturing enterprises were confiscated. These assets were then sold; the indigenous people who worked in such enterprises continued to do so. Crown reform policies had an adverse impact on the Creole elite throughout the Spanish colonies, including the Audiencia of Quito. Exclusion from important positions in colonial government cut creoles off from a highly significant source of wealth, prestige, and power. Creole discontent grew in the first decade of the nineteenth century, and political turmoil in Spain following Napoleon’s 1809 invasion provided the opportunity for several abortive attempts to free Quito from Spanish rule. In 1822, after more than a decade
Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Ecuador 113
of struggle that involved both local forces and foreign armies and engendered serious economic dislocations, Quito became independent of Spain. Ecuador then joined the Confederation of Gran Colombia, together with what are now Colombia and Venezuela. Gran Colombia never achieved a balance among its regional political and economic interests, however. In 1830, after withdrawing from the Confederation, the State of Ecuador was founded. The Early republican Era The creation of a republic had little or no impact on the lives of Ecuador’s indigenous population; as illiterates, indigenous people did not gain the right to vote, and they were still forced to pay tribute on the basis of their ethnic identity. Continued subjection to the mita forced indigenous people to provide labor for all public works, just as in the past. In sum, indigenous people did not become citizens of the new republic; they instead retained their status as a subject labor force (Hassaurek 1867: 188). Throughout most of the remainder of the nineteenth century, liberal (coast) and conservative (highland) elite factions vied for control of the government. Liberal accomplishments included the abolition of slavery in 1851 and the cessation of indigenous tribute payments in 1857. Because of taxes on booming exports of cacao and Panama hats, indigenous tribute accounted for only 11 percent of government revenues in 1856 (Mörner 1985: 158). The conservative government of Gabriel García Moreno (1859–1875) greatly increased the power of the Church, and made Catholicism a requirement for citizenship. Tithes, traditionally collected from farmers by local church authorities, were made a part of government revenue in 1863, while state salaries were established for bishops and canons (Hassaurek 1867: 162). García Moreno also improved the country’s educational system by allowing the Jesuit order to return. Although a few indigenous people benefited from Churchsponsored education (Belote and Belote 1981: 472–473n6), this improvement did not significantly affect the indigenous population. Creation of a modern transportation system was initiated, and construction began on roads linking Quito with Esmeraldas and Babahoyo, and a railroad line from Quito to Riobamba and Guayaquil. Despite the abolition of tribute payments, the lives of Ecuador’s indigenous population did not improve markedly during the second half of the nineteenth century. Hassaurek makes repeated reference to the subservience and abject poverty of highland indigenous people in the 1860s (1867: 90, 126–127, 185–189). Political and economic power remained concentrated in the hands of a small white elite class. In the northern and central regions of
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the country, most of the agricultural land was owned by a limited number of large-scale, white landowners. Debt peonage became increasingly common as a mechanism for binding indigenous people to the estates as permanent workers—in effect, serfs. Under this system, individuals entered into contracts that obligated them to labor on an estate for a stipulated sum of money, as well as (in some cases) the use of a plot of land (huasipungo) within the estate. Typically, however, the agreed-upon wages were not sufficient to cover the debts incurred in the course of the year for subsistence needs and religious obligations: primicias (first fruits, or one-seventh of the harvest), tithes, weddings, baptisms, funerals, Saints’ days, etc. Thus the peasant worker grew increasingly indebted over the course of years. He was not legally permitted to leave employment at the estate without paying off his accumulated debt, and his sons were forced to assume the debt upon their father’s death. Landowners could buy and sell indigenous people’s debts, and along with them, rights to the services of the peon debtors. Indigenous people who attempted to escape their obligations were liable to capture and imprisonment. Thus landowners were assured of intergenerational continuity in their work force. Not all of Ecuador’s indigenous people were forced into debt peonage. Certain indigenous communities possessed communal lands on which community members farmed and herded livestock. Such communal lands needed constant defense against encroachment by whites and mestizos, however, and as population increased, the communal land supply often became inadequate (Salomon 1981: 442). In Ecuador’s southern regions, including Azuay and Loja, domination of the economy by large-scale landowners was less prevalent than in regions to the north (Casagrande 1981: 271). More typical were small to medium-sized estates and small subsistence farms. The estates were worked by both debt peons and free laborers who either lacked land or owned plots too small to support their families. Subsistence farmers in the region also commonly supplemented their income through craft production. The Catholic Church and religious orders were among the largest property owners in nineteenth-century Ecuador. Revenues from these estates supported convents and monasteries, as well as schools and other projects. In some cases, the estates were not managed directly by the religious orders but were instead rented to private individuals. The Liberal Era The Church’s power suffered a severe setback when the liberals, led by Eloy Alfaro, regained control of the government in 1896. A new constitution, introduced in 1906, officially separated church and state, abolished tithes,
Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Ecuador 115
and nationalized many of the Church’s estates. They were placed under the control of the Social Welfare Agency, which commonly rented them to private individuals (Crespi 1981: 481) and used the profits for the support of urban schools, orphanages, and hospitals. According to Basile (1974: 69), conditions on estates owned by the Social Welfare Agency tended to be even worse than those on privately owned estates: “They have the lowest agricultural yields, most primitive agricultural methods, most seriously depleted and eroded soils, lowest wage scales, and least enlightened social conditions.” In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Ecuador’s national economy became increasingly reliant on cacao exports. Cacao plantations on the coast expanded rapidly, and at the turn of the century, Ecuador was the world’s largest supplier of this commodity. By 1917, cacao accounted for 75 percent of Ecuador’s total export value (Mörner 1985: 172). The coastal plantations needed labor, and as a result, in 1918, debt peonage was legally abolished. Highland peasants were now free to migrate to the coast, and some did so, at least seasonally. Such population movements were facilitated by continuing work on roads and railways. The Quito-Guayaquil rail line was completed in 1908, and another line connecting Quito with Ibarra was in operation by 1926. However, after World War I, the price of cacao dropped by almost half, and new diseases devastated cacao plantations in 1918 and 1923, dramatically lowering production. This brought about a concomitant drop in the demand for highland labor on the coast. In addition, the monopoly on local power held by highland landowners allowed many to prevent migration of their workers; in many regions, debt peonage was enforced until the 1950s. The need for social and economic reform has been an important topic in twentieth-century Ecuadorian politics, much discussed by politicians, students, and other intellectuals. Traditionally, the Liberal Party has been the advocate of social welfare programs and rights for indigenous people, farmers, and workers. For the most part, however, the intended beneficiaries of such reforms were essentially voiceless, and played no role in shaping the policies designed to improve their social and economic conditions. Implicit in many of the proposed reforms was the integration of indigenous people into the national economy and culture through abandonment of indigenous languages and lifestyles, which were regarded as primitive. The 1923 Liberal Party platform advocated modernization of agriculture and land reform to better the conditions of poor farmers generally, and indigenous people in particular. Little progress was made in achieving these goals, however, and similar measures were again urged in the 1953 platform. Included were statements on the need for universal education, redistribution of unused agricultural lands, and the opening up of new lands through the construction of roads. In the 1930s, several new laws attempted to strengthen the rights of im-
116 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
poverished and oppressed farmers. The Law of Organization and Regulation of Communal Lands, passed in 1937, permitted groups of fifty or more adults to form units of government recognized by the state. The law was aimed at rural communities previously lacking a formal political structure, and especially at traditional indigenous communities that possessed communal lands or other resources. Its purpose was to protect such communities and their resources from outside encroachment (Salz 1955: 167). Salz indicates that as of 1955, the law had had little impact, primarily because the rural population lacked experience with the functions of local government (1955: 168). While Basile regards the legislation more positively, his description of the creation of two communities in the Quito Basin indicates that whites and mestizos were often the principal beneficiaries, rather than indigenous people (1974: 86–88). A labor code enacted in 1938 regulates agricultural employment on large estates, specifying that huasipungo workers should work no more than four days per week on the landlord’s behalf and must receive a portion of their wages in cash. These wages must be at least half those paid to day laborers in the same area, and family members must be paid separately (Linke 1960: 61). In addition, the owners of large estates were required to build houses and in some cases schools for their huasipungo workers and their children. The state made little effort to enforce these regulations, however, and they were widely ignored by landlords (Crespi 1981: 482). The agricultural laborers themselves were frequently unaware of the existence of this protective legislation or lacked the political power to demand its enforcement. Included in Ecuador’s 1946 constitution were regulations affecting nonagricultural workers and requiring a minimum wage, an eight-hour workday, and paid holidays. It also guaranteed the right to unionize and strike. Pension and insurance plans for the employees of state and municipal governments, banks, and private enterprises became mandatory in 1942 (Linke 1960: 75). Such regulations naturally had little effect on the indigenous population, which was overwhelmingly rural. Clearly, these political efforts to improve the social and economic status of Ecuador’s indigenous population were quite ineffective. The Agricultural Census of 1954 estimated that 82 percent of Ecuador’s farms encompassed only 14.4 percent of the agricultural land, while another 0.66 percent of farms contained 54.4 percent of the land (Linke 1960: 133). And though a high percentage of peasant plots were too small to support a family, as much as 85 percent of the land included in large estates was uncultivated (Cárdenas, cited in Linke 1960: 133). Basile (1974: 65) attributes the underutilization of many large estates to their primary function as a source of prestige and security rather than wealth. In 1955, Salz estimated a landless or land-poor highland
Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Ecuador 117
contingent of 100,000–200,000 adult men (1955: 31–32). The poverty implied by this highly skewed landownership situation is confirmed by a government estimate that in 1951, 95 percent of Ecuador’s population suffered from malnutrition, with an average daily caloric intake of 1,500, less than half the recommended allowance (Linke 1960: 91). These figures indicate that for most of the country’s rural population, life had changed very little since the nineteenth century. Interethnic social relations throughout much of the highlands in the middle of the twentieth century also seem very similar to those described before 1900. Whites continued to regard indigenous people as inherently inferior in both intelligence and character (Casagrande 1981: 260–261), while many indigenous people regarded their oppression by whites as part of the natural order (Crespi 1981: 486). Both groups tended to live in fairly close proximity on the estates, and even within the hacienda or town house, since workers and their families were often required to provide domestic as well as agricultural labor. Nevertheless, the indigenous attitude toward both whites and mestizos can be characterized as one of distance and avoidance (Casagrande 1981: 267– 268), both psychological and, whenever possible, physical. The acquisition of land and concomitant economic self-sufficiency has been the greatest ambition of most Ecuadorian indigenous people. In the first half of the twentieth century, the most notable manifestation of this principle was in the Otavalo area where weaving profits enabled indigenous people to purchase land from white estate owners (Parsons 1945: 25–26). Social and Economic Ferment: 1960s and After The relationship between Ecuador’s indigenous population and the whitedominated national society began to change around 1960, with indigenous voices demanding political and economic power, supported by foreign advocates such as the Alliance for Progress (Crain 1990: 47), and also the Catholic Church, inspired by the encyclicals of Popes John XXIII and Paul VI (Muratorio 1981: 510). Land reform, enacted in 1964, distributed unused lands in large estates to small farmers (Brownrigg 1981: 308–309) and forced private landowners to grant peons legal title to their huasipungo plots. State-owned estates were transferred from the Social Welfare Agency to an agrarian reform institute (IERAC) for transformation into communities with both private and cooperatively owned lands and facilities. In 1971 and 1973, sharecropping and rent in labor were legally abolished.
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As noted by Meisch (in A. Rowe ed. 1998: 12–15), these legal reforms’ effects were quite uneven. Huasipungo workers on large estates, especially those owned by the state, did benefit. But many landowners successfully resisted efforts to redistribute their lands, and population growth led to ongoing fragmentation of rural family holdings. Increasingly, government efforts to relieve land pressure relied on colonization of lowland regions rather than on redistribution of land within the highlands (Whitten with Fine 1981: 13). Economic change has also significantly affected the lives of Ecuador’s indigenous people and rural population. Exports of cacao, rice, Panama hats, gold, and oil all increased after the Second World War. Banana production, which increased rapidly in the 1950s, accounted for 61 percent of Ecuador’s export revenues in 1962. In the 1970s, high oil prices brought a windfall to the Ecuadorian economy as the state asserted control over the industry (Schodt 1987: 104–112). Economic growth facilitated and was also stimulated by improvements in the nation’s transportation and communications infrastructure. In the highland and coastal regions, roads now connect all but the most remote villages. Air transportation also links the more important cities with one another and with foreign countries. Telephone, radio, and television greatly facilitate communication within Ecuador and increase knowledge of the outside world. Migration, both within Ecuador and to the United States, is now common. The constitution of 1978 gives illiterates the right to vote, but a national literacy campaign also aims to provide basic education to all segments of the population. Growing indigenous political consciousness is expressed by organizations that advocate the inclusion of indigenous viewpoints and interests in the formulation of national policy. The government has responded with efforts to incorporate indigenous heritage (including language, music, dance, and festivals) into the officially recognized national culture (Crain 1990: 49). More radical indigenous political groups demand Ecuador’s redefinition as a multiethnic, multicultural state, or advocate pan-Andean indigenous unity, in opposition to Ecuadorian nationalism (Crain 1990: 56). As Ecuador’s diverse peoples struggle to redefine their nation, indigenous voices are now included in the national dialogue.
Plate 1 Festival poncho, cotton with bound-warp-resist patterning, collected in
1968 by Kathleen Klumpp, but probably from the 1940s. San Rafael, Otavalo area. 1.065 × 1.24 meters (42 × 49 inches). The Textile Museum 2005.11.4, Latin American Research Fund.
Plate 2a Indio principal de Quito, trage de gala by Vicente Albán, 1783. Oil on
canvas. Museo de América, Madrid, inventory number 71. Plate 2b India en trage de gala and India del campo (in background) by Vicente Albán, 1783. Oil on canvas. Museo de América, Madrid, inventory number 72.
Plate 3 Engraving published in 1850 showing, top row left to right: a barber, a
vendor of water jars, an Indian traveler; bottom row left to right: a mat vendor, an Indian merchant, a merchant of bayeta fabric. The cloth merchants are probably from the Otavalo area. From Osculati 1854: tav. IX.
Plate 4 Women at a brickworks in Quito, probably from northeast of the city, 1949.
Slide 43, by Ambassador George S. Vest.
Plate 5 Detail of a woman’s wrap (rebozo), from Salasaca, collected in 1966.
Plain-weave wool with cotton stripes and wool embroidery. Overall size: 2.23 × 1.02 meters (87¾ × 40 inches). The Textile Museum 2004.6.5, gift of Frances K. Ruddick.
Plate 6 Embroidered shawls from Chimborazo Province. The top one was said to be
from Cajabamba but resembles the San Andrés chemise in Figure 9.5. The second one was said to be from Cacha, and the third was said to be from the Colta area. The bottom one was said to be from Cebadas. Handwoven cotton plain weave, embroidered in wool. Overall sizes: 1.99 × .69 meters (78¼ × ¼ inches), 2.10 × .66 meters (82¾ × 26 inches), 2.02 × .74 meters (79½ × 29 inches), 1.92 × .72 meters (75½ × 28¼ inches). The Textile Museum 1988.19.143, 1988.19.142, 1988.19.150, 1986.19.104, Latin American Research Fund.
Plate 7 Cotton poncho probably from Central Chimborazo Province. Warp-faced
plain weave with warp-resist-dyed patterns. 1.31 × 1.32 meters (51½ × 52 inches). The Textile Museum 1988.19.58, gift of Roberta Siegel.
Plate 8 Cotton poncho from Cañar Province. Warp-faced plain weave with warp-
resist patterning. Neck binding probably recent. 1.35 × 1.36 meters (53 × 53½ inches). Collection of Marilee Schmit Nason.
CHAPTEr 5
Carchi Province (Ecuador) and the Department of Nariño (Colombia)
joanne rappaport The high plateau straddling the international boundary that separates Ecuador from Colombia is dotted by numerous small towns and dispersed farmsteads, and blanketed by a patchwork of tiny cultivated fields bearing wheat or barley, potatoes, and sometimes maize, depending on altitude. The inhabitants of this territory, the Pastos, no longer wear distinctive costume and lost their aboriginal language a century and a half ago. In spite of the fact that the farmers of Carchi Province, Ecuador, and their Colombian neighbors of the department of Nariño share a common culture, however, they do not claim a common identity: these northern Ecuadorian peasants do not consider themselves to be indigenous at all, whereas their cousins in Nariño aggressively and passionately assert their native identity. Two Distinct Communities The Pastos inhabited the northernmost boundaries of the Inca Empire. Supporting a large population of agriculturalists who tilled and terraced the high mountains, and who traded in the tropical lowlands for salt, gold, coca, and other valuable commodities, the Pasto Province before the Inca arrival was characterized by independent local chiefdoms that were never united through an overarching form of regional political organization.1 Split in two segments by Inca occupation a decade or so before the Spaniards arrived in 1536, the Pastos of what is today Ecuador retained a thin Inca cultural overlay during the colonial period, most evident in the use of Quichua by chiefly families and the maintenance of several forms of Inca material culture, including weav-
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ings. The significantly more numerous aboriginal communities of southern Colombia, in contrast, demonstrated no trappings of Inca domination. The northern and southern Pastos were also subject to different jurisdictions during the colonial period that extended from 1536 to the first decades of the nineteenth century. The people of what is today northern Ecuador reported to the administrative centers of Ibarra and Otavalo, to the south, while the northerners found themselves under the colonial administration of Pasto and Popayán.2 This administrative breach influenced the destinies of the two groups of communities, since the policies of the two jurisdictions were somewhat distinct. For instance, the city of Ibarra was constructed by corvée labor provided by the southern Pasto communities, who turned their sights toward Ibarra and Otavalo, thus precipitating a significant Pasto migration into what would become Imbabura Province; in fact, many of the surnames in contemporary Otavalo are Pasto in origin. The Pastos of the district of Popayán, in contrast, were segregated into resguardos, communal indigenous landholding entities. This colonial institution, intended as a vehicle for isolating indigenous laborers from the broader society and for freeing up land for European occupation, ultimately proved to be a valuable weapon in the maintenance of indigenous territorial and political autonomy.3 Protected by the resguardo system, the aboriginal populations of Nariño could not easily be persuaded to reject their indigenous identity. Once independence came to Colombia and to Ecuador in the early nineteenth century, the paths of the two border provinces continued to diverge. While the Pastos of Nariño successfully fought off the liquidation of their resguardos, thus partially braking the growth of large cattle ranches, the indigenous populations of northern Ecuador, deprived of the protection of pro-indigenous legislation, were divested of their properties as haciendas and middle-sized holdings expanded onto aboriginal lands. The dominant Hispanic culture made substantial inroads into all Pasto communities, however: by the early nineteenth century, the Pasto language, a member of the macroChibchan family, had died out entirely, leaving a large speech community with its own characteristic, regional variety of Spanish; by the period of independence, most Pasto witnesses to legal proceedings no longer required the services of interpreters, so it is difficult to gauge the use of Quichua among the chiefly families in the southern region. In the 1960s, after a successful agrarian reform and the growth of cooperatives, potato production soared in Carchi, where middle-sized farms employed a rural proletariat year-round. Under such conditions, the formerly indigenous population relinquished its indigenous identity, despite the fact that it continued to adhere to traditional cultural values, including distinctive
Carchi Province (Ecuador) and the Department of Nariño (Colombia) 121
forms of speech and narrative, Andean modes of labor exchange, a dispersed settlement pattern, and characteristic forms of material culture, including weaving. It is therefore quite difficult to gauge ethnicity in modern Carchi, where former hacienda peons, Colombian migrants, and middle-class townspeople share a common landscape, engage in similar economic pursuits, and partake of a common regional culture.4 Just on the other side of the border, however, where many of the former Pastos of Carchi have siblings, in-laws, or grandparents, indigenous identity distinguishes most rural agriculturalists ideologically from their towndwelling mestizo neighbors. In southern Colombia, ethnic identity is not so much a series of cultural attributes as a legal status associated with forms of land tenure. This does not mean that the Pastos have “lost” their culture, but that while all of the inhabitants of the region, indigenous and mestizo, share a common culture that is infused with Andean and Spanish forms and usages, only some identify themselves as indigenous. Membership in the indigenous community is registered through adherence to the resguardo system, while nonindigenous people own private property. Under Colombian law, resguardo lands are vested in the community as a whole, its individual members enjoying usufruct rights to plots on which they cultivate potatoes and barley or where they pasture dairy cattle. Under the communal regime of the resguardo, communities are able to govern themselves through a council or cabildo, whose proceedings are marked by distinct rituals, which are of Spanish origin but have disappeared among the Hispanic population. Cabildos also provide an institutional support for the communal historical memory, one of the cornerstones of indigenous identity. Ethnicity has become politicized turf since the mid-1970s, when in response to a shortage of cultivable land, cabildos organized themselves to reclaim territories usurped from them during the colonial period.5 In spite of a growing land base, however, young people continue to abandon highland Nariño in search of employment in the cane fields of the Cauca Valley or the coca-producing department of Putumayo in Colombia and the palm plantations of the Ecuadorian coast, or else abandon their homes to work in private households in Quito, Pasto, and other cities. Cloth and Identity in the Pasto Province The pre-Hispanic and colonial Pastos shared their territory with a number of other ethnic groups, including the Quillacingas to the north, the Abades to the west, and the Cayambis to the south. This was a multiethnic region, in which costume was fundamental for distinguishing ethnic groups. Cieza
122 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
de León, who traveled through the Pasto Province in 1547, shortly after the Spanish invasion of 1536, described Pasto clothing in the following manner: Their dress is [such] that the women wear a narrow mantle in the manner of a sack, with which they cover themselves from their breasts to their knees; and another small mantle on top, which falls over the long one, and all of them are made of grasses and of the bark of trees, and some are of cotton. The [male] Indians cover themselves with a mantle that is just as long, which must be three or four varas [approximately 3 meters], which they wrap once around their waist and again around the throat, and the end is placed on top of the head, and on their dishonest parts they wear small loincloths. (Cieza de León, cap. xxxiii, fol. 50v–51; 1984: 111)
The cotton yarn from which these garments were fashioned was acquired through long-distance trade, as cotton could not be cultivated in the cold, high mountains of the Pasto Province. A specialized corps of status-traders, called mindalaes, who operated under the sponsorship of hereditary chiefs, acquired cotton through barter in low-lying areas to the south and to the west of the Pasto Province, using gold and shell beads as media of exchange.6 Twentieth-century descendants of the Pastos in the municipality of Cumbal, Nariño, still acquire cotton yarn through barter, generally in exchange for guinea pigs. In contradistinction to colonial-era arrangements in which chiefs and their representatives controlled trade, contemporary barter is conducted by a broad range of individuals who periodically travel to lower-altitude areas to acquire cotton, plantains, and maize from friends and relatives; where there is no established kin relationship to cement these trading ties, wawas de pan (Q , S), or “bread babies,” can be baptized to simulate relations of ritual coparenthood. In the pre-Hispanic and colonial periods, textiles served as a medium for legitimizing status within aboriginal communities. The native lords of the Pasto area were invested with their chiefly status in ceremonies in which textiles played a central role, as can be noted in the following description of the 1693 investiture of the hereditary lord or cacique of Cumbal: And in virtue of the decree from this other party and chiefly title with which he required the said justice don Ambrosio de Prado y Sayalpud chief of Cumbal, [he] took by the hand said don Ambrosio del Prado and he seated him on a small wooden stool in the presence of the male and female Indians of said community of Cumbal and he removed the mantles of the principal Indians and placed them on the ground and ordered that they stand and that
Carchi Province (Ecuador) and the Department of Nariño (Colombia) 123
each one give him a bow and he embraced all of them as a sign of possession and true possession which was given him really, actually, corporeally with almost no contradiction on the part of anyone and with no prejudice on the part of another third party who had a firmer right.7
The document tells us nothing about the cacique’s costume, but it is likely that he, like other hereditary lords throughout the Spanish colonial world, wore European clothing, as murals of Muisca caciques painted on the walls of the church of Sutatausa, near Bogotá, illustrate (Rappaport and Cummins ms: chap. 2). The exchange and display of textiles assumed a similar function in the interethnic arena created by Inca and Spanish domination. Thus, for instance, transfer of rights to an encomienda, which provided Spaniards with a portion of an indigenous community’s tribute in recognition of services rendered the Crown, involved a similar exchange of woven mantles.8 The special status of early colonial mindalaes was emphasized in tribute lists, in which the statustraders were required to contribute cotton cloths to their chiefs, instead of being subjected to the usual corvée labor.9 The interethnic mosaic of the Pasto region was considerably more complex than a simple opposition between Spaniards and local ethnic lords, however. Remember that the southernmost portion of Pasto territory had been engulfed for a short period by the Inca Empire. The wills of late-sixteenth- and early-seventeenth-century Pasto hereditary chiefs from this region encode a series of power objects of Inca origin, including wooden lacquered drinking vessels called qero (limbiquiro in the testaments), silver cups called akilla, and various types of finely woven cloth called qompi, sometimes bearing specific names, such as in the case of Doña Catalina Tuza, whose 1696 will lists a piece of fine cloth specifically called “tucllapacha.”10 Although it is true that gifts of cloth accompanied Inca efforts at conquest (Murra 1975), in the case of these testaments, we would do better to emphasize the central role played by Inca symbols of authority in the process by which the Spanish recognized the colonial authority of Pasto chiefs. Inca symbols were clearly revalidated and recontextualized in the colonial political arena, their meanings radically altered from those they bore in pre-Hispanic times. Traditional Dress in Carchi and Nariño By the mid-nineteenth century, when watercolorists recorded the rural costume of Nariño, what is known today as traditional costume was already the rule in the Pasto area. An 1853 painting by Manuel M. Paz entitled “Tú-
124 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
5.1 Upper left: poncho from Cumbal, Department of Nariño, Colombia; upper
right: poncho from Otavalo, Imbabura Province, Ecuador; lower left: poncho from Quito, Pichincha Province, Ecuador; lower right: poncho from Pasto, Department of Nariño, Colombia. From Uhle 1889–1890, II: pl. 13, top.
querres: spinner of cotton” (Ardila and Lleras 1985: 208, pl. 117) depicts a woman wearing a full gathered wool skirt called a follera (pollera in other regions of Ecuador), common to many parts of the Andes, and a wool shawl draped across the front of her chest. She is spinning cotton yarn on a hand spindle of the sort still used today, held vertically. Next to her is a man in a white felt hat, wearing a wool poncho with vertical stripes, and three-quarterlength white trousers. The same garment called a poncho in Ecuador and Peru is referred to in Colombia as a ruana, a word of Spanish derivation. That this is generic peasant costume is evident from the fact that descendants of the Quillacingas to the north are also depicted in this clothing, differing only in such characteristics as the length of the men’s hair (Ardila and Lleras 1985: 207–208, pls. 214, 215). The clothing worn until a few decades ago by the peasants of Carchi and Nariño was made of plain-weave cloth woven from finely spun wool. Men wore trousers, either white or dyed a dark color, a vest or shirt embroidered with colored commercial yarn, and ponchos (Fig. 5.1). The ponchos I saw in Cumbal in the mid-1980s, which actually were called “ponchos,” were lined,
Carchi Province (Ecuador) and the Department of Nariño (Colombia) 125
with collars, edged with velvet, and of midthigh length. Many of them were twenty or more years old at that time. Women’s folleras were woven in a broad range of darker colors; these heavy and full wool skirts were decorated with embroidery and velvet, tied at the waist, and topped with a rectangular wool shawl. Both men and women used belts with supplementary-warp patterning, woven with commercial yarn and decorated with motifs of animals and people (Fig. 5.2). The most elaborate and largest of these belts were—and still are—used for swaddling infants. Most people went barefoot or wore alpargates (S), slippers with braided Furcraea-fiber (chawar) soles and woven uppers. In some regions, however, where the poor and landless earned their living by extracting glacial ice and sulfur from high volcanoes, roughly hewn leather shoes were made to protect the feet from the sharp rocks of the mountain slopes. Protecting their heads from the winds and rains of the high mountains, the people of Carchi and Nariño wore white felt hats, hard as helmets, that they purchased in the nearby cities of Ipiales and Tulcán. More recently, Panama hats made in the environs of the nearby town of Túquerres were popular.11 5.2 Belt from Cumbal,
Department of Nariño, Colombia, woven by Lastenia Alpala Tarapués in 1993. Warp-faced plain weave in cotton, with red acrylic supplementary-warp yarns. 2.12 meters × 3.5 centimeters (831/2 × 11/2 inches). Collection of Joanne rappaport.
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By the 1990s, only an occasional old man or woman wore traditional costume. Most people wear commercially produced cloth, generally synthetic, sewn by local tailors into some semblance of the current styles. For men, this means bell-bottomed trousers; a button-down shirt; a jacket; a singlelayered blue, brown, or striped ruana reaching to the upper thigh (Fig. 5.3); and a fedora hat; the home-woven ruana is made with significantly coarser yarn than the finer bayeta once used for trousers and folleras. Contemporary women wear A-line skirts and matching jackets of pastel-colored synthetic fibers, topped by crocheted shawls. Labor migration, schooling, easily accessible merchandise, and a shortage of wool caused by the shrinkage of grazing lands have all doomed traditional wool garb. Today this finely woven cloth can only be found in the tiny museums founded by ethnically self-conscious resguardo members or on the backs of young actors. The clothing of the early twentieth century, carefully stored away in wooden chests, is used today by rural theater groups to costume the hereditary chiefs of colonial times: they are portrayed in folleras or in wool trousers, decorated with gold paper representing pre-Hispanic gold jewelry (Fig. 5.4; see also Rappaport 1994). The costume described by Cieza de León has thus not been reproduced by these young actors, who prefer to select a costume accessible to the popular memory. Alternatively, actors are decked out in grass skirts of the sort that the Colombian popular imagination commonly 5.3 Ruana from La Paz,
Carchi Province, Ecuador. Warp-faced plain-weave wool. 1.40 × 1.21 meters (55 × 471/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1989.22.32, Latin American research Fund.
Carchi Province (Ecuador) and the Department of Nariño (Colombia) 127
5.4 Theater group in Muellamués (the northern neighbor of Cumbal), Department
of Nariño, Colombia, creating an image of the past with traditional costume. Photograph by Joanne rappaport. From rappaport 1994: pl. 14.
attributes to the indigenous communities of the tropical lowlands. Here, displacement in space is equated with distance in historical time. Textile Production The wool clothing worn in Carchi and Nariño during the first half of this century was produced from local flocks of sheep pastured on commons that have long since been distributed to land-hungry agriculturalists, but which frequently remain untilled for lack of water and because of the danger of overnight frosts. Young boys used to herd the family sheep on these broad plains; many of them, now old men, remember how the commons later became the object of dispute with local mestizos. The wool from these sheep was converted into finely spun yarn by women; although family members frequently spun in their free time, it has also been customary to hire poor women to do the bulk of the spinning, for which they were paid in raw wool and with food. As far back as most older people can remember, women have purchased commercial dyes to provide the deep blue or cinnamon brown of men’s ruanas; the dark browns, blacks, or purples of folleras; and the multiplicity of hues of the shawls. These powders were purchased in town or from itinerant traders,
128 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 5.5 Señora Aída Clemencia
Narváez, of La Paz, Carchi Province, Ecuador, weaving a blanket half. Slide by Lynn A. Meisch, 1989-20-29.
called by the Quichua term randi. The shade of colors was augmented, however, by the addition of vegetable substances, such as blackberry or datura leaves producing a deep blue, walnut leaves or bark creating the cinnamon hue, and mud for the dark black stain. When there was a great deal of wool to dye, three or four women would work together in a communal effort called a minga, some mashing the plants; others soaking the wool in a concoction of commercial dyes, herbal juices, and lye; and still others preparing a festive meal of guinea pigs. Although the preparation of wool yarn is a task reserved for women, the cloth from which traditional garb was manufactured was woven by both men and women. The vertical loom observed in La Paz, Carchi (Fig. 5.5; see also A. Rowe ed. 2007: 49–52), is commonly used by women for weaving ruanas, belts, and blankets. Although nowadays this weaving is generally done for household consumption, in the past women wove blankets and large swathes of thick cloth for sale by the yard in the regional centers of Pasto and Ipiales, using somewhat taller looms to produce the cloth employed in the confection of ruanas and folleras.12 Women learned to weave this cloth from their mothers, and oral narrators commonly report that they were whipped fre-
Carchi Province (Ecuador) and the Department of Nariño (Colombia) 129
quently until they acquired sufficient skill to undertake the task without maternal supervision. The looms, made by the men of the household, were also used by hired weavers, generally poor women working out of their homes, who were paid in potatoes or in cash. In addition, there were a few men in each village, both indigenous and mestizo, who set themselves up as commercial weavers, using treadle looms to produce a considerably larger quantity of cloth, which was sold locally as well as in regional centers. Other men apprenticed themselves to tailors, who were paid in foodstuffs for sharing their knowledge. Once a weaver had the wherewithal to purchase a sewing machine, the new entrepreneur set up local operations out of the main room of his rural house, converting the yardage into trousers and skirts. Today, however, the treadle looms and sewing machines of Carchi and Nariño no longer produce the clothing of yesteryear, which is now more of a conversation piece than a part of everyday life.
CHAPTEr 6
Costume in Imbabura Province
Otavalo
lynn a. meisch The green, fertile Otavalo Valley nestles in the Andes at 9,200 feet above sea level, 105 kilometers (65 miles) north of Quito (see Map 2). The town of Otavalo is the market and commercial center for some seventy-five small surrounding communities that are inhabited by indigenous people of the Otavalo ethnic group and by a small number of mestizos/whites. Beyond a doubt, the Otavalos are the most prosperous and best-known indigenous people in Ecuador and perhaps in all of South America because of their virtual monopoly of the cottage industry textile trade and associated tourism in Imbabura Province. Historical Background The Otavalos have long been weavers and merchants. The corregidor (magistrate) for the Otavalo area in the late sixteenth century, Sancho de Paz Ponce de León, wrote in 1582 that “in the old days,” before Spanish rule, the local rulers (caciques) had control over all that their subjects possessed, “except the indigenous merchants (indios mercaderes), who did not have to serve their chieftains like the others, but only paid tribute in gold, mantles, and beads of white or red bone” (para. 15; [1897]:111; Meisch translation). The indigenous merchants were the famous mindalaes, the ancestors (metaphoric if not literal) of today’s traveling Otavalo merchants. The mindalaes operated mainly in the Quito Basin, in what is now Imbabura Province, and in the Pasto country to the north and seem to have specialized in the importation of lowland luxury goods (Salomon 1986: 104–105). Another early colonial document (1552) says
Costume in Imbabura Province 131
that Otavalos “have all the barter business of all Quito and its outskirts, or most of it” (Salomon 1986: 202). Still another document (1662) says, “Besides dressing themselves with it [cotton], they make clothing and sell it, by which means they get gold for their tributes” (ibid.). The Otavalo area was given in encomienda to Rodrigo de Salazar, whose textile tribute list is cited in Chapter 3. He opened an obraje in Otavalo in 1563, using indigenous labor to build it (Ducasse 1985: 57). Salazar’s encomienda reverted to the Spanish Crown in 1581, and it became a Crown tributary area rather than being reassigned in encomienda, a slightly less oppressive arrangement for the indigenous people (Salomon 1981: 436). The Crown textile tribute list of 1612 cited in Chapter 3 is also extensive, however. Although several attempts to reform the merciless exploitation of the Otavalo obraje workers in the seventeenth century are known, all seem to have been temporary (Salomon 1981: 438). By 1623, the Otavalo obraje had become the most valuable in Ecuador. At its height in 1684, it employed 605 indigenous workers (Tyrer 1988: 102). Besides the one in Otavalo, a smaller Crown obraje was established in Peguche, 21/2 miles north of Otavalo, in 1626 (Rueda 1988: 78; Tyrer 1988: 100). While the obrajes were certainly responsible for introducing Spanish textile processes, they were also prominent in other parts of Ecuador, so they do not by themselves account for the weaving emphasis of the modern economy of the Otavalo area. Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, the two young Spanish naval officers on the French La Condamine expedition, visited Imbabura in 1736 and reported that while the area was divided into haciendas, many of which had textile obrajes “because of the large number of Indians and their inclination to weaving,” Otavalos were also doing a significant independent textile business. “For besides those [fabrics] that are made in the obrajes, free Indians or those who are not mitayos make many fabrics on their own account, such as plain cotton yardage (Lienzos de la Tierra, or Tucuyos), carpets, bed hangings, damask bedspreads, all of cotton, sometimes white with different needlework techniques (labores), and others blue and white; but all are held in great estimation, both in the province of Quito and in other places where they are taken” ( Juan and Ulloa 1748, lib. VI, cap. I, para. 730: 414–415; A. P. Rowe translation). William Bennett Stevenson, who was in the area in 1808, also notes that the natives were more inclined to weaving than to agriculture (1825, II:347–348). In the nineteenth century, although Ecuadorian textile manufacturing suffered as a result of the competition of imported English goods woven on steam-powered looms, several hacienda owners continued to operate textile factories in the Otavalo area. Stevenson noted that some of the large estates had four to five hundred Indians attached to them, either cultivating the land
132 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
or working in obrajes (1825, 2:347–348). In 1863, Friedrich Hassaurek, who was Abraham Lincoln’s ambassador to Ecuador, reported that indigenous workers on the hacienda at Peguche owned by José Manuel Jijón y Carrión produced coarse cloth for ponchos and shawls for indigenous consumption as well as material for European coats, vests, and pants on modern looms, chiefly exported to Colombia or the Pacific coast (Hassaurek 1967: 151). In 1918, the Hacienda Pinasquí (located between Ilumán, Carabuela, and Cotacachi) had 278 indigenous huasipungos producing 46,464 varas of bayeta annually (Males 1985: 29). Hassaurek also says that in Cotacachi, about six thousand cotton ponchos per month were being made for export to Quito, Guayaquil, and Colombia, as well as “woolen vests, cravats, etc.” (1967: 175). He also mentions the Furcraea bag-weaving industry in Atuntaqui, which still exists (ibid.: 177). Beginning around 1917, Otavalos began weaving imitations of Scottish tweeds for men’s suits (locally called casimir S), which they could market for less than the price of the imported cloth (see Collier and Buitrón 1949: 178 for a photograph). Elsie Clews Parsons, an anthropologist who worked in Peguche in 1940–1941, reports that the idea for weaving tweeds on the treadle loom was initially suggested to a Quinchuquí weaver, José Cajas, by a Quito gentleman (1945: 25–26). In the 1940s as now, Peguche, Ilumán, and Quinchuquí were home to many of the most prosperous weaving families. During the 1940s, some indigenous people had sufficient income from textile sales that they were able to buy land, mostly unused hacienda land. By 1946, the proportion of indigenous people who worked only on their own land was significantly higher than it was elsewhere in Ecuador (Salomon 1981: 425–426, citing Salz 1955: 32, 36). After World War II, tweeds became less profitable, and Otavalos instead began producing other kinds of textiles to sell to the many tourists who come to their famous Saturday market. Tapestry weaving, which continues today, was begun in 1954 with instruction under the auspices of the United Nations’ International Labor Organization and other agencies (Meisch text in A. Rowe ed. 1998: 51–52). The 1964 Law of Agrarian Reform released many Otavalos from debt servitude (huasipungo). Although this law has proven to be an imperfect vehicle for land redistribution, with many large estates still existing in the region, it freed many Otavalos to work for themselves, unleashing an impressive burst of entrepreneurial energy. The past fifty years have also seen increasing differences in wealth among indigenous families, ranging from people who are entirely farmers to those who are full-time merchants, and wealthy by any standard.1 Tapestries are by no means the only product. Some families specialize in
Costume in Imbabura Province 133
garments worn by other Otavalos. Others make garments designed to imitate those of other indigenous peoples and sell them at local or regional markets in other parts of Ecuador. Other families make acrylic ponchos, shawls, and scarves that are worn by Ecuadorian mestizos and whites, while others make clothing for the tourist market or for export to other South American countries. Blankets, bags, pillow covers, and other noncostume items are also produced. Furthermore, products go in and out of fashion, so every year new goods show up in the market. Some are invented or copied by local artisans; others are introduced by exporters from abroad. Thousands of Europeans, North Americans, Colombians, and Ecuadorians attend the market in Otavalo, and exporters from these countries and Japan visit Otavalo throughout the year to buy crafts and to place orders. While the market was formerly held on Saturdays, with a lesser amount of activity on Wednesdays, it gradually became a daily market by 1992. Costume Every item of men’s and women’s costume can be bought in the Otavalo market, and given the historical commercialization of weaving in the area, it seems likely that this situation also held true in the past. A family or a community may specialize in making and selling a particular item. Some families make some of their clothes and buy the rest, but I know of no one who makes everything. In the following chronological survey, it is important to realize that costume does not change all at once. Usually older people continue to wear a more conservative costume than do younger ones. And people in outlying areas also tend to be more conservative than people living closer to the town of Otavalo. Thus, although the costume changes are presented in the order in which they appear, there are usually several different versions of the costume being worn simultaneously at any given time.
women’s costume When Friedrich Hassaurek visited Otavalo during the festival of San Juan in June of 1863, the market was held on Sunday. He noted, “Here they sell macañas (a sort of narrow cotton shawl), ponchos, wool, cotton, beads, rosaries, leaden crosses, strings of glass pearls, collars and bracelets of false corals, and other cheap ornaments” (1967: 175). The cotton macañas may have been warp-resist patterned shawls, similar to those still made today in central and southern Ecuador and called macanas. That such shawls were once worn in the Otavalo area is supported by
134 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
6.1 Two shawls, left from Cotacachi. From Uhle 1889–1890, II: pl. 13, bottom.
two examples collected there around 1870, one specifically described as from Cotacachi (Fig. 6.1). A similar example was collected by Elsie McDougall and acquired by the American Museum of Natural History in 1952 (Fig. 6.2).2 Three additional examples were collected by Hernán Jaramillo Cisneros in the Otavalo area (Pfyffer 2002: 211–212). One more, said to be from Pintag, is also illustrated here (Fig. 6.3). A photograph published in 1952 shows a woman from Imbabura Province wearing a similar shawl over her head (Blomberg 1952: 171). This shawl has a simple pattern (similar to that in Fig. 6.3), and an eyelet ruffle sewn to the ends in place of fringe. Jaramillo Cisneros (1991: 167–170) reports that the shawls were made in Quichinche, San Juan (on the outskirts of Otavalo), and Quiroga, of industrially produced yarn, and were worn by women of intermediate socioeconomic class, called bolsiconas, after the style of gathered skirt (bolsicón S) that they wore. Although the rest of the costume in the Blomberg photograph is not clearly visible, it does appear that the woman is wearing a knee-length gathered skirt. The food vendor in John Collier’s previously unpublished 1946 photograph (Fig. 6.4) also seems to be wearing a costume consistent with intermediate social status. By the time of my first fieldwork in
6.2 Shawl, cotton, with warp-resist
patterning. Otavalo area, collected by Elsie McDougall before 1952. 1.40 × .65 meters (55 × 251/2 inches). Courtesy of the Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 40.0/8291.
6.3 Shawl, cotton, with warp-resist
patterning. Purchased 1980–1982 from a Cotacachi man who said it was from Pintag, Otavalo area. 1.675 × .61 meters (66 × 24 inches). Collection of Marilee Schmit Nason.
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6.4 Woman (second from right) in the Otavalo market wearing a warp-resist-
patterned shawl, 1946. Her hat also differs from those of the Otavalo women around her. Photograph by John Collier, Jr. Courtesy of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, r374.
1973, no bolsiconas were in evidence and these shawls were no longer remembered. Hassaurek was also impressed by the indigenous women: “The leading feature of their dress is the coarse woolen shawl with which they cover their breast and shoulders. You may judge of the impression produced by six or seven hundred red-shawled women, sitting in a large semicircle . . .” (1967: 162). He also noticed the women’s jewelry: “The women . . . are very fond of bracelets and collars of red beads, to some of which numbers of reals [coins] or half reals were suspended” (ibid.: 155). Red shawls were still being worn by indigenous women at the turn of the century, as shown in a painting by Joaquín Pinto of a shepherdess from
Costume in Imbabura Province 137
Atuntaqui (León Mera 1983: 107). The shepherdess also wears the multistrand necklaces, wrist wraps, and earrings of red beads described by Hassaurek. In addition, she wears a white headcloth and on top of that a low-crowned, broad-brimmed brown hat, presumably of handmade felt. Not much of her blouse is visible, but it is white and she wears an ankle-length dark blue anaku, without decoration at the bottom. An 1896 photograph taken in Ibarra shows two women wearing blouses that are not embroidered and are cut slightly differently from modern examples, as well as an ankle-length dark anaku (Fig. 6.5). One wears a white headcloth and felt hat. The white fabric on the other woman’s shoulders may be a headcloth also. A similar costume is shown in two photographs in a January 1929 National Geographic (Gayer 1929: 75, pl. VII). The two women shown wear a blouseslip combination (the most appropriate English term for which is “chemise”), with a band of embroidery across the chest similar to modern examples, and a navy blue half anaku over a white anaku. The ends of the navy blue one meet on one side, revealing the white one underneath. One blue anaku is plain and the other has colored decoration on the lower edge. The supplementary-warp patterned belt of one of the women is visible, wound over another belt, probably a mama chumbi. Both women are wearing two shawls, a smaller one with the corners knotted on the chest ( fachalina) and a larger one over the entire ensemble (locally called “rebozo”). One of the women has a solid blue facha-
6.5 Otavalo people in Ibarra in December of 1896. From Festa 1909:
opposite p. 272.
138 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
lina, and the other has one with narrow black and white stripes and white ends. One wears a red rebozo, presumably corresponding to the earlier style mentioned by Hassaurek, while the other wears a blue one, evidently a newer style. One of the women is also using a plain white carrying cloth, with the ends crossed over her shoulders and chest. She also appears to be wearing a dark headcloth under her hat. A woman’s marital status in the 1920s was indicated by how she wore her rebozo. When an unmarried woman “is not actually using her gay rebozo, it is neatly folded and carried on her left shoulder, thus proclaiming to the world that she is still unmarried” (Gayer 1929: 75, pl. VII). When indigenous friends from Ilumán dressed me in Otavalo women’s costume in 1979, they said that wearing the rebozo untied formerly meant that a woman was single, but now this meaning is lost. One of the women in the 1929 National Geographic photograph has a necklace of gold-colored beads, while the other has a necklace of beads that look more silvery. The latter woman also has bead loop earrings about 6 inches long. Her wrists are visible and oddly are unadorned. Both women and the man also pictured wear hats with broad, sharply upturned brims. They were “handmade, of felt hardened to the consistency of plaster” (Gayer 1929: 75, pl. VII). The women are barefoot. Beautiful photographs by Bodo Wuth (in Parsons 1945) and John Collier (in Collier and Buitrón 1949) and the accompanying texts document Otavalo costume of the 1940s. Most of these photographs unfortunately lack village identification. Some additional information is also included in Gonzalo Rubio Orbe’s study of the community of Punyaro (1956). Although the half-length anaku appears in the earlier images mentioned, a full-length one was still worn by some women in the 1960s (Robinson ms.: 40) and we spotted one old woman wearing one as late as 1989 (Fig. 6.6). In the 1940s, “in place of the embroidered blouse and petticoat, Indian women in isolated communities often wear a cream-colored or beige rectangle wrapped around the body like a tunic and fastened at the shoulders with silver or copper pins” (Collier and Buitrón 1949: 66, photo p. 70). It was called tupullina in Punyaro (Rubio Orbe 1956: 71). Carlos Conterón of Ilumán said that when he was growing up in the 1950s, his grandmother wore such a full-body anaku, called a tupulina facha, meaning a cloth to bring the tupu (pin) onto the body. The pins for everyday use were carved from wood. His grandmother wore a half anaku over the tupulina facha, and the rest of her costume was similar to that described above. A ninety-year-old Otavalo woman told Kathleen Klumpp (personal communication, 2006) that blouses started to be used around the early 1930s,
Costume in Imbabura Province 139 6.6 Old woman in the Otavalo market
in 1989 wearing a brown full-length anaku, with a navy blue half anaku over it. Her necklace beads are red. Behind her are contemporary tourist tapestries. Slide by Ann Pollard rowe.
although, as noted, there is earlier evidence. The same informant said that the full-body anaku was called either tupulina or tupullina (pronounced tupuzhina). It was made of undyed (either off-white or brown) wool, and loosely draped below the neck and arms, with the back overlapping the front at the shoulders. It was sometimes secured on the shoulders with a pair of metal tupus (Fig. 6.7), in a horizontal or diagonal position, with the broad head of the pin facing up and outward toward the arms. Poorer women used a pampas grass stick instead. No string was used to hold the pins in place. A black half anaku was wrapped over it and secured with belts, as noted above. The shawl was always tied in a knot on the chest; a tupu was not used to secure it. Collier and Buitrón indicate that wealthier women wore two half anakus, implying that poorer ones wore only one (1949: 66). On rare occasions, I have seen women wearing just the dark anaku, and letting their blouse-slip show underneath. In the 1940s, anakus were made either of local treadle-loom woven wool fabric or of finer imported material (Collier and Buitrón 1949: 66). White women in the town of Otavalo sometimes embroidered anakus on the lower edge with simple geometric designs, to be sold to indigenous women (Rubio Orbe 1956: 69). An anaku from the 1940s in the American Museum of Natu-
140 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 6.7 Dress pins and rosario necklace collected
in 1968 by Kathleen Klumpp. The latest coin is dated 1944. Otavalo area. Pins: 8 × 3.2 centimeters (31/8 × 11/4 inches) each. Rosario: 75 centimeters (291/2 inches). The Textile Museum 2005.11.6A and B, 2005.11.5, Latin American research Fund.
ral History collection is of black wool balanced plain weave, with the cut ends overcast, probably locally made (40.0/6291).3 One Otavalo comadre told me that when she was young, in the 1950s during the time of wasipungu, she was so poor she wore an anaku made from handspun goat hair. In the 1980s, anakus were made from factory-made wool or acrylic fabric, usually with simple machine embroidery at the hem, although the fashion in the late 1990s and early 2000s was no embroidery. Occasionally a brown or burgundy anaku was worn. According to our Otavalo research assistant, Breenan Conterón, the brown anaku was (and in the late 1980s could still be seen) worn in Cerotal, San Rafael, and other communities around Lake San Pablo. The brown anaku probably was originally made from undyed dark sheep’s wool. Breenan also said that the rarely seen burgundy-colored anaku is also an older style, worn by indigenous women who live on the páramo (the higher elevations around Otavalo). I have never come across documentation of a red or burgundy anaku, but probably most travelers did not come into contact with women in these remote areas, or simply did not bother to comment on such an anaku. Accounts from the 1940s confirm that women wore two belts. Underneath was the wide mama chumbi (mother belt), red with green edges and a cabuya weft to make it stiff, woven on the backstrap loom with four sel-
Costume in Imbabura Province 141
vedges. Over it was a long narrow belt, the wawa chumbi (baby belt) or chumbi, usually of white cotton with colored wool supplementary-warp patterning, also backstrap-loom woven (Fig. 6.8). Modern examples are similar, only acrylic has replaced the wool. According to Rubio Orbe (1956: 69), the mama chumbi was woven in Azama and Camuendo. Carlos Conterón told me that until around 1960, the wawa chumbi had a long (20–30 centimeter/8–12 inch) cord on each end of blue or green commercial cotton yarn, at the end of which there was a round tassel. These hung down over the woman’s buttocks, one on each side, so that they swayed when she walked. In the 1940s, the chemise was made of cotton fabric, frequently commercial muslin. The upper part, called a buche (S, belly), was of a different, finer fabric than the lower part (Fig. 6.9). Some examples were embroidered at home by women for their own use, others by indigenous or mestizo women who embroidered them as a business (Collier and Buitrón 1949: 66, 69). Chemises collected between 1939 and 1945 for The Brooklyn Museum offer
6.8 Belt collected in the early 1950s. Plain-weave cotton with supplementary-
warp patterning. Otavalo area. 3.70 × .045 meters (1455/8 × 13/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1985.30.5, gift of Bligh Des Brisay.
142 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
6.9 Blouse bodice (buche), Peguche style, collected in 1962. Plain-weave cotton,
embroidered in silk. Otavalo area. 36 × 70 centimeters (14 × 271/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1980.21.9, gift of Bodil Christensen.
clues to the evolution of the sleeve ruffles. The chemises were sold without attached ruffles, and the collection instead includes two rectangular pieces of cotton fabric for each chemise. One set has embroidery on one edge of each piece, while a second set has crochet along one edge, and a third is entirely crocheted. These pieces were obviously meant to be gathered and attached to the sleeves as ruffles, and they show the evolution of the ruffle from solid fabric to lace. Examples can also be seen in Collier’s photographs (e.g., Collier and Buitrón 1949: 5, 7, 121 bottom). Newer chemises have lacy ruffles on both the neck and sleeves. Examples from the late 1980s were usually made of synthetic materials and may be machine embroidered. In the 1940s, the embroidery designs may have provided some indication of village residence.4 The type of leafy vine design seen in Figure 6.9, worked predominantly in a single color, is common and may have been typical of the Peguche area. By the 1960s, the embroidery designs were “all similar,” and community differences were indicated more by the number of different colors used or by the width of the design (Robinson ms.: 32). By the early 2000s, two trends were evident in chemise embroidery. One is the reversion to com-
Costume in Imbabura Province 143
pletely hand-embroidered motifs. The other is the use of sewing machines with computerized patterns to embroider motifs ranging from Walt Disney and other cartoon characters to flowers and leaves. As in the 1920s, two fachalinas (meaning to bring cloth, facha or pacha, onto the body) were often worn simultaneously, one as a headcloth and another as a shawl. In the 1940s, Collier and Buitrón described the fachalina as “a rectangular piece of Indian cotton woven in white or blue-and-white stripes” (1949: 66; Fig. 6.10). The style was the same in the 1960s (Robinson ms.: 45–47). Some of the photographs from the 1940s, however, show women wearing solid dark shoulder fachalinas (e.g., Collier and Buitrón 1949: 68–69, 79). Formerly, the manner in which the headcloth was worn indicated the woman’s village. Parsons listed the following styles: “. . . the two front corners tied behind at the nape of the neck and hanging to the waist (Peguche), or falling in straight folds (San Antonio, near Ibarra), or tucked around the head into a kind of visored cap (San Rafael), without a hat” (1945: 17; the latter style is shown in Collier and Buitrón 1949: 102–103, identified as San 6.10 Two women in the Otavalo market, trying on rings, 1945. Photograph by Walter H. Hodge.
144 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 6.11 Blanca Yolanda Castañeda of Ilumán, Otavalo area, demonstrates an old style of wearing the head fachalina. Photograph by Lynn A. Meisch, 19949-3.
Rafael, also 32, 115). The fachalina used for the visored style was white cotton. The Peguche style is still used but no longer indicates Peguche residence (see Fig. 6.10). In 1994, friends in Ilumán demonstrated a different obsolete style, in which the cloth was twisted into a ring (Fig. 6.11). Collier and Buitrón (1949: 66–67) say that wealthier women closer to town used as a carrying cloth what was locally called a rebozo, a rectangle of imported fabric in bright blue, red, or various shades of green, sometimes embroidered on the lower edge in geometric designs. Those farther from town used rebozos of locally woven wool cloth in dark blue or black. When not in use for carrying things, the rebozo may be carried on top of the hat or over one arm. The heavy handmade felt hat, with a broad brim and low crown, is commonly worn by women in photos taken in the 1940s (see Fig. 6.10). The brim is not as upcurving as in the 1920s photographs, though the exact shape varied by community (Parsons 1945: 28; Rubio Orbe 1956: 65). For example, hats of the style worn in Cumbas (AMNH 40.0/6299 and 6300, collected 1947) have slightly more pointed crowns and flatter brims than in Ilumán or Peguche (see Fig. 6.10). Women used to wear these hats over or under their fachalinas. The hat was called a yurak (white) or killu (yellow, meaning tan, which darkens to brown) sumbru or sombro (from the Spanish sombrero). The white ones were colored with cornstarch, and the reddish ones with brick dust (Collier and Buitrón 1949: 66). Ilumán traditionally has been a hat-making com-
Costume in Imbabura Province 145
munity, and indigenous men as well as whites/mestizos practiced this trade. In the 1940s, hat making was also done in Quinchuquí (Parsons 1945: 9) as well as the town of Otavalo and the barrio of Monserrate (Rubio Orbe 1956: 67–68). Women were still wearing hats, mainly white ones, in the 1960s (Robinson ms.: 51–52), but they have gone out of daily use since then, except in outlying communities such as those around Cotacachi. Women wore their hair “in two side braids that are braided into a single back braid doubled up and bound with a ribbon. A little lock kept cut to about two inches lies down the temple” (Parsons 1945: 28; see also 157). Rubio Orbe describes the ribbons as white, blue, black, or brown cotton, woven in San Rafael, Pucará, Camuendo, and Azama (1956: 68, 70). The usual hairstyle by the 1980s was to pull the hair back and wrap it with a hand-woven band (Fig. 6.12). Every single photo of women in the Parsons and Collier and Buitrón books shows them barefoot. By the 1960s, wealthier women wore sandals (alpargatas S) with braided chawar soles and dark vamps (Robinson ms.: 49), and by the 1980s, nearly all wore alpargatas with rubber soles and dark velvet vamps (see Fig. 6.12). As the full-body anaku disappeared in the Otavalo region, so did the straight stick pin (tupu). Parsons observed that in the 1940s the tupu was
6.12 Selling women’s alpargatas in the Otavalo market in 1989. Slide by Ann Pollard rowe.
146 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
sometimes included as part of the women’s necklaces, either with or without the shaft (1945: 29). The rosary (rosario S) is another archaic item (see Fig. 6.7). Parsons described a common necklace as a “rosario of brass and red beads, coral and glass, with a large silver cross and ancient silver coins, and . . . tupu” (1945: 29). The general use of rosarios continued into the 1960s, but today they are restricted mainly to weddings, and to the male prioste (sponsor of a fiesta) during such fiestas as Pendoneros, celebrated on October 15 in communities along the south side of Lake San Pablo. The example shown in Figure 6.7 was said to have been made in Cotacachi, which is a metalworking center. Necklaces primarily of oval or round red or coral-colored beads were also common, and were worn until recently in some communities, especially around Lake San Pablo. The gilded glass beads also continue to be worn, and strings of small red or coral-colored beads were and are used to wrap both wrists. In the 1940s, the most common style of earring was long loops of the same red or gold beads used for necklaces. These earrings (orejeras) sometimes had an old coin or a silver or brass hand (to protect against the evil eye) at the end, and varied in length from several inches (for babies and everyday wear) to 3 feet. Carlos Conterón’s grandmother in Ilumán wore thigh-length earrings for fiestas during the 1950s, and his wife, Rosa Elena de la Torre, wore them at their wedding in 1968 (Fig. 6.13). Waist-length earrings appear occasionally in photographs taken in the 1940s (Collier and Buitrón 1949: 5, 69 bottom; Blomberg 1952: 157, Bodo Wuth photo). A newer style was also starting to be used, “little affairs of colored glass and wire” (Parsons 1945: 30). These were called zarcillos (S) and were made in Cotacachi (Rubio Orbe 1956: 68). No single style of earring is considered typical now. After a period in which mestizo/white-style white wedding veils were worn (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 71, fig. 57; Meisch 2003: 168, fig. 11.4), many Otavalo brides are again wearing the white felt hat and long earrings in 2007. Collier and Buitrón (1949: 67) said that both men and women wore “many rings, as many as three or four on each finger of both hands.” Parsons described the rings in more detail: “Finger rings may be silver seal rings with initials but commonly are rings of brass with curious prongs, as if a heavy setting had been emptied of its jewel. All the fingers may be loaded with these rings, which are given at marriage. A ring worn on the middle finger, a ring of steel, is said to be an amulet against witchcraft” (Parsons 1945: 30). Few people wore rings by the 1980s.
6.13 rosa Elena de la Torre dressed in her 1968 wedding finery, Ilumán, Otavalo
area. Photograph by Lynn A. Meisch, 1988-70-33.
148 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 6.14 Poncho vendor from Otavalo, 1870s. Photograph by Vargas. Stübel and reiss 1888: pl. 5.
men’s costume A photograph of an Otavalo man from the 1870s is shown in Fig. 6.14 (also published in Chiriboga and Caparrini 1994: pl. 2). He has bare forearms, so is probably wearing a tunic rather than a shirt, as well as knee-length white pants, a broad light-colored poncho, and a low-crowned hat with a slightly upcurving brim. He is identified as a poncho vendor and is carrying a striped poncho folded over his right shoulder. He appears to have long unbound hair. A photograph taken by the naturalist Enrico Festa (see Fig. 6.5) at the end of 1896 in Ibarra shows a man in a white tunic and lower-calf-length pants, a dark poncho over his left shoulder, and a white hat. He appears to have long hair drawn back at the neck. A drawing from 1883 titled “Peinado [coiffure] de los indios de Iluman (Imbabura)” shows the back of a man’s head (Villacís Verdesoto 1981: 46). Most of the man’s hair is included in one long braid, but he has long, shaggy, loose locks over both ears. Hassaurek, who visited Otavalo in 1863, noted: “Most of the men I saw on the ground had very long and thick hair. . . . The Indians of Otavalo, Atuntaqui, Cotacachi, etc., look upon it as a great
Costume in Imbabura Province 149
ornament and never cut it. With some of them it reached down to their waists. They either wore it loose, or had one little braid twisted on top of it. The men wore no jewelry” (1967: 155). Hassaurek also mentions the red poncho worn in Otavalo (1967: 174) and sandals (alpargates S) made of cabuya fiber, which are still worn today (ibid.: 145). It is significant that Hassaurek calls the poncho by that name and says they were red. Early examples were probably dyed with cochineal. Various Otavalos have told me that their grandparents harvested cochineal from opuntia cactus growing around Yaguarcocha near Ibarra, and it can still be found in the same region near Hacienda Yuracruz. In 1899, Joaquín Pinto painted an Yndio de Otavalo (Samaniego Salazar 1977: pl. 34). The man has long, loose hair hanging down his back. He is wearing a low-crowned, broad-brimmed tan hat with a dark brown hatband. Only his poncho and pants are visible. The poncho is tan or white with two sets of red stripes on each half (each set is composed of a broad stripe flanked on each side by a narrow one). His white pants are loosely cut and come to his ankles, and his feet are bare. His forearms are visible and shirtless. Another late-nineteenth-century drawing, of the “indios de San Roque (San Pablo, Imbabura)” (Villacís Verdesoto 1981: 48) shows two men pulling a plow like draft animals and another man guiding the plow. All three have a long braid and are wearing ragged tunics that come to above their knees and no other visible garments. Two other long-haired people, who appear to be men (they are tiny and indistinct), are breaking up clods of earth with short, hooked hoes. They are also wearing tunics. It appears that the shirt is probably a twentieth-century innovation in the immediate Otavalo area (but see the section on Cotacachi below). In his preliminary sketch for the painting of the Atuntaqui shepherdess, Joaquín Pinto included two little boys in the background (León Mera 1983: 108). (We can tell they are boys because they are wearing ponchos.) They are both wearing hats and what look like skirts that come to just above and just below their knees, respectively. They are probably wearing tunics, as it was customary to refrain from dressing little boys in pants. In 1931, Moisés Sáenz, a member of an investigative committee on indigenous affairs for the Mexican secretary of public education, made a research trip to various Central and South American countries, including Ecuador. He visited a primary school in Ilumán with sixty-two students, many of whom were indigenous. Sáenz noted that some of the little boys wore a shirt (camisa) and pants (calzón), while others wore only a tunic (camisón) wrapped with a belt. The reason for this, Sáenz explains, was the indigenous belief that putting pants on a boy too soon resulted in precocious adolescence with the
150 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
boy wanting to get married (1933: 147). In other words, if the little boys were dressed like adults, they would begin to have adult sexual desires. Daniel de la Torre, of San Luis de Agualongo, told me that this tunic, formerly worn by boys until they were about twelve, was called a kushma (Meisch 1987: 38). Sáenz quotes the Ecuadorian scholar Pedro Fermín Cevallos, whose 1887 political geography also mentions the indigenous custom of dressing boys not in pants but in a wool cuzma and poncho (Sáenz 1933: 93). Rubio Orbe says that the boy’s kushma was made of white cotton, sewn with colored thread, and worn belted (1956: 67, 71). Most of the photographs of young boys from the 1940s, however, show them wearing shirt and pants like those of adult men.5 In the 1929 National Geographic photo (Gayer 1929: pl. VII), the man is clearly wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and pants that just cover his knees. His hat is identical to the woman’s hat, and his hair is pulled back. His poncho is particularly interesting, since it is dark blue with twelve narrow, evenly spaced white stripes on one face, and a solid lighter blue on the other. This is the first recorded appearance of a blue poncho with different colors on the two faces. Later documentation indicates that red ponchos continued to be worn, however, and they do predominate in photographs of the Otavalo market published in the National Geographic Magazine in 1941 (Moore 1941: 727, 730 top, 731). Some old men wore them up until the late 1970s. Judging from photographs of the 1930s and 1940s (Sáenz 1933: 42; Parsons 1945; Collier and Buitrón 1949), there were several wool poncho styles in daily use then, including red, navy blue, or black examples, either solid color, or with a group of contrast color stripes near each outside edge. Sometimes these contrasting stripes include stripes with a simple dashed warp-resist dyed pattern, called poncho granizo (S, hail; Figs. 6.15–6.16), a style woven in Ilumán and worn in Imantag (Jaramillo Cisneros 1991: 37–39). A rarer style has narrow warp and weft stripes at spaced intervals (Collier and Buitrón 1949: 86, 189). The oldstyle handspun and hand-woven wool ponchos did not usually have a collar, but were often trimmed around the edge with dark blue or black commercial tape. Two ponchos were sometimes worn at once. Although ponchos were normally worn over the head, a few of John Collier’s photographs from the 1940s show it instead worn folded in half, wrapped around the hips, and held in place with a leather belt (Collier and Buitrón 1949: 120 center, 165, 168 top, 173–175, some apparently showing the same man). This manner of dress seems to be used only in informal working situations, perhaps for warmth. Fine cotton warp-resist patterned ponchos (called llamas watashka, mean-
6.15 Cooperative house building in Ilumán, showing Otavalo men’s costume, 1946. The poncho of the man in the foreground has warp-resistpatterned stripes, similar to that in Figure 6.16. Photograph by John Collier, Jr. Courtesy of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, r377.
6.16 Wool poncho with warp-resistpatterned stripes. Probably Ilumán, Otavalo area. 1.38 × 1.44 meters (541/4 × 563/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.19.27, Latin American research Fund.
152 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
6.17 Wedding poncho, cotton with bound-warp-resist patterning. Otavalo area.
1.37 × 1.46 meters (54 × 571/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.19.94, Latin American research Fund.
ing “llamas wrapped”; Fig. 6.17) were worn at certain major fiestas and by the groom and sponsor at a wedding, and are illustrated in this context in miniature dioramas at the Instituto Otavaleño de Antropología (Fig. 6.18; cf. also Parsons 1945: 57; Meisch 2003: 166, fig. 11.3). Their most distinctive feature is a pattern of blue and white checks, with stripes of fret designs on the outer edges. They were formerly woven in villages around Lake San Pablo (Jaramillo Cisneros 1991: 37). Although they have not been made for some time, they are still occasionally worn at weddings by men whose families have kept them as heirlooms or rented from a family that owns one.6 Another style of warp-resist cotton poncho has diamond designs in light blue against a dark blue ground (Fig. 6.19 and Pl. 1). This style seems to have been less associated with weddings and more with Sunday dress (Collier and Buitrón 1949: 98). Both styles were made with industrially produced yarns.
6.18 Wedding in Otavalo, 1926. Photograph by Patricio Castro.
6.19 Festival poncho, cotton with bound-warp-resist patterning, collected in 1947
by Aníbal Buitrón. Woven by mestizos in Quiroga, Otavalo area. 1.12 × 1.28 meters (441/8 × 503/8 inches). Courtesy of the Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 40.0/6281.
154 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
By the 1980s, there were two poncho styles, one handwoven of blue wool, either solid color or with a different solid color on each face (see Fig. 6.12).7 A factory-made style, available since the 1950s, is navy blue on one side and gray or tan plaid on the other (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 69, 71), inspired by the most elaborate handwoven style. They were first made in the community of Los Chillos southeast of Quito, in an offshoot of the Peguche obraje. The obraje’s owners, the Jijón family, moved their equipment from Peguche to Los Chillos after the devastating earthquake of 1868 (San Félix 1988, I:282). These ponchos have an added collar and edge binding. Young men, however, are increasingly wearing ponchos only for special occasions, and sweaters or jackets for daily use. The older-style pants are white, wide-legged, midcalf length, and gathered into a tie band at the waist (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 68, figs. 52–53). According to Rosa Elena de la Torre of Ilumán, born in the late 1940s, her parents and grandparents spun white cotton with a hand spindle to make the cotton fabric for the pants, which was woven on the treadle loom and then tailored. These pants had a large diamond-shaped gusset in the crotch (changa uku, “under leg,” or fundillu), no front fly, and was called fundillu calzón. It had a waistband that opened at the side and was fastened by cloth ties (pretina or cintura S) that were extensions of the waistband. The cut using rectangles with minimal waste is an old style of Spanish tailoring. Before a woman could get married, she had to hand spin the cotton yarn for a pair of such pants for her fiancé, which her father then wove on the treadle loom. The cloth at the calf was folded twice and sewn with a tiny stitch called ispiguitana or ojo de pollo (S, chicken’s eye). In view of the fact that through the 1930s little boys wore only a tunic, and pants were a symbol of adulthood, it is significant that a woman helped make pants for her fiancé, as a kind of recognition of his adult status. This style continued to be commonly worn as late as the 1960s (Wolf 1969), but by the late 1980s, most older men wore machine-made white pants of modern cut, and younger men wore white pants only for special occasions and any kind of pants for daily use. The cut of the shirt resembles those recorded at an earlier date in Quito (see Chapter 7). It is a pullover style, with a series of tucks on either side of the front placket. In the Otavalo area, the front placket, collar, and cuffs were generally embroidered. Shirts made in town had simple machine embroidery (see photos in Collier and Buitrón 1949: 183, 190), but others were apparently hand embroidered at home “with little stylized figures—a horse, a dog, a little man, or a sunburst, nearly always in red wool” (Collier and Buitrón 1949: 64). In shirts made near Otavalo, the collar and cuffs were often made of finer white cotton cloth than the rest.
Costume in Imbabura Province 155
In 1986, Ann Rowe and I asked a young Otavalo friend to reconstruct the old-style men’s shirt and pants for us. He went to his grandfather, who still wore these garments. The shirt is called a tiu camisa (“uncle” or “male shirt”) or a librillo camisa after the librillos (S, pleats) on the front placket (pichu, from Spanish pecho, meaning “chest”). The embroidery designs had meanings. The zigzags (kingu) on the front placket, for example, “indica su poder” (indicate one’s power). The shirt was generally worn outside of the pants and belted. In old photographs, the fabric usually blouses over the belt so that the belt cannot be seen, but Parsons describes it as broad and of pink wool (1945: 28; the photo in Collier and Buitrón 1949: 169 shows a woven belt). In the 1960s, a wawa chumbi like the woman’s was sometimes worn (Robinson ms.: 71). The shirtsleeves were sometimes rolled up to the elbow for working. The old-style shirt was still commonly worn by older men in the 1960s, but younger men wore modern-style shirts. The latter were worn tucked in, but sometimes were belted anyway (Wolf 1969). By the 1980s, old-style shirts were no longer in common use, and factory-made shirts were worn instead. The men’s handmade felt hats were identical to the women’s. Some men began to wear broad-brimmed fedoras during the 1940s, and by the 1960s most men were wearing this style. Throughout the twentieth century, the most common hairstyle for males has been to wear it long and pulled back in a single braid. Sometimes a smaller braid begins just above the center of the forehead (Collier and Buitrón 1949: 77 and 186), or two smaller braids over the temple meet the main braid in back (see, for example, Blomberg 1952: 160). By the 1980s, these latter styles had become obsolete except occasionally for small boys. White sandals (alpargatas) with braided and coiled cabuya-fiber soles, like those mentioned by Hassaurek, have continued to be worn. The cottageindustry manufacture of alpargatas by whites/mestizos and by a few indigenous families is a specialty of the communities around Cotacachi, especially La Calera; some are also made in Otavalo (see Jaramillo Cisneros 1991: 106– 124). The toe piece usually has white-on-white float patterning in zigzags or diamonds. Factory-made shoes are sometimes worn today, especially by younger men. Cotacachi Area Communities The Otavalo ethnic group includes the indigenous people of the eastern slopes of Mama Cotacachi. Those people living in and near Cotacachi or between Cotacachi and Otavalo are also involved in agriculture and the textile indus-
156 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
try, but those high on the slopes of the western cordillera around Mama Cotacachi are primarily agriculturalists. Early evidence for Cotacachi men’s costume suggests that it was significantly different from that of Otavalo proper at the same period. An album of paintings by Juan Agustín Guerrero done in 1852 contains two paintings of men identified as from Cotacachi (Hallo 1981: 62, 97). Both are wearing white shirts that fall almost to their knees, with long sleeves and cuffs, and midcalflength full white pants. Over this garb is a knee-length narrow black kushma (or poncho) that leaves the arms uncovered. The men wear their hair loose, though one man has the front locks drawn back and secured behind his head. One is seated and making bobbin lace, and is without a hat, while the other is shown walking and has a hat with a tall crown. An example of this narrow dark garment is preserved in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, acquired in 1917 (40.0/1513). It is a single four-selvedged panel of navy blue wool with the neck slit woven in, 1.40 × .79 m in size, and with signs of use. It is unfortunate that we do not know what it was called. Three photographs published in 1888 show men identified as from Cotacachi, but only one seems to be wearing the narrow black kushma (Fig. 6.20; also published in Chiriboga and Caparrini 1994: pl. 3). The other two wear striped ponchos (Stübel and Reiss 1888: pls. 1–2; Chiriboga and Caparrini 1994: pl. 4). Their hair appears to be long and untied. All are hatless. In the late twentieth century, Cotacachi-area indigenous males dressed in the same basic style as described above for Otavalo, but women’s costume was more similar to Otavalo-area women’s costume of fifty years ago than to contemporary Otavalo dress. It may include the old-style felt hat and predominantly white striped fachalinas, and more of the costume may be handmade than is typical of Otavalo (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 76–78). Natabuela
ann pollard rowe Natabuela and the neighboring hamlet of Ovalos, located 8 kilometers south of Ibarra, in the cantón of Antonio Ante, are the locus of another substyle of the Otavalo costume. The land formerly belonged to a big Church hacienda, called Anafo, which was sold to the indigenous people working on it in 1963.8 The plots of land are nevertheless too small, and many men have left to seek work in the cities, while the women buy and sell produce in the Ibarra and Atuntaqui markets. Quichua is no longer spoken there. Until 1972 the indige-
6.20 Man from Cotacachi, Otavalo area, 1870s. Photograph by Vargas. Stübel and
reiss 1888: pl. 3.
158 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
nous population formed a majority of the nearly 4,000 inhabitants, but ten years later, due to migration, it formed only about 25 percent of a population of less than 2,300. Women’s Costume The women’s costume of the late 1980s is superficially similar to that of Otavalo proper, but with small differences (Fig. 6.21). For example, women do not wear a white anaku but only a solid black anaku over the chemise. The Natabuela anaku has no decoration. No mama chumbi is worn. The anaku is secured with the local style of handwoven belt, which may have supplementary-weft as well as supplementary-warp patterning. Very few weavers were making these belts in the late 1980s, so some people bought Otavalo belts to wear instead. The headcloths are plain white cotton and are generally tied behind the head, without a hat. The enormous old-style felt hats of this area, which have a more upcurving brim than those of Otavalo, were formerly worn on a daily basis but are now worn only on special occasions. Women generally wore the hats with the entire brim up, over a headcloth draped loosely on the head. Both white and brick-colored ones were used, without trim. They were made in Ilumán and Ibarra.9 Another garment no longer made is a women’s headcloth (milmafacha) worn for religious ceremonies. It consisted of a fine white wool rectangle with silk lace on each end and was worn in the same way as the daily headcloth (Tobar Bonilla 1985: 262–263). The examples we recorded in 1989 (Fig. 6.22) were of cotton, and called paño.10 The embroidered mesh end borders were made separately and sewn on, and one example had a macramé fringe that was also separately made, so it is possible that some re-sewing had been done. The borders had a grid made by withdrawing some of the warp and weft yarns, which was then darned in representational designs, a technique probably of Spanish origin. This rebozo was worn draped over the head, either with both ends hanging down in front or with one end over the left shoulder (Fig. 6.23). Other obsolete fiesta wear included a black wool pleated skirt (called anaco prensado) with black lace trim on the lower edge and sides, and a petticoat (debajero S) of silk or poplin also with lace on the edge, worn between the chemise and the skirt (Tobar Bonilla 1985: 258, 262, no illus.).
6.21 María Margarita Potosí, of Ovalos (Natabuela), winding yarn from a spindle. Slide by Eileen Hallman, EW 89-15-30.
6.22 White festival shawl, belonging to María Margarita Potosí, Ovalos (Natabuela).
It has both macramé and square mesh bands, which appeared to have been made by withdrawing some elements and then darning. Slide by Ann Pollard rowe, 1989. 6.23 Woman showing one way of wearing a festival white shawl, Ovalos (Natabuela). Slide by Barbara Borders, 1989, EW 89-11-32.
Costume in Imbabura Province 161 6.24 Man from the Otavalo area, possibly Natabuela, 1870s. Photograph by Vargas. Stübel and reiss 1888: pl. 4.
Men’s Costume The Natabuela men’s costume changed greatly during the twentieth century. The old-style costume, mostly obsolete by the late 1980s, contains many interesting conservative features. Formerly, instead of a shirt, men wore a white cotton tunic, kushma blanca, sewn up the sides. The available drawings show it worn tucked into the pants (Tobar Bonilla 1985: 276; Obando 1986: 95). Men might also wear a kushma negra, which was black and not sewn up the sides (see Fig. 6.24). The drawings show it worn outside the pants and either loose (as a poncho) or belted (Tobar Bonilla 1985: 272–273). The old-style pants had ankle-length, full-cut legs, pleated into the waistband, with a side opening secured with ties ending in pink pompoms (Fig. 6.25). Also, men formerly wore their hair long and tied back (not braided). They also wore the large felt hat, identical to the women’s, but often with the brim up in front and down in back. The hat could also be worn the other way around for protection from the sun. In addition, there was an old style of sandal, called by its Inca name (ojota), with a leather sole and cabresto (horsehair
162 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 6.25 Men in Ovalos (Natabuela) dressed for the festival of San Pedro on June 30, 1989. They are wearing oldstyle pants and hats, embroidered shirts, and the white shawl folded lengthwise and then into a V in front, with the ends hanging down in back. Slide by Barbara Borders, EW 89-11-35.
and cabuya) cords passing between the large and second toes and over the instep (Tobar Bonilla 1985: 277–278). There is also an obsolete style of festival poncho that has warp-resist dyed patterning, called the poncho de llamas (Fig. 6.26).11 It has magenta, lavender, hot pink, red, or orange plain stripes, and warp-resist chevrons in stripes both at the center and on the sides. The dye used for the resist usually contrasts with the wider solid stripes but is in the same range of colors. A separately made fringe band is sewn to the edges. The resist designs are called pie de llama (S, llama foot) and granizo (S, hail). The example documented by the Earthwatch team in 1989 was said to have been woven four to six years before by a weaver who had since died. We found no one who was weaving them currently. The introduction of shirts instead of kushmas, modern fedoras instead of traditional hats, and hair cutting are all associated with migration for wage labor, apparently beginning as early as the 1930s, but accelerating after the breakup of the hacienda. These features are all now typical, only the handmade hat being retained by some for fiesta use. Migrant men might also wear a poncho that was pink on one side and orange on the other, with four groups of stripes on each half (Tobar Bonilla 1985: 270). More recent formal dress includes a handmade shirt, pants (as described above), a handwoven belt (like the women’s), a hat, and a poncho. There is a
Costume in Imbabura Province 163
style of hand-embroidered shirt that is worn by some men for festivals (see Fig. 6.25).12 Otavalo-style alpargatas are worn. During the festival of San Juan in June, some men dress for dancing in embroidered shirt and white pants, handwoven belt, the large hat, a wiremesh mask, plus a commercial printed scarf around the head and one or more others around the shoulders. The hats we saw in 1989 all were decorated with a blue acrylic ribbon and a pink cord with pompoms. In addition, the dancers fold a white paño (like those in Figs. 23–24) with fringed ends lengthwise, and
6.26 Poncho with warp-resist patterning in Natabuela. The wider plain stripes are
red, warp-resist stripes are magenta, central solid stripes are blue, flanking stripes are yellow and green. Slide by Barbara Borders, 1989, EW89-12-2.
164 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
then fold it in the middle into a V-shape that is placed around the neck with the V in front and the ends hanging down in back (see Fig. 6.25). The ponchos we saw in 1989 were made of two pieces of fabric (not handwoven) placed over each other and joined with an edge binding and collar (A. Rowe ed. 1998: pl. II). The outside fabric was red or hot pink with some colored stripes on the sides, and the inside color was solid blue. This style presumably imitates the two-sided ponchos of the Otavalo area. Eastern Imbabura and Northeastern Pichincha Provinces
lynn a. meisch and ann pollard rowe
People in the eastern part of Imbabura Province and northeastern Pichincha consider themselves to be distinct from the Otavalos, but during the twentieth century they used no self-descriptive group label, and simply identified themselves by community. Their costume also is distinct, and varies more from one community to another. Women’s Costume The earliest information is a watercolor in the National Library in Madrid, dating to the 1850s (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 194–195). It shows a woman from Cangahua, a village in northeastern Pichincha. She is wearing a wrapped dress in an off-white fabric with horizontal black stripes, probably treadleloom woven, with the edges of the fabric on her right side, to below the knee in length. It is pinned horizontally at the shoulders and belted with a wide red belt. This costume is not unlike that worn in villages closer to Quito at the time (see Chapter 7), though it bears little relationship to twentieth-century costume of the area. Her hair is cut short in front of her ears, another style long obsolete in this area. She wears neither hat nor shawl, although one assumes that a shawl at least would have been worn under some circumstances. There is then a gap in the evidence until about 1930, so that most of the available information has been published in our previous work (see A. Rowe ed. 1998: chap. 5, as well as Nason 2005). The embroidered chemises are the most beautiful in Ecuador, although the embroidery style appears to have originated not all that long before 1940, apparently derived from appliqué motifs (Nason 2005).13 Indeed the embroidery has become finer and more detailed over time. The chemises have a higher neckline than Otavalo examples and usually have a collar design rather than an actual separately made collar. Other recent trends include use of machine-made instead of hand-crocheted
Costume in Imbabura Province 165
lace on the ends of the sleeves, a machine-made tape on the cuff instead of herringbone stitches, and pressed pleats in the sleeve ruffles instead of just tucked into the cuff. The Angochagua women in John Gillin’s photographs from the 1930s wear a decorated chemise and an anaku to just below the calf muscle in length (Gillin 1941: pls. 20–21). In the late 1980s in Angochagua and La Rinconada, the anaku was worn to just below the knee and often had some machine embroidery along the edge. In other villages on the eastern side of Mt. Imbabura between La Esperanza and Magdalena, only older women wore an anaku, usually over a pleated skirt (with waistband), while younger women wore only the pleated skirt (Fig. 6.27). This finely pleated skirt of acrylic fabric in bright colors has since the 1970s been replacing both the anaku in these villages and skirts of handwoven dark wool bayeta tucked into a waistband in other villages. This latter style of skirt was worn in Zuleta and other communities to the south, at least as early as the 1930s and continuing to the 1960s. The bayeta used in Zuleta in the mid1960s, generally blue or black, came from a factory in Riobamba that has apparently gone out of business, since people can no longer obtain this cloth. The hem was edged with a tape of contrasting color, then sometimes machine embroidered (McIntyre 1968: 277). Red or brown skirts were also sometimes worn (Obando 1986: 262, 291). This style of skirt was still being worn in some villages in the 1980s (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 89, fig. 73). An early form of the pleated skirt acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1973 (1973.259.5b) has wider pleats (2–2.5 centimeters) than 1980s examples. The only locally produced belt style, which we recorded in Paniquindra, is in a complementary-warp weave related to the kawiña belt of Chimborazo Province, and probably brought into both areas by mitimas from Peru during the period of the Inca Empire (A. Rowe ed. 2007: 189–190, 192–195, 198–203). Shawls are either similar to Otavalo or a fringed style that appears to be of recent introduction. Most of the trends over time involve replacing handmade with machine-made materials, but interestingly, the pressing of pleats in both the skirts and the sleeve ruffles is more labor intensive than the older style, and in some villages such as Mariano Acosta the embroidery has become more detailed. The handmade felt hats formerly worn by both men and women were variable from one village to another. For example, Angochagua hats had a wide flat brim (Gillin 1941: pls. 20–21), while the Zuleta style was similar to that of Natabuela with a high crown and broad upturned brim.14 Zuleta hats were either white or brown and had a black string tied around the crown. The Pesillo hat was white and had a taller upturned brim, but was not as large as the
6.27 María Dolores Ilis with her son and granddaughter, Paniquindra. She is wearing an anaku over her skirt, but her granddaughter is not. Slide by Ann Pollard rowe, 1989.
Costume in Imbabura Province 167
6.28 Poncho said to be from rinconada. Plain-weave wool, predominantly red.
1.47 × 1.515 meters (58 × 591/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1989.22.35, Latin American research Fund.
Natabuela hats (Obando 1986: 270, 278, 284, 293, 310). By the late 1980s, most people wore machine-made fedoras. Men’s Costume Hair cutting goes back at least to the nineteenth century. In 1863, Hassaurek noted that men in Cayambe wore their hair “shorter than those of Otavalo and Cotacachi” (1967: 168). Several references suggest that a kushma was formerly worn in the Cayambe area. Hassaurek (1967: 167), who visited Cayambe during the festival of San Pedro and San Pablo (June 29), mentions among the masquerade costumes “a vest-like garment of an iron-colored wool stuff, in folds, called cushma.” This garment sounds like the capisayo worn in
168 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Quito, also for masquerades (see Chapter 7). On the other hand, Parsons (1945: 28) describes a tunic-style kushma made of lienzo, worn as ordinary dress in Cayambe, as obsolete in 1940–1941. Another source says that in Pesillo, a kushma of black liencillo was formerly worn (Obando 1986: 291). Men in Angochagua in the 1930s were, however, wearing white shirts as well as white cotton pants (Gillin 1941: 174). In Zuleta, from the 1930s through the 1960s, some men also wore a blue vest (chaleco) made from bayeta. Within memory of people in the 1980s, hand spinning and weaving of cotton lienzo and wool bayeta was done throughout the area for local use in clothing, but now most people buy machine-made fabrics. During the late 1980s some old men still wore white shirts and pants, although most were wearing machine-made examples. Some ponchos are the same kinds made and worn in the Otavalo area, some locally made and others purchased from Otavalos. A style of finely woven poncho in red or dark navy, with a band of narrow warp stripes near the outside edges, was worn in Angochagua and Rinconada, but was no longer being made by the 1980s (Fig. 6.28). Pink ponchos with warp-resist dyed patterning were formerly characteristic in Magdalena, Rumipamba, and Paniquindra in East Imbabura, but by the 1980s were mainly reserved for festival use (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 1, 97).
CHAPTEr 7
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province
ann pollard rowe Indigenous people living in Quito and its environs (see Map 3) wore a distinctive costume well into the twentieth century. Because the city was the political and cultural capital, evidence for indigenous costume predating 1910 is more plentiful for Quito than for any other part of Ecuador. Early colonial written descriptions of costume in Quito have been cited in Chapters 2 and 3. In the eighteenth century, however, we begin also to have pictorial evidence. The city was a magnet for foreign travelers and also nurtured a number of local artists who depicted its inhabitants. It is unfortunately necessary, however, to be cautious about taking all the documents at face value. European engravers did not always understand the costume they were supposed to depict, and older images were often copied for a period of time after the costume had become obsolete, sometimes introducing errors in the process. The interpretation presented here attempts to take both of these problems into account, usually by comparison of related images and by comparison of the images to the available text. Some textual sources, such as Juan and Ulloa (1748) and Hassaurek (1867), seem to be more reliable, but in others there is evidence of carelessness or plagiarism. As noted, there was significant social stratification within the indigenous community both in pre-Hispanic times and in the colonial period in the Quito area. Hispanicization of costume took place faster among the indigenous nobility than among lower-status people, and there was a trickle-down effect over time. Therefore, it is helpful to refer briefly to the costume of mestizos and whites as well as indigenous people. Also, some costume items persisted in ceremonial use after they had gone out of daily use. Although these patterns are common in costume history, it does mean that the chronology is not simple, but that there are several layers to it.
170 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Juan and Ulloa’s Visit of the 1730s The descriptions of costume in Quito by Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, Spaniards who accompanied the French La Condamine expedition from 1736 to 1744, are unique for this period and are gratifyingly detailed (1748: lib. V, cap. V). The accompanying engraving illustrating some of the costumes mentioned (Fig. 7.1) is helpful, although it does have some distortions, due to the engraver’s lack of familiarity with these costumes.1 Juan and Ulloa describe colonial Quito society as composed of Spaniards (or whites), mestizos, indigenous people, and blacks, although they admit that these categories are not necessarily reliable indicators of a person’s racial background, but are more like social classes (1748: lib. V, cap. V, para. 646– 650, pp. 363–365). Among indigenous people, the native nobility (caciques) retained a significant amount of property and status during the colonial period. The indigenous men who were barbers and bloodletters (medical practitioners) were also prosperous and distinguishable by their dress. Juan and Ulloa say that they were as competent as the best in Europe. Ordinary indigenous men practiced such trades as shoemaker, bricklayer, and weaver (ibid.: para. 650, p. 366). Three levels of indigenous women’s social status and differentiating dress were also apparent. Indigenous Women’s Costume and the Origin of the Pollera In Juan and Ulloa’s time, ordinary indigenous women were still wearing Inca costume, an anaku (“Anaco”), calf length, pinned at the shoulder (with a “Tupu”) and belted with a black lliklla (“Lliclla”), and made of locally woven wool (“Bayeta de la Tierra” S) (1748: lib. V, cap. V, para. 657, pp. 368–369). The hair is long, and “they wrap it with a hairband (“Cinta” S) [in back], but from the middle of the cranium they comb it forward over the forehead, and cut it from one ear to the other at the height of the eyebrows, which they call Urcu [Q ], which means hill” (ibid.: para. 659, p. 370; A. P. Rowe translation). In the engraving (see Fig. 7.1, far right), the woman uses an additional cloth to carry her baby on her back. The wives of caciques also wear something very close to Inca costume, but with Spanish undergarments. It consists of some wool skirts [Polleras de Bayeta] decorated with silk ribbon around the hem, over which they wear, in place of the Anaco, another black garment which they call Acso, which falls from the neck. It is open on one side, pleated from top to bottom [plegado de arriba abaxo], and fastened around
voyage in 1730.
7.1 Engraving published by Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa in 1748, showing costumes worn in the Quito area at the time of their
172 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
the waist with a belt. . . . They wear a shawl much bigger than the Lliclla worn by ordinary Indian women, all pleated, which hangs from the neck nearly to the hem of the Polleras. It is fastened on the chest with a large silver pin, also called Tupu, like those of the Anaco. On their heads they wear a white cloth [Paño S] that is folded [dobleces] with the end hanging down in back, called Colla [Q ], which serves for adornment and protection from the sun. And they increase their lordship with shoes. (Ibid.: para. 658, pp. 369– 370; A. P. Rowe translation)
In the engraving, the principal apparent difference between the clothing of the India Palla (the cacique’s wife; see Fig. 7.1, second from left) versus that of the India Ordinaria is the amount of fabric used. Both the dress and shawl of the noblewoman are longer than those of the ordinary woman. The pleats in the garments of the noblewoman are not represented as pressed pleats but simply as loose folds. However, there is later evidence for sharp pleats, described below, so it is certainly possible that Juan and Ulloa’s text should be taken literally. Sharp pleats are unknown in pre-Hispanic garments, and presumably are a Spanish influence, although unfortunately information on anything except court costume is lacking for this period in Spain. That the noblewoman wears a headcloth while the ordinary woman does not preserves a distinction also found in Inca costume. The shawl hangs to about knee level, and the noblewoman also wears bead necklaces. The polleras are not visible under the aksu, which is ankle length. It is interesting that the Cuzco Inca word, aksu, is used for the upper-class style of wrapped dress. In this case, the choice of name may derive from the presence of families originally from Cuzco living in Quito and may reflect a desire to express a hierarchical distinction. The term palla originally referred to an Inca noblewoman. The hairstyle of both women in the engraving is the same and corresponds to the description, although the back is of course not visible. The manner of wrapping the hair in back has survived to modern times, but combing the front hair forward soon went out of style (see below). Juan and Ulloa first mention the pollera as worn in Panama (1748: lib. III, cap. III, para. 271, p. 163). It was a Spanish-style skirt with tucks or gathers in a waistband. The term derives from a basket wide at the bottom put over chickens (pollos) to protect them from predators. It was first used for a type of skirt in mid-seventeenth-century Spain (Bernis 1994: 298). In the extravagant Spanish court costume of this period, it was padded and worn between the hoop framework (called guardainfante) and the outer skirt (called vasquiña or basquiña). Spanish women also wore inner wrapped skirts of lightweight fabric, often white, called enaguas. The latter term also appears for the first time
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 173
in Spain at this time and interestingly is of Taino (Caribbean) origin. Unfortunately, little information is available about lower-status or regional dress or the uses of these terms in Spain between the mid-seventeenth century and Juan and Ulloa’s account, but the pollera presumably evolved into something less grandiose during this period. Juan and Ulloa say it was worn in Panama as an outer skirt at home and covered by a basquiña only when going out. The custom of wearing a basquiña as an overskirt when going out seems to have also been current in Spain in the eighteenth century, although the skirts it covered were more often called guardapies or brial than pollera (Estupiñán Viteri 1997: 66, 76, 188, quoting from the Spanish Academy dictionary of 1780). Juan and Ulloa describe the Panamanian basquiña as similar to those in Spain but with some novelty in their cut. The Panamanian pollera only came to the upper calf, below which hung the wide lace of the undergarment (ropa interior) to slightly above the ankle. Juan and Ulloa describe a less Inca-influenced costume for indigenous women of some leisure (que gozan algun mas descanso) and unmarried ones who worked as house servants, called “Chinas” (Q ), in Quito. They wore “a type of very short skirts [Enaguas] and a Rebozo, all of locally woven wool” (Juan and Ulloa 1748: lib. V, cap. V, para. 657, p. 368). This costume is not illustrated, but the rebozos of Spanish and mestizo women are described as also made of bayeta and as a vara and a half in length (1.26 meters, or 50 inches), of fabric cut from the bolt and not further altered (ibid.: para. 655, p. 368). The engravings of the Española Quiteña (see Fig. 7.1, left) and the Mestiza Quiteña (see Fig. 7.1, center right) both show the rebozo wrapped sideways around the upper body with both ends over the left shoulder. The ends of the mestiza’s rebozo are visible, and have no fringe, although the manner of wearing it is the same as the modern warp-resist-patterned fringed shawls of Azuay and Cotopaxi. This is the earliest evidence for the rebozo in Ecuador. It is noteworthy that the rectangular format and manner of wearing this garment clearly predates both the use of warp-resist dyeing to decorate it and the fringed ends. Earlier evidence exists for the rebozo worn in this manner in Mexico, so it seems likely that it came to Ecuador from there. The rebozo Rebozo is a Spanish word, whose literal meaning is a cloth covering the mouth. It was used in early-seventeenth-century Spain for a white rectangular cloth worn by ordinary working women such as shepherdesses and market vendors in the manner described above but passing over the head and neck rather than around the shoulders (Bernis 2001: 389, fig. 434; 447). It could
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perhaps also be understood in this sense when used for a nun’s garment in seventeenth-century Mexico.2 A frequently cited early description of a fabric worn in the manner shown in Juan and Ulloa’s engraving, however, is Thomas Gage’s (1985: 69) of the dress of black and mulatto women in Mexico City in 1625: “When they go abroad, they use a white mantle of lawn or cambric rounded with a broad lace, which some put over their heads, the breadth reaching only to their middle behind, that their girdle and ribbons may be seen, and the two ends before reaching to the ground almost. Others cast their mantles only upon their shoulders, and swaggerers-like, cast the one end over the left shoulder that they may the better jog the right arm, and shew their broad sleeve as they walk along.” Alas he does not tell us the local name for this mantle. From its use by black and mulatto women in Mexico City, a possible source on the west coast of Africa is worth considering. Unfortunately, however, the quality of the information on West African costume during this period is poor. The best is a Dutch source of 1602 that describes a cotton shawl draped “over their shoulders and under their arms” worn along the Guinea coast (Marees 1987: 39).3 Although under the arms is not like the rebozo, the variety of ethnic groups on the coast of Africa who were brought as slaves to the Americas do not entirely rule out the possibility that such a garment existed but simply was never recorded. It also seems suggestive that the Spanish artist Luis Paret, who was in Puerto Rico in 1775–1778—admittedly a significantly later date—sketched a black slave woman wearing a white rebozo (Cruz Cano y Olmedilla 1988: pl. 30), and that black and mulatto women in Lima also wore rebozos, without fringe or warp-resist patterns, before 1805 (Skinner 1805: pl. XIII, after p. 252) and continuing in the 1830s (Angrand 1972: 77, 134, 151, 179). Perhaps the Spanish and African garments became conflated in the Americas.4 The rebozo (worn on the shoulders) is amply attested in eighteenthcentury Mexico both in written sources and in the casta paintings (showing various racial mixtures) as early as 1715 (Katzew 2004: 12, figs. 9–10), as well as by a few surviving examples with elaborate pictorial embroidery (Castelló Yturbide and Martínez del Río del Redo 1971: 12–15, 20). The rebozos in the casta paintings illustrated by Katzew are plaid (in earlier examples), warp-striped, or solid color. Only one late example (1785–1790) looks possibly warp-resist dyed (Katzew 2004: 139, fig. 182).5 The earlier paintings show rebozos worn by some Spanish and mestizo women, while mulatto women more often wear a shoulder wrap constructed like a gathered skirt (pollera), a style also described by Gage following the passage quoted above. Katzew
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 175
illustrates paintings showing black women wearing the rebozo in the 1760s, but indigenous women not until the 1770s, and only those who were starting to wear a more Europeanized costume. The rebozo is sometimes worn as shown in Juan and Ulloa’s engraving for Quito, but also often draped across the front of the chest, with both ends hanging down in back (so one cannot see if they are fringed). Rebozos are not worn over the head, as commonly shown in nineteenth-century Mexican graphic sources. Paintings clearly showing knotted fringe date to the 1770s or later. Knotted fringe, sometimes elaborate, does occur on some Spanish textiles, but the published examples (May 1939: 50–51, 96–101) bear little resemblance to those found on nineteenth- or twentieth-century rebozos of the Americas. It seems likely that the Mexican knotting styles were developed locally. The Mexican fringes are more variable than the South American ones, but most are developed from a simple diamond grid made with overhand knots, each tied over an adjacent strand. This technique contrasts with European macramé, which is made with square knots and “double half hitches” (double simple loops). Spanish and Mestizo Women’s Costume Juan and Ulloa say that the dress of Spanish and mestizo women in Quito was chiefly distinguished from each other by the quality of the cloth used. They wore a skirt called a “Faldellin,” described as open in the front, with the one side overlapping the other, and ostentatiously decorated (Juan and Ulloa 1748: lib. V, cap. V, para. 655, p. 368). Unfortunately, in the engraving of the Spanish woman (see Fig. 7.1, left), the overlap of the faldellín is obscured by a lacy apron, not mentioned in the text, while the skirt construction of the Mestizo woman (see Fig. 7.1, center right) seems to have been completely misunderstood. On the upper body, women wore a chemise (“Camisa”) and sometimes a jacket (“Jubon”), with the joining unfastened. This costume is unlike the French fashions then worn by the Spanish nobility. The faldellín derives from the semicircular underskirt worn by Spanish upper-class women between about 1580 and 1640 (Bernis 2001: 211–213). Only Spanish kitchen maids are known to have worn the faldellín without an overskirt during this period (ibid.: 302–303). How it survived afterward and came to South America as an outer garment is unclear because of the lack of evidence. The misrepresentation of the faldellín in Juan and Ulloa’s engravings (in Lima as well as Quito) suggests that this garment was unfamiliar to the engraver and so probably had gone out of fashion in Europe by that time. An
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unfastened jacket is, however, characteristic of later-eighteenth-century maja costume, that is, of lower-status Spanish city women (Cruz Cano y Olmedilla 1988: pls. 3, 6). A costume similar to that of Quito was also worn in Guayaquil (Juan and Ulloa 1748: lib. IV, cap. V, para. 407, p. 228) and Lima (ibid.: lib. I, cap. V, para. 130, pp. 72 and 82, lam. IIB; Cruz Cano y Olmedilla 1988: pl. 36), although the faldellín in Lima is described as shorter than in Quito, midcalf length, below which lace showed nearly to the ankle. This lace was on the underskirt, called “Fustán” in Lima, but “Enaguas blancas” in Spain. The engraving shows a short length of lace at the bottom of the Quito faldellín. In Juan and Ulloa’s Quito engraving, the chemise is covered by the rebozo. The woman’s chemise, in fashionable European usage, was a knee-length undergarment with a short-sleeved top, the edge of which was sometimes visible (e.g., Cunnington and Cunnington 1951: 82, 76, fig. 31). In rural European dress, however, the neckline and sleeves were often fully visible and correspondingly elaborated, though also usually worn with a vest-like bodice or jacket and/or a triangular shawl (Stapley 1924: pls. 90–91). The chemise was adopted by indigenous women at a later date and is still in use in some parts of highland Ecuador. Ordinary Indigenous Men’s Costume Ordinary indigenous men wore a knee-length tunic (“Camiseta”), clearly of Inca form, of black cotton, “both large and small” (de algodón, que assi en grandes, como en chicos es negra), woven on the indigenous loom.6 Men also wore pants (“Calzones”) of midcalf length, either of white cotton locally made or of other fabrics brought from Europe, loose at the lower edges where there was lace suitable to the fabric (Juan and Ulloa 1748: lib. V, cap. V, para. 653, p. 367). Over the tunic they wore a “Capisayo,” described as a “Manta de Xerga” ( jerga is a Spanish-style twill-weave wool fabric) with a hole in the middle for the head. They also wear a locally made hat, but no footwear. Later Juan and Ulloa describe the hairstyle as long and not tied back, additionally noting that long hair was so valued that cutting it was used as a punishment for serious offenses (ibid.: para. 659, p. 370). Juan and Ulloa’s engraving shows the Indio Rustico (Fig. 7.1, second from right) wearing an undecorated knee-length tunic and pants, carrying a burden on his back with an indigenous-style carrying cloth tied over his chest, but with neither hat nor cloak. The man’s long hair is secured by a simple string around the crown, the ends tied together on the forehead.
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 177
A Detour on the Origin of the Poncho Capisayo is a colonial word for a vest or riding cloak. Although the brief description here suggests a poncho, capisayo is used by Stevenson in the early nineteenth century to refer to a small black vest-like garment with open sides and a neck slit, rather than to the larger garment he calls a poncho (see below). Juan and Ulloa also distinguish between the capisayo and the poncho, which they describe as worn only in Chile (1748: lib. II, cap. V, pp. 306–307 and engraving p. 328, lam. VIII): “Their customs and dress are similar in part to that used in Lima, and even more to that practiced in Quito, except that for the men the difference is that they wear ponchos instead of the cape (capa).” They further say that all Chilean men, rich and poor, wear the poncho, and both sexes wear it on horseback. While there are certainly scattered pre-Hispanic Peruvian examples of garments with a neck slit but no side seams, they do not seem to be directly ancestral to modern examples, and may have been worn instead of rather than in addition to a tunic (for example, Frame 1999). Rather, the poncho in its modern form and context appears to derive from the Mapuche in Chile (Montell 1929: 239–241), about the time they took to riding horses, the earliest image being from the mid-seventeenth century (Cooper 1946: 709). After Juan and Ulloa’s voyage, the poncho seems to have gradually spread northward. In the wonderful watercolors made for Bishop Martínez Compañón depicting life in the northern Peruvian town of Trujillo in the 1780s, ponchos are worn mainly by people traveling on horseback, both Spanish and indigenous (Domínguez Bordona 1936: lams. XIX– XXI; Martínez Compañón 1985, II: fols. 8, 12, 19), and by some musicians and dancers (Martínez Compañón 1985: fols. 147–149, 153–155, 158). The one interesting exception is a man described as an indigenous mayor from the highlands (fol. 50). The poncho’s primary use as a riding costume is confirmed in Stevenson’s account from 1808 (see below). Wealthier Men’s Costume Wealthier indigenous men, particularly barbers and bloodletters, wear pants of fine cotton cloth (“Lienzo delgado”) and a black tunic (“Camiseta negra”), over a sleeveless shirt (“Camisa”) with a wide, circular lace collar. They also wear shoes with gold or silver buckles, but no stockings. In place of the capisayo they wear a cape (“Capa”), often sewn of fine wool cloth (paño fino), edged with gold or silver tapes (Juan and Ulloa 1748: lib. V, cap. V, para 654, pp. 367–368).
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The engraving of the Indio Barbero (Fig. 7.1, center) shows a man wearing pants with lace at the hem, and a knee-length tunic, falling in looser folds than the poorer man’s tunic. The wide lace collar is depicted as described, but there are also some loose sleeves that are folded back above the elbow. The man wears his long hair loose. The basin under his arm and the jug with a perforated top are the tools of his trade. Juan and Ulloa say that the caciques dress as do mestizos, with a cape (“Capa”), hat, and shoes (1748: lib. V, cap. V, para. 658, p. 370). Elsewhere they say that mestizos wear garments of locally made blue wool cloth, probably produced in the obrajes (ibid.: para. 652, p. 366). The dress of Spanish men is described as similar to that of mestizos in cut, although those who could afford it used rich fabrics. It was similar to European dress. The only garment distinctive enough to merit a detailed description is a coat (“Casaca”) worn under the cape (“Capa”) (ibid.: para. 651, p. 366). Paintings in the Late Eighteenth Century A series of six oil paintings of people from the Quito area signed by Vicente Albán, and dated 1783, is now in the Museo de América in Madrid.7 Two show a man and a woman described in inscriptions as Indio principal de Quito, trage de gala and India en trage de gala (Pl. 2a,b). The others show a Sra. Principal con su negra esclava, Yapanga de Quito, Indio Yumbo de las immediaciones de Quito, and Indio Yumbo de Maynas con su carga. The Yumbo from the eastern lowlands near Quito is shown wearing little more than a string of feathers around his hips. The Yumbo from Maynas is wearing what are probably shorts of brown fabric. In this context, Maynas refers to the area around Archidona, discussed below with respect to people later called Quijos (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 216). Only slightly later are three unsigned drawings of women, also in the Museo de América, from the Malaspina expedition, which spent the month of October 1790 anchored at Guayaquil. This expedition was partly for scientific exploration and partly for imperial inspection. In Malaspina’s account of the stop in Ecuador (2001: 248–278), there is no indication of how these drawings came to be made.8 No one went to Quito, although Antonio Pineda (interested in natural history) and Luis Neé (a botanist) went as far as Mt. Tungurahua, where the local landowner was a resident of Quito. It is perhaps also possible that the drawings are of women visiting Guayaquil from Quito, or that they were copied from another graphic source. Their titles are India Cacique de Quito, India de Quito, and Llapanga de Quito. The costume of the
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 179
Llapanga is similar to the Albán paintings, although she wears a pollera rather than a faldellín, while those of indigenous women provide interesting additional information. Albán’s Indio principal (Pl. 2a) is dressed similarly to Juan and Ulloa’s barber, but his pants seem to be entirely of lace, and his shirt has longer sleeves. His black tunic is shown scalloped along the bottom, and might be pleated vertically. His rich red cloak seems to be worn over a plain brown one. His hair is clearly shown long and loose, and he wears a European-style hat and shoes. This costume is not his everyday dress (which would have been more European in style), but a conservative one worn only on special occasions (traje de gala). The man is clearly a cacique, maintaining his higher status within the colonial hierarchy, but with the tunic proclaiming his indigenous identity. The indigenous woman in Albán’s painting is clearly also principal (Pl. 2b). Her black lliklla has definite sharp horizontal pleats, while the anaku or aksu, if pleated, has vertical pleats. The anaku is now clearly half length, worn over both a red skirt and a longer brown pollera, and secured with a black belt. Above the black belt is a white one with red patterning, which seems likely to be the kind of supplementary-warp-patterned belt familiar from later times. The woman also wears a Spanish-style white blouse (probably a chemise) with lace trim. Instead of bangs, her front hair is parted in the middle and combed to the side, though still cut short, a style that continues into the nineteenth century. She wears red beads around her wrists, another style that continues later. Lynn Meisch (1998) has suggested that the red beads were probably Spondylus shell originally. In the background is an ordinary indigenous woman from the countryside (Yndia del Campo) wearing a plain brown anaku to about knee length, belted in red. The Malaspina India Cacique de Quito (Fig. 7.2) is probably not in gala dress, since her costume is less rich than that depicted by Albán and more Europeanized. She wears a long full skirt, likely a pollera, without the anaku or aksu over it. Her belt is a plain wide sash, similar to that in the llapanga drawing. She also wears a blouse (or chemise) with long sleeve ruffles. The sleeve ruffle is an eighteenth-century European style, although the ruffles were not ordinarily part of the chemise (but see Cruz Cano y Olmedilla 1988: pl. 12, a fashionable maja). Her shawl, although pinned on the chest in the indigenous style, does not appear to be pleated. She also wears bands around her wrists that may represent red beads. Her hairstyle is the same as that shown by Albán. The Malaspina India de Quito is likely a more ordinary woman (Fig. 7.3). She is clearly wearing a chemise, embroidered around the neck and with sleeve ruffles. Over this garment she wears a short anaku, with the ends not
7.2 India cacique de Quito, drawing
from the Malaspina expedition, 1790. Museo de América, Madrid, inventory number 2209.
7.3 India de Quito, drawing from
the Malaspina expedition, 1790. Museo de América, Madrid, inventory number 2210.
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 181
quite overlapping at her left side, presumably held in place by a handwoven belt. She wears a simple necklace, but no wrist wraps or shawl. Presumably she would have worn an indigenous style of shawl when going out, but this is not shown. Her hair is cut short at the sides, like that of the upper-status indigenous woman. The Albán Hispanic woman and her black slave, as well as the yapanga (which means “barefoot” in Quichua), defined by the Albán caption as a woman of pleasure, wear similar costumes showing the faldellín described by Juan and Ulloa. In the Albán painting, the faldellín sits relatively low on the hips and is worn with a wide red sash. The apron affixed to this sash is so tiny that it does not cover the skirt at all, so the overlap of the fabric down the front of the skirt is clearly visible, along with its lavish lace trim. Among the watercolors made for Martínez Compañón in the 1780s in Trujillo is one with a similar costume titled Española con trage a lo antiguo (Domínguez Bordona 1936: lam. XVII; Martínez Compañón 1985: fol. 3), so it seems to have been a general Andean style in the process of going out of fashion at that time. The current fashion in Trujillo was for a skirt with gathers and no overlap, presumably the pollera. The skirt worn by Malaspina’s llapanga of 1790 has neither overlap nor trim, corresponding to the Trujillo fashion, although the waistline is depicted similarly to those in the Albán paintings. Both llapangas also wear a straw hat with a low crown, while Albán’s Señora Principal carries a more elaborate hat. Neither Albán nor Malaspina’s artist shows a rebozo, but it seems likely that it continued to be worn. Rebozos are worn by Spanish and mestizo women in the Martínez Compañón watercolors of Trujillo. Some of these rebozos are red, and some are white; for mourning, women wear a shaggy dark rebozo. Some white examples are sheer and they may have a short ruffle or fringe on the ends, but others are plain. As in Mexico, none have blue patterns, although bound-warp-resist shawls were later made in northern Peru as well as in Ecuador. The brief captions identify the white rebozo as a bolador and the red one as a mantilla. The manner of wearing the wrap is variable, although three paintings show it draped across the chest with the ends hanging down in back, as in Mexico (Domínguez Bordona 1936: lams. XVII, right, and XVIII, left; Martínez Compañón 1985: fols. 2–3, 6). Oddly, although most indigenous women are shown wearing the shawl in the Inca manner, two wear it as in the Juan and Ulloa engraving: with both ends on the left shoulder (Domínguez Bordona 1936: lam. XXXII, right; Martínez Compañón 1985: fols. 17, 61). The explanation may be that one is going to church and the other is dancing, so neither is daily wear.
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7.4 Engraving showing an ordinary indigenous man and woman of Quito. From
Stevenson in 1825, II: opposite p. 260.
William Stevenson’s Visit in 1808 William Stevenson was a British adventurer whose visit to Ecuador was prompted by an offer from the president and captain general of Quito, whom he met in Lima, to accompany him to Quito as his private secretary in 1808 (1825, II:199). He cites Juan and Ulloa’s account, and clearly was inspired to write a complementary description of Quito costume. His book includes an engraving of an ordinary indigenous man and woman, but their costumes do not entirely correspond to his written descriptions, and are probably based on another, perhaps later, source (Fig. 7.4). There may also be some degree of unreliability, both on Stevenson’s and on the artist’s and engraver’s parts. For example, Stevenson says (ibid.: 299) that the large water jars were carried with a tumpline on the forehead, whereas his engraving and all later nineteenthcentury representations show the heavy jars supported by a strap across the upper chest (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 52–58). And although Stevenson (1825, II:304) describes the swaddling of infants, the one shown has only a diaper. In this case, Stevenson’s description seems more plausible than the engraving. It is also surprising that the infant is not supported in a carrying cloth, although there are other later representations of infants carried in the arms
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 183
when the mother’s back is laden (Hallo 1981: 50). Despite these problems, he does provide some useful information. Stevenson notes that indigenous women brought produce to the Quito markets from surrounding villages (1825, II:300), supporting it on a tumpline around the forehead. In the case of loads other than water jars, this method of carrying goods is universal in later images. Indigenous people were also employed as household servants, called huasi camas (Q ) (ibid.: 296), and some were “butchers, weavers, shoemakers, bricklayers, etc.” (ibid.: 300).9 He also mentions the barbers (ibid.: 301). Women’s Costume Ordinary indigenous women still are wearing a “species of tunic called anaco, but it is longer than that of the men” and “a small kind of shawl, called ichlla” (Stevenson 1825, II:304). This description is frustratingly short on detail, although it seems unlikely that the costume has changed much since the Malaspina drawing. The engraving shows a half-length anaku secured by a belt, with a sleeveless upper garment of contrasting fabric. The likely reason for the difference is that the engraving probably shows a woman from a nearby village, bringing produce to market as noted above, and not from Quito proper (as documented in the nineteenth century).10 But some details of the engraving are also probably confused by the fact that the engraver had never been to Quito. Wealthier indigenous women “wear a white under-petticoat, called the anaco, with broad lace at the bottom; over this they have a piece of cloth,” black, with vertical folds, “open on the right side, and reaching only halfway down the legs, the white lace hanging down almost to the ankles . . . called the chaupi anaco” (Stevenson 1825, II:305). Chaupi (Q ) means “half,” and probably indicates that the garment did not extend above the waist, as is clear in the Albán and Malaspina depictions. The “folds” are “each about an inch broad, and made very stiff with gum.” This garment is fastened around the waist with a “broad girdle of various colors.” The lliglla, “folded in the same manner,” is pinned together in front with two large silver or gold tupus. The hair is all gathered behind and wrapped with a fillet “from near the head to the very ends of the hair; on the top of the head they have a large bunch of ribbons, usually red” (ibid.: 306). This description corresponds to the Albán painting of a woman in gala dress rather than to the Malaspina drawing, which presumably represents a daily dress, although the underskirt is now white, presumably derived from earlier Hispanic costume in Quito. The nomenclature has changed from Juan
184 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 7.5 Engraving published in
1853 labeled India de Otavalo but probably representing a bride from Quito, as indicated by other related images (see note 12, Chap. 7). The clothing as well as the identification is garbled: in other representations, the anaku is only waist high and is vertically pleated. From El Correo de Ultramar 1853: 557.
and Ulloa’s time, since the petticoat is called anaco instead of pollera, and the overskirt is called chaupi anaco instead of aksu. It is also shorter and the hairstyle is different, too, as noted. Stevenson’s more detailed description of how the pleats are made is very interesting. There is also a painting by the Quito artist Manuel Samaniego y Jaramillo (ca. 1767–1824) of the Holy Family with donors, in which the male donor is wearing high shirt and waistcoat collars of the style current during the South American wars of independence, and his wife is wearing a white chemise with gathers and red embroidery on the neckline, a black lliklla with clearly shown sharp horizontal pleats, and a curious small black brimless hat.11 Among the mid-nineteenth-century costumbrista paintings discussed below are depictions of a similar costume (without a hat) usually described as bridal wear (Fig. 7.5).12 It is not surprising that an otherwise obsolete costume continued to be used for weddings. Although he mentions indigenous servant women, Stevenson does not describe a distinctive costume for them, so perhaps at this time they dressed like other ordinary indigenous women. Mestizo women “often wear a large hoop, and a gaudy petticoat made of English flannel, red, pink, yellow, or pale blue, ornamented with a profusion of ribbon, lace, fringe, and spangles, wrought into a kind of arabesque about
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 185
half a yard deep, near the bottom of the coat, below which a broad white lace hangs, attached to an undergarment” (Stevenson 1825, II:303). The bodice is of brocaded or embroidered fabric, “laced very tight,” with the neck and sleeves decorated with lace, ribbons, and spangles. This costume sounds similar to the Hispanic costume in the Albán paintings (although presumably the faldellín has been replaced by the pollera), so the costume has descended in the social scale. In Skinner’s 1805 engravings, indigenous, black, and middle-class women of Lima all wear polleras. Even the Lady of Lima wears a dress with a skirt shaped like a pollera. Stevenson also notes that a narrow shawl of English flannel, matching the skirt, is worn on the shoulders, presumably the rebozo. The head is uncovered but decorated with ribbons and flowers, and the hair hangs in small tresses in back. These women rarely wear shoes or stockings. Stevenson gives no local names for these garments. He says that Quito “ladies dress almost in the English style, except a few ancient dames, who wear a large hoop:—when going to church all wear the hoop, with a black velvet petticoat over it, sewed in small folds, and a broad piece of English flannel over their heads, generally of a brown colour, which they can fold over their faces so as to cover them,” together with much jewelry (Stevenson 1825, II:302). The hoop skirt thus appears to have been an older style. It is unclear if the black skirt “sewed in small folds” had any relationship to the indigenous pleated garments. The pleated hoop skirts illustrated as an antique style in later paintings have a hoop just below the waist and hang in a cylinder (e.g., Hallo 1981: 68). Curiously, although Spanish urban and rural costume is well documented pictorially beginning in the 1770s, there is nothing like this distinctive silhouette. Men’s Costume and the Adoption of the Poncho According to Stevenson, ordinary indigenous men wear a tunic of cotton or wool “almost to the knees” and “a pair of cotton drawers, hanging below the knees.” He also says the tunic is “girt round the waist.” “Sometimes a straw hat is worn, but they have more frequently nothing but a leather strap round their heads, and never put on either shoes or stockings” (Stevenson 1825, II:304). For traveling to Napo, Stevenson’s indigenous porters wore “white drawers, brown capisayas, and sandals made of bullock’s hide” (ibid.: 357). The added garments in this context are interesting. Again Stevenson’s description is not a good fit with the engraving, which seems to show a tunic tucked into the pants and shorter pants. If the costume in the engraving is not simply a later development, the confusion may have arisen because male costume differed in the various villages around Quito. Stevenson does not mention the hair-
186 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
style, but European men had short hair by this time, so if it does not seem worth mentioning, it is likely that indigenous men were also cutting their hair, as shown in the engraving. It is also noteworthy that Stevenson does not mention the poncho here, although he does describe it elsewhere as a riding costume. The engraving, however, shows something that could be a poncho, arranged to form padding for the heavy water jar. If so, this is the earliest representation of an ordinary indigenous Ecuadorian man wearing a poncho. The poncho was worn by the generals fighting to free the Andean countries from Spanish rule during the 1810s, and it became a symbol of their separate identity.13 It was probably around this time that the poncho was taken up as general outer wear by indigenous men. An early image of a Peruvian indigenous man wearing what the caption describes as a poncho was published in 1805 (Skinner: pl. XVII, after p. 302), but it drapes more like a long tunic than a poncho and has horizontal stripes, so it seems likely that the artist was unfamiliar with this garment. The plate depicting Mt. Chimborazo in Humboldt and Bonpland’s book (1810: pl. 25) shows ponchos with appropriate draping worn by standing barefoot men. By the 1820s, however, and even more in the 1830s, images clearly show it worn by indigenous men and blacks on foot. In addition to Stevenson’s engraving for Quito, published in 1825, there are watercolors of an African Peruvian man selling candles in Lima dated 1826 (Majluf 2006: 18, fig. 2), and one in Gaspard Mollien’s account of his voyage in 1823, published in 1830, showing an indigenous man of the plain of Bogotá (Deas, Sánchez, and Martínez 1989: 34). Watercolors from the 1830s include those of Léonce Angrand in Lima (Angrand 1972: 161, 257, etc.) and J. M. Castillo and Joseph Brown in Bogotá (Deas, Sánchez, and Martínez 1989: 75, 81, 82, 123, etc.). Stevenson says that upper-class indigenous men in Quito “wear white drawers with lace or fringe at the knees,” as well as a “shirt.” Separately, he describes the lace ruffle collar, 8 or 10 inches deep. Over the shirt they wear a capisayo, described as “a small black poncho, laid in folds crossways of the stuff, each about an inch broad, and made very stiff with gum; when put on the two ends are drawn downwards, a little below the waist, and the sides are fastened together at the corners” (Stevenson 1825, II:305). This is a good description of a garment that is also represented in some later paintings of the same class of men (see Pl. 3, upper left). It is clearly descended from the garment described by Juan and Ulloa. The men also wear a wool hat with low crown and broad brim. In addition, “The Caciques, alcaldes, some butchers and barbers, also wear the long Spanish cloak, breeches over the drawers, shoes and large square silver buckles, but never any stockings” (ibid.: 305), a more Europeanized costume for higher-status individuals.
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 187
Mestizo men wear a jacket and loose pants (“drawers”) below the knee in length, no socks, and only occasionally shoes, a Spanish-style blue cape of local cloth, and a black hat (Stevenson 1825, II:303). Although Stevenson does not mention knee breeches worn over the drawers, it would be odd if that were not the case. One of Skinner’s 1805 engravings (pl. XVIII, after p. 362) shows two mestizo men of Quito, a professor and his student, wearing Spanish-style dress, which may indicate they were more prosperous than those described by Stevenson. In Quito, the dress of Spaniards and Creoles was mostly similar to European practice, with the addition of a long cloak (Stevenson 1825, II:301). However, a white poncho was part of the Spanish man’s riding costume, as well as a smaller deerskin poncho, goatskin chaps, leather-covered hat, and a large silk shawl tied around the neck (ibid.: 302). This costume corresponds closely to some later nineteenth-century representations, identified as showing a mayordomo (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 424–425), a little further down the social scale. Quito in Mid- to Late-Nineteenth-Century Sources The wealth of information from this period derives in part from the lifting of travel restrictions to the Americas after the collapse of the Spanish Empire, and in part from the rise of an artistic genre usually called “costumbrista.” The term is from the Spanish costumbre, or “custom,” and was initially used for literary vignettes. The paintings are of individual figures that are representative “types,” wearing their distinctive costume, and were done of regional costume in Europe and Asia as well as in the Americas. The paintings were often made for sale to travelers, in much the same way that postcards are sold now, and so dovetailed with the lifting of travel restrictions. This was also a period with a spirit of inquiry that produced a number of important scientific expeditions, as well as some encyclopedic costume studies that borrowed from Juan and Ulloa’s engraving to illustrate Ecuador. The Malaspina drawings are a kind of prototype of such paintings. A set of twenty early engravings appeared in 1805 in a book on Peru by Joseph Skinner.14 Stevenson’s 1825 book is also illustrated with such engravings. Surviving paintings made in Lima also date to the 1820s (Majluf 2006). Surviving examples made in Lima also date to the 1820s (Majluf 2006). Similar work was done in Bogotá (see Chapter 5) and Mexico City. In Quito, the movement was in part patriotic and in part stimulated by several foreigners, the most important of whom was the Frenchman Édouard Charton (1816–1878), who founded an art school in Quito in 1849 and taught there until 1851 and again between 1862 and 1867 (Ortiz Crespo
188 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
2005: 32). Watercolors attributed to Charton are held by the Museo del Banco Central in Quito. The most prominent local artist was Ramón Salas (1815–1885), who had been trained by his father Antonio. Examples of his watercolors are in the Museo Municipal Mena Caamaño in Quito (Ades 1989: 86, 356; Ortiz Crespo 2005: 278). Gaetano Osculati’s travel account, published in Milan in 1850, is illustrated with colored engravings of figures credited to Salas, and these were correspondingly influential (Kennedy-Troya chapter in Ortiz Crespo 2005: 33). A short article about Osculati’s travels, published in the Parisian periodical El Correo de Ultramar in 1853, includes some additional engravings. A portfolio dated 1852 by Juan Agustín Guerrero (1818–1880), who also composed literary and musical works, belongs to the Fundación Hallo in Quito (Hallo 1981). An anonymous album of watercolors attributed to the 1850s is preserved in the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid and has recently been published in Quito (Ortiz Crespo 2005). This book helpfully includes related images in Quito collections. Other watercolors in Quito collections remain unpublished. Many of these images are similar from one set to another, not only in the costumes but also in the pose of the figures, so artists appear to have been copying each other’s work. It also appears that older images continued to be copied even when the costumes depicted had become obsolete. Typical images depict a single figure, together with a brief caption giving the occupation and sometimes the social status, ethnicity, or village of origin of the person depicted. To fully interpret the costumes shown, however, more detailed identification is often necessary. Comparison of the identification of similar images is helpful in some cases but reveals contradictions in others, making it clear that some labels are erroneous, although usually one can tell which are correct. The social commentary of available written accounts provides assistance in interpreting some of the images. According to Hassaurek (1867: 124), the great majority of the population of Quito was mestizo (also called cholo at that time) or indigenous, with mestizos more numerous than indigenous people. Whites and especially African Ecuadorians were a small minority. Hassaurek says that cholos worked in the trades and retail commerce, while the indigenous people did the farming and heavy work. Of the indigenous population, he notes that there were “Indians of a hundred different villages in every variety of costume, not even omitting the naked and painted Indians from the wilderness on the eastern side of the Cordillera” (1867: 104). The paintings of highland indigenous people in Quito include some from the city and some from the surrounding villages, but the communities are often not specified.
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 189
7.6 Engraving showing a spinner and street sweeper (probably from Zámbiza),
published in 1850 based on a painting by ramón Salas. From Osculati 1854: tav. VII, fig. 1.
Indigenous Women’s Costume and the rebozo The Malaspina drawing suggests that even ordinary indigenous women of Quito wore a chemise since before 1800. Images of spinners (Fig. 7.6) and of meat and fruit sellers suggest that by the 1840s they wore the pollera in place of the anaku.15 These women are also recognizable as indigenous by their wrapped hairstyle and they may or may not have short side locks. A headcloth (rather than a hat), as shown by an image of a fruit seller, also seems to be an indication of indigenous ethnicity (Hallo 1981: 58). Wealthier women, such as the fruit seller, also wear red wrist wraps and necklaces.16 The fruit seller also wears a red belt. A painting by Guerrero labeled “Indian misery” suggests that polleras were worn by impoverished as well as wealthy indigenous women (Hallo 1981: 92). The length of the pollera seems variable, but some indigenous women wear it shorter than cholo women. The most lavishly dressed indigenous woman of Quito is labeled a butcher’s wife in festival dress in the El Correo de Ultramar article (Fig. 7.7),
190 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 7.7 Engraving published
in 1853 showing a wealthy indigenous butcher and his wife in festival dress. From El Correo de Ultramar 1853: 556.
and in other images as an official’s wife, indicating high status and ceremonial dress.17 The titles suggest that the descendants of the caciques may have retained at least some wealth and ceremonial privileges in the early years of the republic. Wealth is indicated by both the amount of cloth and by the jewelry. The women wear a full pollera with a white chemise or petticoat showing underneath and a large shawl in a pile weave. Under the pile shawl is another shawl, either white with blue stripes or warp-resist dyed in the same colors (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 308–309, 322). One such shawl has a short fringe, but others clearly do not, and in other cases, the ends are not visible, since the shawl is draped horizontally like a rebozo. These (together with an Osculati figure discussed below) are the earliest evidence of warp-resist dyed shawls in Ecuador, and it is interesting that fringe is not standard as yet. In Mexico, detailed research has not been done on the available nineteenthcentury images to determine when warp-resist dyed rebozos first became prominent, but at least one late-eighteenth-century image exists, as mentioned. The design repertoire of Mexican rebozos is varied, and more than one center of manufacture is substantiated. The oldest examples are silk. There has been much speculation as to the origin of bound-yarn resist dyeing in Mexico. For example, there is an account, published in Guadalajara in 1851, in which
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 191
the author, D. Vicente Mungia, claims that he learned the technique from a foreigner in 1819 (Davis 1991: 314). This account is certainly self-serving, but the date is not unreasonable. It would be nice to know where the foreigner was from, but somewhere in Southeast Asia is not implausible. The Manila galleon trade was over by 1815, but if Asians were still arriving at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the timing is close enough. The designs in twentieth-century Guatemalan rebozos are vaguely Asian, but the birds and flowers found on some Mexican, Ecuadorian, and Peruvian examples look more European. In Spain, the only place with a tradition of warp-resist dyeing is the island of Mallorca (Stapley 1924: 8–9, pls. 5–6; Nabholtz-Kartaschoff 1969: 106–146). The cloth is called robe de llengüe (locally) or tela de lengua (in Spanish), a terminology not used in the Americas. Silk, linen, hemp, cotton, and later rayon have been used. The designs include various styles of chevrons and diamonds, as well as sprig and floral vine motifs, the latter evidently influenced by French examples. Although some older Mexican rebozos look as if there might have been Mallorcan influence, and some technical stimulus does seem possible also from Asia, in the end Mexico seems to have developed its own design repertoire. The evidence does suggest that the diffusion of the warp-resist-dyed rebozo to Ecuador and Peru did not occur until the nineteenth century, after the fall of the Spanish Empire. Antonio Raimondi, who visited the Cajamarca area in 1859, describes warp-resist-dyed shawls as being well established there at that time (cited in Olivas Weston 2003: 153). The birds found in the rebozos from Cajamarca and Cuenca can indeed also be found on some nineteenth-century Mexican rebozos (Logan et al. 1994: 32, 36, 43), which seems to confirm a Mexican derivation. Chevrons and stripes with dashes are, of course, also common but impossible to localize. Although some Mexican examples are silk, others are cotton, and the fact that they and the Ecuadorian and Peruvian examples are made of machine-spun cotton yarns is undoubtedly not accidental. The availability of machine-spun yarns probably stimulated the proliferation of warp-resist-dyed rebozos toward the middle of the nineteenth century (Kyle 2008: 65). The blouses in the costumbrista images are variable, some with a kind of V-neck and others with a wide scoop neck with ruffle, some with loose elbowlength sleeves and others with the sleeve gathered above the elbow, and with differing amounts of embroidery on the neckline and sleeves. The scoop-neck style seems also to have been worn by cholo women. A chemise collected between 1868 and 1874 (see Young-Sánchez 2008) may descend from the style that is rendered with a V-neck and gathered sleeves (Fig. 7.8). It is similar to mid-twentieth-century chemises worn by indigenous women in Chimborazo
192 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
7.8 Left: Chemise from Quito, with red and green embroidery. right: Brown band
from the río Napo area. From Uhle 1889–1890, II: pl. 12, top center.
Province (see Chapter 9). The wide-neck blouse with ruffle is shown by Guerrero as waist length, not a chemise (Hallo 1981: 92). The belt in Figure 7.9 is undocumented, but it has the same structure as other Ecuadorian belts with supplementary-warp patterning and came from a donor who visited Ecuador and collected other Ecuadorian belts in the 1940s. It has indigo-dyed cotton supplementary-warp yarns forming a much more Europeanized pattern than other examples. Also unusual is the braided finish on both ends instead of only one end. Although most of the ends are cut, a few warp loops can be seen on the end near the name, which means the piece
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 193
was likely backstrap-loom woven. The belt could represent an older and more European-influenced Ecuadorian style that is otherwise unknown. With respect to mestizo or cholo women, Hassaurek (1867: 124–125) says that some dress in the Spanish fashion (called de vestido), while others wear a distinctive costume (called de centro, centro being another term for a gathered skirt), consisting of “woolen petticoats of lively colors (red, pink, yellow, or pale blue), sometimes ornamented with a profusion of ribbons, lace, fringe, or spangles,” over an embroidered shift, three kinds of shawls, and often a straw hat, or they are hatless and wear their hair in two braids. The innermost shawl is white cotton, linen, or silk with embroidered decoration and is omitted by poorer women. Over this is a narrow shawl, called macana, and an outer shawl, or pañuelon, usually of English flannel (sometimes cotton or silk), “with which they cover their heads and shoulders, throwing the right end over the left shoulder.” Poorer women go barefoot or wear alpargates, and wealthier ones wear satin shoes. They also “wear bracelets and necklaces of 7.9 Cotton belt with indigo blue
supplementary-warp patterning, including the name BENJAMIN VILIEGAS, collected in the 1940s. 2.48 × .047 meters (975/8 × 13/4 inches). The Textile Museum 2001.15.1, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Walter H. Hodge.
194 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 7.10 Engraving showing a mestiza and muchacho (young dandy), published in 1853. From El Correo de Ultramar 1853: 556.
beads or corals, rings . . . earrings, etc.” The women who wear this costume are also called bolsiconas. The term bolsicón for a style of gathered skirt is not mentioned by the mid-nineteenth-century travelers, although it does appear in Carlos Tobar’s dictionary, published in 1900 in Quito (cited by CarvalhoNeto 1964: 98), and in twentieth-century Azuay Province (see Chapter 10). A French traveler, Alexandre Holinski (1861, cited by Carvalho-Neto 1964: 98), gives a similar description of chola costume, mentioning two shawls (omitting the white one), the outer one of pile fabric and called rebozo. The indigenous women in ceremonial dress mentioned above are clearly wearing a very similar costume, and the chola or bolsicona distinguishes herself mainly by a hat and/or braided hair. The terms for shawls are rather slippery, but the narrow macana mentioned by Hassaurek may at least sometimes refer to the warp-resist dyed or striped cloth seen in the images of indigenous women. The chola in the Madrid album, however, is wearing a large red square shawl fringed on all sides underneath her pile shawl (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 406– 407). Chola vendors may also wear a single large white shawl with printed or embroidered decoration (ibid.: 302–305, 368). The mestiza in the El Correo de Ultramar article (Fig. 7.10) is not wearing a hat, but her hairstyle is clearly not
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 195
indigenous.18 The wrist wraps suggest some indigenous background, however. A distinctive chola class and costume seems to have disappeared from Quito early in the twentieth century, but continued throughout the twentieth century in the Cuenca area (see Chapter 10). Another costume identified as mestiza is similar but has a skirt with sharp vertical pleats and a tubular support at the waist that gives it a columnar shape (Fig. 7.11, upper right). A similar image by Guerrero is titled Pollera de bayeta presada a la Antigua (Hallo 1981: 68; see also Ortiz Crespo 2005: 402–405). Presumably this costume relates to that worn by old women daily and by all to church, as described by Stevenson. Although a few elderly ladies might have continued to wear this skirt to church after Stevenson’s time, it seems likely that these paintings from the 1840s and 1850s are copies of earlier images. The style is also worn by some masked figures in religious processions, which are perhaps more likely to be current (Hallo 1981: 89; Ortiz Crespo 2005: 280– 281, 284–285). Indigenous Men’s Costume Ordinary indigenous men, depicted in such occupations as lard or snow vendor, candle vendor, jar vendor, brick porter, mail carrier, muleteer, musician, and shepherd, wear loose, knee-length white pants, a white shirt, a hat, and a poncho that is predominantly white but with narrow black stripes at intervals (see Fig. 7.11, lower right; Pl. 3, top center).19 This poncho is identical to the jerga ponchos worn in Chimborazo Province in the twentieth century, which are woven in twill on a treadle loom and are probably derived from obraje cloth (A. Rowe ed. 1998: pl. IXB, and 199, fig. 183). The hats are somewhat variable. Some appear worn and floppy, while the more prosperous-looking lard vendors, who also wear a white scarf, wear a tall flat-topped hat similar to that worn by some of the religious officials described below (Hallo 1981: 49; Ortiz Crespo 2005: 248–249). The men have short hair. Except for the mail carrier, who is shown running and wearing sandals, they are barefoot. Provenience information is only occasionally indicated, but one painting in the Madrid album is labeled Quito (ibid.: 301, pl. 60). The water carriers, who were an iconic sight in nineteenth-century Quito (Fig. 7.12), also wear this costume.20 It is not particularly distinctive, however, and was worn in many other areas. The English mountaineer Edward Whymper, who visited Quito in 1880, describes the water carrier’s costume (1892: 169), and says it was also worn in Machachi, in the southern part of the Quito Basin (ibid.: 100–101). He also provides a sketch of an alpargata (ibid.: 243), similar to those of Otavalo ex-
7.11 Engraving published in 1850 showing, top row, left to right: a well-to-do man of Quito, a meat vendor, a mestiza wearing a hoop skirt; bottom row, left to right: a firewood vendor, a snow vendor, a brick porter. From Osculati 1854: tav. VIII.
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 197 7.12 Engraving published in 1853 showing a hen vendor and water carrier. From El Correo de Ultramar 1853: 556.
7.13 Alpargatas collected in Quito in 1949. Soles of braided chawar, vamps and heel straps of darned cotton. 27 × 10 centimeters (10 × 4 inches) each. The Textile Museum 2007.25.1a, b, gift of George S. Vest.
cept that the vamp is in plain weave with crosswise elements predominant (Fig. 7.13).21 He also notes that indigenous people formed a larger part of the population than in other towns he had visited (e.g., Guaranda, Ambato), but that they mostly lived in the suburbs and came into Quito every morning (ibid.: 178). This simple man’s costume is also shown in several beautiful and informative photographs of indigenous people published by the German vulcanologists Alphons Stübel and Wilhelm Reiss in 1888. One of the men, shown full-length, is labeled as from Quito (Fig. 7.14 here), and the others, showing only head and shoulders, are from La Magdalena, a village to the south of Quito that has now been absorbed into the city (Stübel and Reiss 1888: 7–8).
198 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 7.14 Man from Quito, 1870s. Photograph by Vargas. From Stübel and reiss 1888: pl. 6.
The man from Quito is holding a hat with a flat crown and a wide slightly upcurving brim. The men all have short hair, and the ponchos are indeed twill woven. The butcher in festival dress (see Fig. 7.7) and his analogues by other artists wear a more Europeanized costume (Hallo 1981: 47; Ortiz Crespo 2005: 306–307). They are paired with the female images mentioned previously, and the labels are equivalent. The most specific title is alcalde (mayor), which is a largely ceremonial religious position involving some expense (cargo), devolving naturally on the wealthier members of the community (Carvalho-Neto 1964: 79). A similar costume is worn by the man who carries the standard in religious processions, of which again there are several versions.22 The men wear a white shirt with colored cravat, knee breeches, a black pleated capisayo, shoes with buckles, a long Spanish-style cape, a broad-brimmed hat (of variable height), and short hair. Only the capisayo, which here is edged with ribbon, and the lack of stockings are of indigenous origin. The capisayo is also worn by indigenous men carrying the incense burner in religious processions, but without the hat and cape (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 380–381).23
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 199
This costume appears to be primarily ceremonial. Osculati’s barber (see Pl. 3, upper left) wears a costume for daily dress similar to the preceding but the pants are striped, the cravat is omitted, and the cloak is plain black. But the barber is not represented in the Madrid album, and the costume as a daily dress seems to have been obsolete by then. The closest among Guerrero’s paintings is a masked man presiding over the election of alcaldes (Hallo 1981: 76). His hat, cloak, shoes, and capisayo are the same as described above, but instead of wool breeches, he wears loose white pants with a long lace panel forming each leg, and he also has a broad lace collar, clearly descended from the barber’s costume shown by Juan and Ulloa. Men identified as mestizo or cholo are depicted in the Madrid album wearing longer pants, of tan or striped fabric, with a blue and white striped poncho, and a straw hat (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 320, pl. 67; see also pl. 86, a bread seller). Similar costumes are shown by Guerrero, including a bread seller (Hallo 1981: 65) and a jailer (ibid.: 108), but without ethnic identification. The jailer has long hair. A similar costume with a red and white poncho is also worn by a young dandy of unspecified ethnicity (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 391, pl. 96), who is indeed elegant except for his bare feet, and by the muchacho in the Osculati article (Fig. 7.10, right). Traveling Clothes Other people in costumbrista paintings who can be taken to be residents of Quito are wearing a European style of dress, either ordinary street wear, ecclesiastical, or masquerade. The paintings do include many images of people from elsewhere, however. Some of these are discussed in the appropriate place, but a few others can be mentioned here that probably represent a mestizo costume that is not specifically located. Osculati shows a man and wife in traveling costume on horseback (Fig. 7.15). Not much of the man’s costume can be seen except for his white shirt, striped poncho, riding boots, and hat. The woman wears a pollera and straw-colored hat, together with a white scarf to protect her hair from the dust and a blue and white shawl with a pattern that clearly represents bound-warp resist, but without fringe. The El Correo de Ultramar article illustrates another couple, each on a separate horse, described as a merchant of Quito and his wife (Fig. 7.16). Both wear ponchos, hats, and scarves around their faces. These figures resemble images by Guerrero labeled campesinos (country people; Hallo 1981: 71–72), although the clothes (and horses) do indicate a certain level of prosperity. In addition to his poncho, the man wears knee-high boots with patterned thighhigh stockings, and a white neckscarf (without fringe) with blue stripes and
7.15 Engraving published in 1850 showing, in the top row, a husband and wife on
horseback and an Indian woman of Guayaquil; in the bottom row, a man from Gualea (not Otavalo) and an indigenous woman from Zámbiza. From Osculati 1854: tav. V.
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 201
7.16 Engraving published in 1853 of a merchant and his wife from Quito, traveling. From El Correo de Ultramar 1853: 557.
dots that probably represents bound-warp-resist patterning. The woman is sitting sideways on her horse (a la Antigua), and her white poncho has some patterned as well as solid stripes (in pink). Guerrero depicts another man on horseback wearing a poncho who is labeled an hacienda administrator, a position that was often taken by a mestizo (Hallo 1981: 69). He also wears sheepskin chaps, a white neckscarf, a hat, and a blue and white poncho. His wife, also depicted on horseback (riding astride), is also wearing a poncho, as well as a white headscarf that also covers her chin and a red hat (Hallo 1981: 70). This couple appears to have slightly darker complexions and to be slightly lower status than the previous one. It appears that the poncho was still considered appropriate riding costume by everyone. Environs of Quito in the Nineteenth Century Some of those people who lived in communities outside of Quito but came to the city on business, as suggested by the written sources, can be identified in the visual sources as well.
202 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
7.17 Engraving published in 1853 of vendors of fodder, maguey trunks (probably from Nayón), and milk. From El Correo de Ultramar 1853: 556.
Indigenous Women’s Costume Women described as vendors of chicha (maize beer) jars, meat, grass, milk, firewood, or hens wear a costume that is clearly indigenous, although few are identified as Yndia or have any provenience identification (see Figs. 7.11, 7.12, 7.17). The costume is skimpy in the amount of cloth used, and the women wear little or no jewelry, so it seems likely that they correspond to the poorer class of indigenous women. Their dress is similar to that of the Yndia del Campo in Albán’s painting, so they are probably bringing their wares into Quito from the surrounding villages, as suggested also by the fact that they are wearing the anaku, rather than the pollera worn by indigenous women in Quito. The anaku barely covers the knees and is wrapped at the waist with a red belt. The women are barefoot. The anaku fabric has brown and white or tan
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 203
windowpane checks or stripes that suggest treadle-loom woven cloth of the sort made in the obrajes. Nevertheless, the American Museum of Natural History in New York has a cloth with four selvedges, so it is backstrap-loom woven, acquired in 1917, 179 × 74 centimeters (701/2 × 291/8 inches) in size, said to be from El Inca, at the time a northern suburb of Quito but now part of the city (Map 3). It is white wool with narrow brown warp and weft stripes, with the warp only slightly more closely spaced than the weft (40.0/1514). This one example does not demonstrate that all women wore backstrap-loom woven fabrics, but it seems some did. Guerrero’s paintings show a considerable overlap of the ends of the anaku, which fits the size of the American Museum’s piece. The length seems insufficient for a full-body anaku even if only kneelength, so it is probably a half anaku of the longer style of the early twentieth century (see below). The American Museum also has two additional coarse wool fabrics with cut ends (probably treadle-loom woven), acquired at the same time and also from El Inca (40.0/1515 and 1516). One is plain dark brown and 77 × 76 centimeters in size (301/4 × 30 inches), and the other is variegated natural colors of wool and 82 × 84 centimeters (321/4 × 33 inches). Presumably these were shawls. Salas’ paintings show women wearing an indigenous style of shawl, with red and white stripes, tied across the chest. Guerrero’s women wear a short blue or yellow shawl. More often than not, the shawl obscures the clothing underneath, which is unfortunate, since there seem to have been several alternative possibilities that probably were significant. One of Guerrero’s paintings shows a woman with a nursing baby supported in a wrap of the same type of fabric as the anaku (Hallo 1981: 54), although it may be a separate panel. Although the mother is not wearing a blouse, her small daughter is clearly wearing a half-length anaku with blouse (or chemise). Perhaps the chemise is only just beginning to come into use with the anaku.24 The Madrid album includes images identified as an alfalfa vendor from El Batán and a vendor of large jars from Santa Clara de Samillán that show what is clearly a half anaku but with a wrapped top (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 351, 353, pls. 78–79; see also Hallo 1981: 50), probably a full-body anaku underneath a half anaku. These villages were north of Quito and even closer than El Inca. It appears that there were several villages with a similar costume, including perhaps El Inca. The watercolor of the Santa Clara woman clearly depicts a belt with red-on-white pattern, probably the style of supplementary-warp patterning represented by the belt, with red patterns, collected in Quito between 1868 and 1874 (Fig. 7.18). Several images of women identified as from Zámbiza, a town northeast of Quito, are shown wearing what is clearly a full-body anaku, just below
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7.18 Belts with red supplementary-warp patterning, identified as from riobamba (left) and Quito (right), although it is possible that the identifications have been inadvertently reversed, since the right-hand belt looks more like twentieth-century belts from Central Chimborazo. From Uhle 1889–1890, II: pl. 11, lower left.
the knee in length, made with fabric having brown stripes either vertical or both vertical and horizontal. They wear an indigenous-style shawl of similar, though not necessarily matching, fabric knotted on the chest. Two images in the Madrid album have identification (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 247, 253, pls. 38 and 40), one woman riding a mule and the other selling bananas. The headcloth is red and worn with one edge over the forehead and two adjacent corners tied behind. A woman in Osculati’s book is similar (see Fig. 7.15, lower right), although she is sitting sideways, rather than astride, and she is carrying the headcloth. Images attributed to Charton show a similar costume but with a yellow or blue headcloth (ibid.: 246, 250). A photograph with Zámbiza identification from the 1870s also shows this costume (Fig. 7.19), although it is less clear if the anaku is one or two pieces. An unidentified milk seller wears
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 205
a similar costume (see Fig. 7.17; ibid.: 347–348), although she may be from some other nearby community. Other milk-seller images show a larger solidcolor shawl and a smaller folded headcloth of checked fabric (ibid.: 346). The Vargas photographs from the 1870s include five women from four communities near Quito (see Figs. 7.19–21 for three of them; Stübel and Reiss 1888: pls. 13–17). All except Zámbiza are to the south. La Magdalena and Chillogallo have now been absorbed into the city limits, but Sangolquí is more distant. The women all wear a wrapped upper garment, either of windowpane checks (Zámbiza and Chillogallo) or of coarse vertically striped fabric (La Magdalena and Sangolquí). The length of the anaku is not visible, nor is it clear if the lower part is continuous with the upper part, or if there is more than one anaku. Apart from the Zámbiza example, the shawls are a solid-color dark fabric with a cut edge showing. Where the shawl fastening is visible, two corners are tied in a knot. The women from Chillogallo and Sangolquí have a headcloth of the same kind of fabric as their dark shawls. Additionally, two of the 7.19 Woman from Zámbiza, 1870s. Photograph by Vargas. From Stübel and reiss 1888: pl. 14.
7.20 Woman from La Magdalena, 1870s. Photograph by Vargas. From Stübel and reiss 1888: pl. 15.
7.21 Woman from Sangolquí, 1870s. Photograph by Vargas. From Stübel and reiss 1888: pl. 17.
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 207
women (Zámbiza and La Magdalena) are shown with a carrying cloth of the same fabrics as the anaku. Three of the photographs show belts of the same supplementary-warp-patterned type that is still woven elsewhere in Ecuador, with elaborate hand-picked designs (Zámbiza, La Magdalena, Sangolquí). The La Magdalena and Sangolquí belts have no patterned side stripes, but the Zámbiza one does. The Zámbiza women have the front locks of their hair cut short, but not the other women. The costumes seem remarkably similar, providing little evidence of regional variation. Part of the reason may be the limited range of presumably commercially produced fabrics used for the clothing. The windowpane check (narrow dark warp and weft stripes on a light ground) resembles that depicted in the paintings. The women from Chillogallo and Sangolquí wear their headcloth in the same distinctive way. The cloth appears to be knotted on itself, with the knot worn on the top of the head. The other women are shown bareheaded. Indigenous Men’s Costume Men identified as from Zámbiza are shown by Guerrero (Hallo 1981: 95) and in two photographs from the 1870s, one of which is full length (Fig. 7.22).25 Other similar paintings without village identification show the same costume, usually associated with street sweeping and broom making (see Fig. 7.6). The photograph shows a man wearing pants with the legs rolled up nearly as high as possible, while the Guerrero painting shows the legs entirely bare. One of the men photographed seems to be wearing a shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, but the other man and Guerrero’s are shirtless. In paintings showing a man carrying reeds or maguey stalks and wearing a similar costume, the pants are below the knee in length, so perhaps the pants were only rolled up for street sweeping (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 242–243). All the men wear a narrow garment with a neck slit, midthigh in length. In the painting, this garment is depicted in a similar manner to the twill ponchos, but in the photographs, it is clearly plain weave, in a single panel, with the neck slit woven in, and is probably backstrap-loom woven. It therefore is a kushma, although not sewn up the sides, similar to those in Chimborazo and Cañar. It has groups of three or five narrow dark stripes at evenly spaced intervals, with one such group split by the neck slit. A belt is worn over it at the waist, but it is unclear what kind. In the painting, the fabric blouses out over the belt. In the photograph, the front is shorter than the back, though in the painting they are even. All the men wear a hat with a rounded crown and a small floppy brim. Their hair appears to be long. In the painting, it hangs
208 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 7.22 Man from Zámbiza, 1870s. Photograph by Vargas. From Stübel and reiss 1888: pl. 12.
loose, while in the photographs, it is pulled back over the ears. The man in the painting has some sort of a headcloth under the hat as well as a bundle in a red carrying cloth. Guerrero’s painting of a man from Nayón shows a different costume (Hallo 1981: 66). A similar image without village identification is shown in Figure 7.17 (cf. also Pl. 3, upper right). This man is wearing an unbelted knee-length (Inca-style) black tunic, a white hat (brim covered by the tumpline), and long loose hair. He is carrying a big bundle of maguey trunks to sell. In Guerrero’s watercolor the man’s pants do not show below his tunic. Nineteenth-Century Travelers to Quito from Neighboring Provinces Although the two figures in the lower right of Osculati’s plate IX (Plate 3 here) are not identified, they are likely from the Otavalo area. The lack of people identified as Otavalo (except in error) in the costumbrista corpus is strange, since, as noted, Otavalos have a long history as traveling textile merchants. Both figures carry bolts of treadle-loom woven cloth for sale. The woman wears a red shawl, which Hassaurek notes is characteristic of Otavalo,
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 209
and a headcloth under her hat, as was common in early-twentieth-century Otavalo. Women in Otavalo still wear a dark blue anaku, though now ankle length. A change from a short to a long anaku occurs also in the Quito area, as shown in later images discussed below. The man’s costume is less certainly attributable to the Otavalo area, but not impossible. This image is similar to one by Guerrero (Hallo 1981: 52), which shows a narrow light poncho over an unbelted midthigh-length black tunic, over a long-sleeved white shirt and below-the-knee pants. The differences may result from regional variation in the Otavalo area. The shirt, pants, and tall hat are similar to those recorded from Cotacachi. A related costume is worn by a spindle seller in the Madrid album (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 361). He has a light-colored poncho with evenly spaced narrow stripes over a black tunic, striped pants to just below knee length, and a tall hat. As for people from lowland areas, Osculati’s engravings do include the multiplicity of costumes that Hassaurek noted. Perhaps most interesting is the woman from the environs of Guayaquil in Figure 7.15 (upper right). Her anaku and shawl are not dissimilar in form to those found in the highlands, but they were probably handwoven of cotton on the style of vertical loom that has survived into the twentieth century in coastal Ecuador. The man in Figure 7.15 (lower left) is not from Otavalo, but he matches other images identified as from Gualea, in the northwestern part of Pichincha Province (Hallo 1981: 53; Ortiz Crespo 2005: 418). Osculati also shows a “Quixos” (Quijos) couple bringing baskets of goods into Quito for sale (Fig. 7.23). The people historically referred to as Quijos were Quichua speakers from the eastern lowlands northeast of Archidona (north of the Napo River), where there had been a Jesuit mission before their 1767 expulsion (see also Ortiz Crespo 2005: 216, 221–224).26 The Jesuits would have taught Quichua and introduced clothing. Osculati, who traveled eastward through the Quijos’ territory, says that they were from around Avila and cultivated maguey and brought the fiber to Quito for sale (1854: 97). He also says that they walked through the forest with incredible speed (ibid.: 108). Another similar image has a caption indicating that they were bringing tropical fruit to Quito for sale (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 222). Osculati describes the man’s upper garment as a brown or blue rectangle with a neck slit, called ciusma (kushma; 1854: 107–108). A photograph from the second half of the nineteenth century also shows men wearing shorts, and one also wears a waist-length open kushma (Oberem 1971: 7, fig. 13). An actual similar kushma and two belts collected in 1885 are also known (ibid.: 14, figs. 22–23). Engravings of the 1880s also show a small open kushma hanging loose (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 222). There is also a watercolor of 1900 show-
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ing a man identified as from Archidona wearing a loose open brown kushma and pants to just below the knee in length (Samaniego 1977: pl. 14). The accuracy of the paintings that show a belted kushma is thus in question, although it is also possible that there was regional variation or change over time. The Madrid album image of the woman shows her from the back wearing a knee-length wrapped garment and an indigenous-style shoulder shawl (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 224–225, pl. 27). Osculati writes the name of the woman’s dress as paccio (pacha Q , cloth) and says it was secured at the hips with a beaded belt (1854: 108). The photograph shows that the dress was wrapped horizontally and pinned on the shoulders like a full anaku, so the V-neck in Osculati’s engraving is likely an error. The clothing is consistently shown as dark brown or black. Of equally distant origin are the Záparo, who Osculati says lived south of the Napo River and north of the Curaray (Fig. 7.24). Osculati shows two men wearing painted bark cloth tunics, but the Madrid album includes both a man and a woman wearing undecorated tunics (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 226–229, pls. 28–29). The woman carries her infant in front of her left hip in a cloth tied diagonally across her body. Women wearing decorated tunics are shown in other images (ibid.: 228). Osculati met them downriver, not in Quito, and says that only some men wore tunics (the others nothing), while women wore a small bark-cloth wrap over their hips (1854: 147). Elsewhere, Osculati says that the tunics were painted with red, black, and dark blue designs (ibid.: 170). So either the women only wore tunics when visiting Quito, or their costume in these paintings was an extrapolation based only on seeing male costume. Alas, 7.23 Engraving published in 1850 of a Quijos man and woman. From Osculati 1854: tav. VI, fig. 2.
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 211 7.24 Engraving published in 1850 of a Záparo hunter (left) and warrior (right). From Osculati 1854: tav. XIII, fig. 2.
this group was largely decimated during the rubber boom, and there are only a handful of Záparo speakers left. Quito and Environs around 1900 Joaquín Pinto (1842–1906), a resident of Quito, painted religious subjects, landscapes, and portraits, as well as costumbrista scenes. An album of his costumbrista watercolors, dated between 1899 and 1901 and of high artistic quality, is in a private collection in Quito, but some have been published (Samaniego 1977; Gallegos de Donoso 1983; León Mera 1983). Some preparatory drawings are in the collection of the Museo del Banco Central in Quito (Gallegos de Donoso 1983; León Mera 1983). Some images were drawn from photographs or engravings by others (Gallegos de Donoso 1983), and it is unclear how many might have been drawn from life. Some may be too anachronistic to provide useful data.27 Most are identified only by occupation; a few of the drawings provide more detailed identification, but guesswork is often necessary to ascertain ethnicity and provenience. Pinto’s information can be supplemented with a few period photographs.
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Indigenous Women’s Costume Since both indigenous and mestizo women resident in Quito wear a gathered skirt, they again are distinguished mostly by their hairstyle and jewelry. One woman, identified only as a cook (Samaniego 1977: pl. 38; León Mera 1983: 211–212), can be supposed to be indigenous, since she has red bead necklaces and earrings, is wearing an indigenous-style shawl tied at her throat, and is carrying a heavy burden with a tumpline. She also wears a short-sleeved blouse. Her skirt is ankle length, which is a plausible modification for the period. Two indigenous women apparently of higher status wear polleras of midcalf length with a petticoat showing below, as in the earlier period. The Priosta de la Corona en Quito could represent the use of an otherwise obsolete costume for ceremonial use (Samaniego 1977: 12). She also wears two shawls, the upper one with a short fringe; a hat; red bead necklaces; and silver earrings. But the other woman is a fruit seller, and it seems more likely that this image could be inspired by earlier representations (Samaniego 1977: pl. 32). Ordinary indigenous women, vendors of milk, alfalfa, pottery jars, and a pig, are presumably visiting Quito from the surrounding area, as proposed for the earlier costumbrista paintings. They are clearly wearing a blouse and a wrapped half-length anaku (Samaniego 1977: front cover, upper left, lower center; pls. 13, 24; León Mera 1983: 267). The anaku is generally of solid blue or black rather than striped or checked fabric, and is now lower-calf length, which seem to be plausible stylistic changes. Where visible, the blouse has a wide neck and short puff sleeves without embroidery (Samaniego 1977: pl. 13, 24). Three of the paintings show belts with a white ground and red or blue pattern and must represent supplementary-warp patterning.28 All the women have indigenous-style shawls knotted across the chest, though the colors vary. Some are shown wearing red bead earrings and necklaces, but no wrist wraps (Samaniego 1977: pl. 13, 24). One is wearing a hat (Samaniego 1977: upper left of cover; León Mera 1983: 267) and one a headcloth (Samaniego 1977: lower center of cover). The hat is similar to those worn by men from both Quito and the suburbs. This costume is similar to that of Otavalo women, but the anaku is shorter, the blouse lacks ruffles and embroidery, and the hat is rare. The women carry loads using a tumpline on the forehead instead of with a cloth tied across the chest. Probably there were several villages close to Quito where this costume was worn. A group of women photographed about 1890 also wear a blouse with anaku (Chiriboga and Caparrini 1994: 83, fig. 26). The blouses are short sleeved, and in some cases appear to have an embroidered neck ruffle. Most women wear
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7.25 Studio photographs of people said to be from Quito, but the couple is likely to be from a nearby village. From Enock 1914: opposite p. 226.
a headcloth, and some, a shawl. A studio photograph published in 1914 purporting to be of Quito costume (Fig. 7.25) shows a woman in a similar costume with a coarse bulky anaku, just above ankle length, and a hat. Women in another photograph, published in 1917, are also similarly dressed, although the hat style is different, and one woman has an embroidered blouse while another has an embroidered shawl (Fig. 7.26). Harry Franck, who took this photograph, was an American adventurer who describes indigenous costume in Quito, but although it is clear that indigenous people were still a common sight, he describes only one costume, conflating features from various areas.29 Another Pinto watercolor shows a woman dressed in a more conservative costume (Samaniego 1977: pl. 36; León Mera 1983: 243–244), with a midcalf length brown anaku that appears to cover the torso as well, two large shawls, one brown and one white with stripes, plus a brown carrying cloth. She wears red bead earrings, and possibly a necklace, but no wrist wraps. She also has a large hat. Although Pinto paired her with an alcalde of Quito, Gallegos de Donoso (1983: no. 304) points out that he copied her from a photograph in Kolberg’s 1897 book Nach Ecuador. Kolberg identifies her as from Quito, but it seems more likely that she is visiting from nearby. Photographs of the period show women from other villages outside Quito wearing a full-body anaku in a solid dark color more often than white with
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stripes or checks (Chiriboga and Caparrini 1994). Only one has village identification, Chillo, which may refer to Chillogallo (ibid: pl. 30). The anaku is of lower-calf length, and the women are not wearing either shawls or headcloths. Other photographs of women wearing a full-body anaku show a headcloth worn with one edge laid across the forehead and the two adjacent ends tied behind the head, similar to the Zámbiza style (ibid.: pls. 27, 29, 62). A photograph published in 1914 (Fig. 7.27) of “Indians of the Environs of Quito,” shows one woman wearing a full-body anaku of windowpane checks, plus a dark shawl and a light headcloth worn in the Zámbiza style. Two other women wear dark headcloths in a similar way. Other women painted by Pinto wear an ankle-length gathered skirt (Samaniego 1977: pls. 20, 21, 31, 43; León Mera 1983: 75–76, 146–147, 227– 228). One is identified as a bolsicona cook, and others are identified as cholita or bolsicona on the drawings (Gallegos de Donoso 1983: nos. 321, 350). Others are a vendor of sewing supplies and a pilgrim. The skirt appears to be an indication of social status rather than ethnicity, since women of African descent also wear it (Samaniego 1977: pl. 18 and León Mera 1983: 123–124, a laundress; Samaniego 1977: back cover, center right, a cook). Some of the skirts have a white band along the lower edge. The vendor of sewing supplies has a puff-sleeved blouse (embroidered), red bead wrist wraps, and a necklace of a single strand of beads and has her hair in two braids (Samaniego 1977: pl. 31). Other women have long-sleeved blouses, use no jewelry, and wear their hair in two braids (Samaniego 1977: pl. 20; León 1983: 227–228, a soldier’s wife;
7.26 Quito street scene. From Franck 1917: opposite p. 149, bottom.
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 215
7.27 “Indians of the environs of Quito.” From Enock 1914: opposite p. 222.
Samaniego 1977: pl. 21; León Mera 1983: 146–147, the cook). The shawls are variable, and some have fringed ends, although no warp-resist dyeing. These costumes are plausible for the period. Indigenous Men’s Costume Some ordinary indigenous men’s costumes remain similar to those shown by Guerrero and Salas, that is, white cotton shirts and loose white pants to a below-the-knee length, poncho, hat, and short hair (Samaniego 1977: pls. 15, 42; León Mera 1983: 195). The white twill-weave ponchos with black stripes still occur but are usually worn underneath another poncho, either plain or with colored stripes, that appears to be backstrap-loom woven. An actual poncho of this kind, collected between 1868 and 1874 and said to be from Quito, is predominantly white, with stripes in red, blue, and black (see Fig. 5.1).30 The shirts are similar to old-style Otavalo shirts in cut but lack embroidery (Samaniego 1977: pl. 19, 26). The men wearing this costume include a plasterer, a man making mud bricks, a peon (laborer), and a man carrying fiesta rockets. Another man in the same costume, with a red poncho over a twill one, and shown accompanied by a llama, is identified as from La Magdalena (Samaniego 1977: pl. 3). Some or all of the other men are probably from villages around Quito as well, but the costumes make sense for this
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7.28 Quito street scene. From Franck 1917: opposite p. 161, top.
period. The water carrier in the photograph in Figure 7.25 is wearing a similar costume, although the men in Franck’s photograph (Fig. 7.28), published in 1917, have ankle-length pants. Other paintings show men of unstated ethnicity wearing longer dark pants and a poncho. They include a bread seller (Samaniego 1977: pl. 9; León Mera 1983: 283–284), a man transporting furniture (Samaniego 1977: pl. 11; León Mera 1983: 187–188), and a muleteer (Samaniego 1977: pl. 25, León Mera 1983: 219–220), the latter two being common indigenous occupations. Two others are of some status and wear sheepskin chaps over their pants, a “mayordomo,” who may be mestizo (Samaniego 1977: pl. 29; based on an engraving of 1887 [Gallegos de Donoso 1983: no. 257]), and an Yndio mayoral, an indigenous foreman (León Mera 1983: 259). Possibly this costume is associated with both indigenous men and mestizos in Quito itself and again seems plausible for the period. The paintings of the alcalde (León Mera 1983: 235–236) (and his wife) are adapted from a lithograph Pinto had previously done, dated “1887 Quito,” entitled El Alcalde en trage de gala (Gallegos de Donoso 1983: no. 304). The costume is similar to Guerrero’s paintings of upper-class indigenous men, though the cape lacks gold braid, the pants are less fashionably cut, and neither shoes nor cravat are included. The capisayo is similar, but cut to a point in front. The capisayo (cut straight) also appears in a painting of a cowboy dance costume (Samaniego 1977: pl. 33) and in a ceremonial costume identified as from Rio-
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 217
bamba (ibid.: pl. 41). These images of otherwise-obsolete costume clearly represent ceremonial rather than daily use. A 1901 painting by Pinto of a lamplighter identified as from Nayón suggests some modification of earlier costume (Samaniego 1977: pl. 7). The man does seem to be wearing a tunic, either red or brown, which falls to just below his groin. Details are obscured by the sketchy style of the painting and the fact that he has a piece of yellow fabric tied over his right shoulder and covering his left arm and another cloth tied around his waist. He also wears short (lower-thigh length) white pants. His hair is long and loose, and his hat has a rounded crown and a short droopy brim, similar to the Zámbiza style. A man with a dark tunic and long hair is also shown in the 1914 photograph in Figure 7.27. He also wears loose-fitting white pants to above the knee and a white felt hat with rounded crown and upturned brim. Although Ralph Beals, an anthropologist who worked in Nayón in 1949, does not provide detailed costume information, he does report that old people recalled a black garment “long both before and behind” called a kushma that formerly was worn by certain officials for fiestas (1966: 185, 196–197). He also says that formerly all men wore their hair long but by 1949 only two old men did (ibid.: 25). The 1940s In the 1940s, indigenous people were still visible in Quito carrying burdens and selling goods (Moore 1941: 725–726). Most of those wearing a distinctive costume by this time were probably living in outlying communities and coming into the city for market or work. Evidence for a continuation of the city costume suggested by Enock and Franck is limited, but George Vest, the American ambassador to Ecuador in 1949, remembers women wearing short-sleeved blouses in Quito (personal communication, 1994). One that he collected is clearly made from an Otavalo buche, of the style made in Quiroga, in the Otavalo area, by mestizos for sale to Otavalos (Fig. 7.29).31 But the way it is tailored is different from Otavalo examples, since it is not full length, has no ruffles, and has extra fabric in the sleeves. One would expect a short blouse to be worn with a pollera rather than an anaku, but Ralph Beals in 1949 collected two anakus that he said were from Quito, both of machine-made fabric machine embroidered, and resembling Otavalo examples except that one was maroon and the other hot pink.32 Perhaps they were sold in Quito but intended for purchase by women from somewhere else nearby. Vest also collected a shawl or headcloth in purple wool, of
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7.29 Blouse collected in Quito in 1949. It is made from an Otavalo buche of the style made in Quiroga by mestizos. White cotton plain weave embroidered in red cotton, with additions in white cotton twill-weave fabric. 65 × 73 centimeters (251/2 × 283/4 inches). The Textile Museum 2007.36.1, gift of George S. Vest.
coarse plain weave, with warp slightly finer than weft, brushed nap on both sides, and cut ends, so probably it was treadle-loom woven. It is 1.16 × 1.04 meters (451/2 × 41 inches) in size. In the Nayón to Calderón area, northeast of Quito, the land is less fertile than in much of the rest of the province, but in the 1940s most of the indigenous people living there were free, and thus more prosperous than those elsewhere in the province who were mostly subject to haciendas (Buitrón and Buitrón 1947: 19–21). Besides farming, many people in this area were merchants. This prosperity and independence contributed to the continuation of a distinctive indigenous costume longer than in other areas around Quito. The communities in question included, besides Nayón and Calderón (formerly called Carapungo), Zámbiza and Llano Chico, as well as El Inca, the latter now incorporated into Quito. According to the survey conducted by Aníbal
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 219
Buitrón and Barbara Salisbury Buitrón in 1946–1947, the area under discussion was the only one in the vicinity of Quito where indigenous people still wore a distinctive dress, and to their eyes the costume was similar in the five villages at that time (Buitrón and Buitrón 1947: 54–56). Indigenous Women’s Costume of the Nayón to Calderón Area Photographs from the 1920s and 1930s show women wearing a full-body white anaku, with a dark half anaku over it, and some women continued to wear this costume in the 1940s (Fig. 7.30).33 The full-body anaku has an extra fold of white fabric at the waist, visible above the belts, presumably to adjust its length. Although the Buitróns say that this garment was wool, in some photographs the fabric drapes more like cotton. The Buitróns (1947: 54–56) describe the 1940s women’s costume as a longsleeved, ankle-length, pull-over chemise heavily embroidered in a single color of wool, with an ankle-length dark blue or black half anaku over it (see Pl. 4). Some women instead wore a button-front blouse of printed cotton (saco), a newer style. Women wore both the mama chumbi and the wawa chumbi. The
7.30 Street scene in Quito in 1949, showing people probably from northeast of the city. Slide 26, by Ambassador George S. Vest.
220 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
shawl was called a rebozo and was most often orange. The headcloth was white cotton with narrow blue and red stripes at intervals, and embroidered on all edges.34 The women did not wear hats. The half anaku usually has some simple machine embroidery along the side opening as well as at the lower edge. More than one may be worn with the chemise or saco, and usually both are dark, but occasionally some other color is used, such as pink under navy blue. They appear to be put on in the same way as those of Otavalo. The saco is a short blouse that flares slightly at the bottom and is not tucked into the anaku, covering up the belts. A few women wore a more acculturated costume, consisting of a gathered skirt with the saco and a wool fringed shawl (pañolón) instead of a rebozo.35 Beals also collected two polleras of coarse treadle-loom woven wool fabric, with scalloped hems, one white with machine embroidery on the lower edge, 78 centimeters (31 inches) long, and one orange with hand embroidery, 66 centimeters (26 inches) long.36 The pollera apparently was replacing the anaku at this time. While sometimes the mama chumbi is the usual red (occasionally pink) with green side borders, some are green with red side borders (Pl. 4). Besides the supplementary-warp-patterned belts, belts with horizontal bar patterning (probably turn-banded 2/1 twill) were sometimes worn as a wawa chumbi. Beals (1966: 78) says that only four men and their sons were belt or poncho weavers in Nayón in 1949, with one crippled man responsible for practically all the belts (ibid.: 65). Since there was little local demand, most of their production was sold in Quito. Figure 7.31 shows four belts collected by Beals in Nayón. Without knowing their source, they would be difficult to distinguish from Otavalo belts. The headcloth was either a solid color, pink, red, orange, or yellow, or the white embroidered style, and was worn loosely draped. The embroidered ones were worn unfolded so the embroidered edge frames the face, but the solidcolor ones appear to have been folded once, with the folded edge framing the face. The embroidered headcloth was decorated in a variety of colors and geometric designs. Women used a plain white carrying cloth in the same way as Otavalo women for carrying babies. They also continued to wear red bead necklaces. Some, but not all, wore red bead wrist wraps. Finger rings were common. A woman’s costume from Llano Chico of unspecified date was on display at the museum in the Equatorial Monument where I saw it in 1988. It consisted of a blouse heavily embroidered in pink wool, and with a crocheted ruffle, a purple anaku with machine embroidery and folded tucks over a red one, a belt of the 2/1 turn-banded twill style, a headcloth that was white with narrow blue weft stripes at 1 centimeter (3/8 inch) intervals with fine em-
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 221 7.31 Details of four belts
collected in Nayón by ralph Beals in the late 1940s. UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, X66.1167, 1168, 1169, 1170. Photograph by Don Cole.
broidery in various colors along all edges, a plain white carrying cloth, and red bead necklaces. A photograph published in 1962 (Blanchard: pl. opposite p. 168) shows a young Calderón woman in a similar costume: a light blouse, dark anaku, one or two belts, and medium-dark headcloth. A distinctive women’s indigenous dress continued longest in Calderón, which is the most northerly of these towns, as recorded by Lynn Meisch. By the 1980s, Calderón had become a suburb of Quito, and its population was being absorbed into the urban proletariat. There were still a few older women, especially in the barrio La Comuna, on the side of the plateau, who wore vestiges of the old-style costume, including the blue half anaku, handwoven belts with supplementary-warp motifs, red or gold bead necklaces or necklaces with both colors but in separate strands, and an acrylic headcloth, usually blue or dark green, but sometimes rose red. The headcloths have supplementaryweft designs and are woven on treadle looms in Otavalo. Although most women who wear this version of traditional dress wear factory-made sweaters or blouses, Meisch spotted one old woman wearing an embroidered blouse in 1992.
222 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Indigenous Men’s Costume of Nayón to Calderón The Buitróns (1947: 54) describe 1940s men’s costume as white shirt and pants (of lienzo), with a small and narrow wool poncho, usually red with stripes in shades of red (see also Moore 1941: 732). The hat is like those in earlier representations, with a round crown and narrow brim. Alpargatas were seldom worn, but Beals notes that a few people made them in Nayón (1966: 173), while the Buitróns indicate the same in Llano Chico (1947: 28, 62). The Buitróns say that men, especially in El Inca, were changing their costume faster than women, and Beals that Nayón men no longer wore a distinctive costume in 1949, although his photograph of schoolboys shows them wearing shirts like the Otavalo tiu camisa (1966: 225, pl. 10). A photograph from 1949 by Ambassador Vest shows a man and a boy in white pants, alpargatas, and striped ponchos of varied character (Fig. 7.32), while a poncho he collected does have stripes in two shades of red, though it is not notably small or narrow (Fig. 7.33). A pair of white pants he collected is tailored in the contemporary European style, with a six-button fly, waist-
7.32 Street scene in Quito in 1949, showing a man and a boy in white pants and striped ponchos, and another man in dark pants and a plain red poncho. Slide 20, by Ambassador George S. Vest.
Costume in Southern Pichincha Province 223
7.33 Poncho acquired in Quito in 1949. Warp-faced plain-weave wool. 1.475 ×
1.235 meters (58 × 481/2 inches). Collection of Ambassador George S. Vest.
band with belt loops, side pockets, one inset buttoned back pocket, and a short back dart into the waistband on each side, of a cotton 2/2 twill fabric. The legs are ankle length, and the width at the lower edges is 33 centimeters (13 inches), times two for the full circumference. The Buitróns (1947: 56) describe the newer (“cholo”) style for men as dark pants and jacket, commercial shirt (no tie), alpargatas or sandals, and fedora, all of which are purchased items. They do not mention a poncho. But they note that there was some variation in poncho wearing—in some villages whites wore them, too—and photographs taken in 1949 by Vest in Quito show some men in dark pants, leather shoes, and plain red ponchos (see Figs. 7.31, 7.33).
CHAPTEr 8
Costume in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Bolívar Provinces
ann pollard rowe Comparatively little information on the historical development of indigenous costume exists for Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, or Bolívar Provinces in central Ecuador, but what there is makes it possible to make some interesting comparisons (see Maps 4–5). Cotopaxi Province Massive population movements in the periods of Inca and Spanish domination and the importance of obrajes and haciendas in this region have meant that people’s identity is now tied to their village rather than to a particular ethnic group. Distinctive costumes were going out of use during our 1980s fieldwork, making it harder to discern variations that presumably were once more significant. A small amount of information is available about men’s dress in the nineteenth century, since such men sometimes visited Quito. A watercolor of the 1850s in the Madrid album shows a mat vendor from Tanicuchí (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 341; similar to Pl. 3, lower left, here). He is wearing a white shirt and white pants of midcalf length, together with a white poncho with narrow black warp stripes, similar to those worn in the Quito area at the same time. His hair is short, and he is carrying the mats with a tumpline. Two photographs from the 1870s of men from Saquisilí, one a sieve seller (Fig. 8.1) and one a poncho seller (Fig. 8.2), and three from Latacunga show essentially the same costume.1 The men have short hair and are wearing shirts as well as one or two ponchos. The ponchos are of two kinds: One is the
Costume in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Bolívar Provinces 225 8.1 Man from Saquisilí, 1870s.
Photograph by Vargas. From Stübel and reiss 1888: pl. 9.
twill poncho with narrow warp stripes, presumably the same as in the earlier watercolor. The underneath poncho in Figure 8.1 appears to be a twill poncho with white warp stripes on a black (possibly red) ground, the reverse of the usual black on white. The second kind is a striped poncho that was probably backstrap-loom woven. It is distinguished by having the principal stripes in a mottled color, which must have been made by spinning or plying two colors of yarn together. Two groups of solid-color stripes interrupt this mottled color in each half of the poncho. The only poncho that does not fit this description is the one being sold by the poncho vendor (see Fig. 8.2), which has solid-color stripes. This vendor is also the only one who wears a hat, which appears to be of felt, with a medium-wide brim and edge binding. A 1900 painting of a musician from Latacunga by Joaquín Pinto shows a basically similar costume (Samaniego Salazar 1977: back cover, lower left). The man wears a white shirt and pants that are just below the calf in length, plus a hat similar to the poncho vendor’s and an undyed twill poncho. He is also wearing a white scarf. The poncho with the mottled-color stripes is the only feature distinctive from what was being worn in the Quito area at the same time. It is interesting that these ponchos are also unlike those worn in the late 1980s in central
226 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 8.2 Man from Saquisilí, 1870s.
Photograph by Vargas. From Stübel and reiss 1888: pl. 10.
Cotopaxi, which were backstrap-loom woven, either solid color (usually blue or red) or with allover stripes in shades of brown, with a short fringe as well as a collar and a gusset (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 122–123). Some men in red ponchos are also visible in the 1962 Saquisilí market photograph (Fig. 8.3). No information about women’s costume of the nineteenth century is available. The most conservative costume recorded in the towns near the PanAmerican Highway in 1988 was a waist-to-ankle wrapped anaku with a few pleats, held in place by supplementary-warp-patterned or turn-banded twill belts, with an unfringed shawl secured with a knot or safety pin (see Miller’s text in A. Rowe ed. 1998: 117–119). A few women wore a midcalf-length anaku. In more remote Zumbagua, women wore multiple-pleated anakus, similar to those seen in western Tungurahua Province. Women wrapped their hair in a backstrap-loom woven cotton tape. Their handmade felt hats were similar to the men’s. But women wearing a skirt with a waistband and a fringed shawl were also common. Although in 1988 only a rare old woman wore the style of indigo resist-dyed shawl woven in a few towns of the Salcedo area, it was clearly more common in 1962 (see Fig. 8.3). An example probably from the 1950s or 1960s is shown in Figure 8.4.2 As with similar shawls made elsewhere, they are made from industrially produced yarns.
8.3 The Saquisilí market in 1962, showing several women wearing bound-warp
resist-dyed shawls and handmade felt hats. The woman in the foreground is making a looped bag (shigra). Slide by Walter H. Hodge.
228 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 8.4 Shawl woven in the Salcedo
area, probably in the 1950s or 1960s. Cotton with bound-warp resist-dyed pattern. 1.71 × .75 meters (673/4 × 281/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1995.1.1.
A few other pieces older than those shown in our earlier book can be mentioned. A supplementary-warp-patterned belt that does not seem to be distinctive, said to be from Angamarca, which is the name of a community in western Cotopaxi Province, was collected between 1868 and 1874 (Fig. 8.5). A belt collected in 1945 may be from Cotopaxi (Fig. 8.6). It has fine grouped commercial-cotton warp yarns and comparatively thick weft yarns, a configuration also found in modern belts from the Collana area (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 118). The band in Figure 8.7 is all cotton, white and navy blue, with the width of a belt but the alternating-float-weave designs that during the 1980s were found only on narrower hairbands. It may date to the 1950s or 1960s. The Fowler Museum of Cultural History at UCLA has three satin blouses collected in the Saquisilí market. Dark green and dark pink examples, collected in 1976 (X76.1041 and 1042), have three-quarter-length sleeves, a peplum, and machine embroidery, and a blue example, collected in 1980 (X86.2722), has long sleeves, a pair of triangular points at the waist in front, and lace trim. The communities in which these blouses were worn were not recorded, but the Salamala-Macas area is a possibility (A. Rowe ed. 1998: pl. VI).
8.5 Belt from Angamarca,
presumably western Cotopaxi Province. From Uhle 1889–1890, II: pl. 12, lower left.
8.6 Belt collected in
1945, possibly from Cotopaxi Province. Cotton plain weave with wool supplementaryweft patterns. 2.63 × .085 meters (1031/2 × 31/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1965.51.58, anonymous gift.
230 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 8.7 Belt or hairband, probably
from Cotopaxi Province, probably from the 1950s or 1960s. Warp-faced plain weave with alternating-floatweave patterns, white and indigo-dyed cotton. 2.34 × .075 meters (92 × 3 inches). The Textile Museum 2001.12.4, gift of roy Parviz Mottahedeh.
Tungurahua Province Tungurahua Province is organized around the market town of Ambato. The most striking costumes apparent in the 1980s were those of the Salasaca, whose lands are southeast of Ambato, and those of the Chibuleo and related groups on the southwest side of town. We collected some additional information about a herding community at the foot of Mt. Chimborazo, who called themselves Llangahua. In other areas, a distinctive costume had nearly died out by then, and people seemed to identify themselves by village rather than by ethnic group. Not enough additional information is available about these traditions to warrant further comment here.3 Salasaca Although the Salasacas are not mentioned in early colonial historical records, Corr (2010: 4) has found early-eighteenth-century documents suggesting that Salasacas of that period had migrated from the Sigchos-Collanas area of what is now Cotopaxi Province. They have since then managed to retain
Costume in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Bolívar Provinces 231
their independence from the hacienda system, and their sense of a separate identity is strong. Their elegant and distinctive costume is conservative, although some modern features have become common, including machine-made fedoras, acrylic yarns for belts and some shawls, and factory-made shirts (for both men and women) and men’s pants (see Miller’s text in A. Rowe ed. 1998: 126–142). Information available about Salasaca costume in the 1960s suggests that none of these modern features were in evidence then. A complete collection of men’s and women’s costume was made by Hans Disselhoff in 1937–1939 and is now in the Ethnologisches Museum in Dahlem (Berlin).4 This costume is remarkably similar to that still being worn in the 1960s, represented in The Textile Museum collection by gifts from two different Peace Corps volunteers. The felt hat, handmade to order in Pomatúg, a barrio of Pelileo, and worn by both men and women, has a low crown and broad brim. Those from the 1930s-1960s, though the same basic shape as those being made in the 1980s, have the brim slightly upcurved in front. This feature is evident in a photograph taken by Walter Hodge in 1945 (Fig. 8.8), which also clearly shows the traditional man’s hairstyle.5 A different kind of old-style hat was recorded by Lynn Meisch in 1993 (Fig. 8.9). It was worn during funeral rituals, Corr (2010: 80–81) says, only by blood relatives. It is made of a thinner felt in a light brown color. It appears that this style is no longer being made, but examples have been handed down from earlier generations. The available men’s costumes collected in the 1930s and 1960s include a European-style shirt rather than the tunic-shaped garment reproduced for Laura Miller (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 137). It is nevertheless possible that some conservative men did wear such a tunic. The Disselhoff shirt is rectangular (88 × 52 centimeters; 343/4 × 201/2 inches), with a narrow collar and a short front placket, so it is a pullover style. It has short wide sleeves (24 centimeters [91/2 inches] long, 25 centimeters [10 inches] wide at the shoulder, and 20 centimeters [8 inches] at the bottom), with no cuffs. This style continued to be worn in the 1950s (Peñaherrera de Costales and Costales Samaniego 1959: 70). The shirt described by Robinson for the 1960s, called camisa or kushma, is similar but with three-quarter-length sleeves, tucked into cuffs. Both are of factory-made cotton material. Robinson (ms.: 110) also reports that in the 1960s young boys wore long shirts only. The pants in earlier collections are similar to modern ones, with the same simple Spanish cut and relatively wide legs (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 137, fig. 122). The pants made for festival wear in the 1960s, however, have fine embroidery in a simple geometric motif near the lower edge (Fig. 8.10). This style of em-
232 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
8.8 Man from Salasaca, 1945. Photograph by Walter H. Hodge.
broidery is clearly of Spanish derivation (compare Stapley 1924: pls. I, II, 105). In the 1980s, festival pants were no longer decorated, but wedding pants had more elaborate figural embroidery (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 140–142, figs. 125–126). Hoffmeyer (1985: 340–341) also describes wedding pants with crocheted lace at the hem as well as embroidery and other examples with embroidery on a lace ground.
Costume in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Bolívar Provinces 233
The supplementary-warp-patterned belts with their varied figural pickup designs are also very similar to modern ones, except for the use of wool for the patterning (Fig. 8.11). An interesting feature that occurs on one 1960s example (Fig. 8.12) is the use of two-color supplementary-warp diamonds (locally called frutilla S, strawberry) as flanking stripes to the central pickup patterns, while in other belts the two-color style is made separately from the one with pickup patterns. The Disselhoff collection includes two belts with predominant two-color diamond motifs and one with pickup patterns. The narrow treadle-loom woven black twill-weave poncho is similar in
8.9 Family in Salasaca, wearing mourning hats, 1993. Photograph by Lynn A.
Meisch, 93-29A-14.
8.10 Detail of the lower legs of a pair of festival pants, Salasaca, collected in the
mid-1960s. Plain-weave cotton with cotton embroidery. Overall size: 84 × 42 (at waist) centimeters (33 × 161/2 inches). The Textile Museum 2001.2.1, gift of Bernard Fisken. 8.11 Belt from Salasaca, collected in the mid-1960s. Plain-weave cotton with wool supplementary-warp patterning. 2.84 × .075 meters (721/2 × 3 inches). The Textile Museum 2001.2.2, gift of Bernard Fisken.
8.12 Belt from Salasaca, collected in 1966, with both frutilla (two-color) and pickup
motifs. Plain-weave cotton with wool supplementary-warp patterning. 2.61 × .065 meters (633/8 × 21/2 inches). The Textile Museum 2004.6.2, gift of Frances K. ruddick.
236 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
older and newer examples, except that in those from the 1960s and earlier, the simple embroidery on the shoulders and ends is in white rather than colored yarns. The poncho in the 1945 photograph seems to be entirely undecorated. The Disselhoff poncho, however, has magenta overcasting on the neck and ends. White ponchos of similar proportions are likely to be an older style also. The men’s shoulder cloths, similar in format to the women’s shawls (see below), seem to be unchanged. However, the man in the Hodge photo seems to be wearing one under as well as over his poncho. Women wear a knee-length or midcalf-length black wool anaku, made of local treadle-loom woven cloth in plain weave, with five to seven pleats in the front, secured with a supplementary-warp-patterned belt. The Disselhoff costume and Robinson confirm the use during the 1930s to 1960s of a rectangular wrapped upper-body garment made of fabric similar to the anaku and pinned on the shoulders (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 131, fig. 118). Small metal pins with a loop on the end were common, but Robinson (ms.: 83) reports that thorns could be used instead. All available shawls are also locally treadle-loom woven in plain weave and have a distinctive pattern of narrow white cotton stripes on the edges and center, which remain undyed when the wool fabric is dipped in the dyepot. Cochineal is used for both red and purple (A. Rowe ed. 2007: 266–277), and olive green is another traditional color. Another style of shawl is white with narrow colored weft stripes at intervals. The Textile Museum has such a shawl, collected in 1945–1948, that is cotton with indigo-dyed cotton stripes (TM 1965.51.49c), but the Disselhoff example has black wool stripes. One collected in 1966 is cotton with wool (black and pink) stripes (TM 2004.6.4). A larger fabric, locally called a rebozo, is used as a wrap and carrying cloth. Older and newer examples are often very similar, but an especially elaborate one collected in 1966 (Plate 5) has embroidered motifs on the ends similar to the embroidery found on festival pants of the same period (see also Bustamente 1987: 62, a man’s wrap). Some of the white weft stripes in this piece seem to fade in and out. It appears that these yarns were made by spinning cotton and wool fibers alternately into the same yarn, a most unusual technique. Discontinuous white cotton lines are formed in some other Salasaca shawls (A. Rowe ed. 2007: pl. 6), but these yarns turn at the end of the color area, either with or without interlocking with the dyed wool yarns (A. Rowe 2009: fig. 4). Chibuleo The costume of people identifying themselves as Chibuleo, Pilahuín, or Angaguana, depending on their community, is similar. Our information is pri-
Costume in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Bolívar Provinces 237 8.13 Chibuleo or Pilahuín man selling produce at the market in Santo Domingo de los Colorados in 1961. Photograph by Cl. J. Kayser. Photo SCALA, Florence, © 2011 Musée du quai Branly, Paris, PP0080239.
marily from the Chibuleo. Very little older information on their costume is available. There is a watercolor by Juan Agustín Guerrero (Hallo 1981: 63) titled Yndio de Ambanto que viene á Quito á vender Frutillas showing a seated man selling strawberries. The man is wearing a costume that is similar to that of prosperous indigenous men from Quito: white shirt and midcalf-length pants, white twill-woven poncho with black stripes, white scarf, and a tan top hat. This costume is not necessarily implausible for a Chibuleo or Pilahuín man of the period, however. Some photographs of the 1950s show a Chibuleo hat, with an upturned brim like a sailor’s hat, having a distinctly higher brim than examples from the 1980s (Peñaherrera de Costales and Costales Samaniego 1961a: pl. XII; 1961b: 163). The man is wearing a solid-color dark poncho. A 1966 photograph shows a man wearing ankle-length white pants, a poncho of treadle-loom woven twill fabric in white with black warp stripes, and a felt hat with upcurving brim (Fig. 8.13). The same costume was still worn by old men in the 1980s (see A. Rowe ed. 1998: 150–153). The felt hat seems to have a slightly deeper brim than modern examples. The costume current in the 1980s consisted of the hat, commercially produced white pants, and a red poncho (also
8.14 Chibuleo woman wearing a handwoven anaku with machine-woven shawls. Photograph by Ann Pollard rowe, 1988.
Costume in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Bolívar Provinces 239 8.15 Old Chibuleo blouse, machine-made cotton fabric with wool embroidery, San Luis Chibuleo. 1.01 × 1.40 meters (393/4 × 55 inches). The Textile Museum 1988.19.124, Latin American research Fund.
usually machine made) with a group of colored edge stripes, sold by Otavalo merchants and similar to older examples from Otavalo. In the 1970s, women wore anakus and shawls of treadle-loom woven black wool (Fig. 8.14), although around 1979 all converted to navy blue (or black in the case of Angaguana) acrylic fabric in multiple layers. The wool anakus in the Banco Central collection in Quito (collected in 1976) are 74 × 194, 80 × 190, and 73 × 198 centimeters (29 × 761/2, 311/2 × 75, 29 × 78 inches) and a shawl is 142 × 81 centimeters (56 × 32 inches). The size of these anakus is similar to that of Salasaca examples. They are shorter in warp length than the newer acrylic ones, which are over 3 meters (118 inches) long. Older belts are similar to modern ones except for having wool rather than acrylic supplementarywarp yarns. We collected one older style of blouse, shown in Figure 8.15. The cut is similar to modern examples, except that the sleeves are long and have cuffs and the overall length is greater (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 146, figs. 127–128). The modern blouses we collected also have a vertical slit under the neck opening in both front and back, whereas the older blouse has a slit only in front. The wool embroidery is similar in layout to newer examples, but the design is less elaborate and precise.
240 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
8.16 Woman, boy, and llama “at the foot of Chimborazo, 3350 m” in 1947. Probably Llangahua people. Photograph by Edgar Aubert de la rüe. Photo SCALA, Florence, © 2011 Musée du quai Branly, Paris, PP0036189.
Llangahua A 1947 photograph, labeled “at the foot of Chimborazo,” may represent Llangahua costume of the period (Fig. 8.16).6 These people are pastoralists of both sheep and llamas on the páramo on the road from Ambato to Guaranda, around Río Blanco, on the northern side of Mt. Chimborazo (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 155–158). The woman wears a calf-length anaku with many pleats and a shawl, to hip level, similar to those we recorded in 1988. Her belt, with a horizontal-bar design, is not particularly distinctive. The hats appear to be handmade felt and illustrate the styles worn before machine-made hats became available. The boy’s pants are shorter than the style of handmade wool pants we recorded,
Costume in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Bolívar Provinces 241
which were ankle length. The poncho lacks the stripes we saw on more conservative ponchos in 1988. Bolívar Province In the early colonial documents, people called Tomavelas are mentioned living north of the town of Chimbo, and others called Chillanes to the south, as well as mitimas, for example from Cajamarca and Huamachuco in northern Peru, and camayos from what are now Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Chimborazo Provinces.7 Indigenous people of the area today do not profess an ethnic group name. In the 1860s, Friedrich Hassaurek traveled through the region and noted that the men wore heavy red ponchos (1867: 44). The mountain climber Edward Whymper, who hired muleteers in Guaranda in 1880 for his ascent of Chimborazo, published an engraving of one of them (Fig. 8.17). He is wearing baggy white pants, just below the knee in length, and a white shirt, as well as two ponchos. The underneath poncho is a light color with narrow dark warp stripes and a few weft stripes, probably made from a treadle-loom 8.17 Muleteer of the Guaranda area.
From Whymper 1892: 40.
242 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
8.18 Women of the Guaranda area in 1988. Slide by Laura M. Miller, 88-40-2.
woven twill fabric, and on top is a darker solid-color poncho, presumably red, that hangs well below the waist. He wears a hat similar to those we saw in 1988, but with a slightly wider brim. About half of the ponchos recorded by Laura Miller (in A. Rowe ed. 1998: 162–166) in the Guaranda market in 1988 were red, some solid color and others with a group of contrast color stripes near the side edges. Other ponchos were dark blue or striped in shades of brown. Some of the modern ponchos had fringed ends, cloth tape edge binding, or collars, not characteristic of older examples. The handmade felt hat with rounded crown and narrow brim was still in evidence, although not all were wearing it. The women’s costume, about which we have no old information, is similar to that of the other areas covered in this chapter (Fig. 8.18). It includes several knee-length anakus with multiple pleats in front, the more conservative ones of treadle-loom woven wool fabric. The anakus are held in place with handwoven belts, most of which seem to have been woven in Central Chimborazo Province rather than locally. A white blouse with embroidered cuffs was in evidence, along with machine-made sweaters. The shawls recorded in the 1980s were of machine-made fabric. Women also use the bound-warp resistpatterned carrying cloths made in the Salcedo area of Cotopaxi Province.
CHAPTEr 9
Costume in Chimborazo and Cañar Provinces
ann pollard rowe Chimborazo Province Chimborazo Province is large and ethnically diverse (see Map 5). In terms of costume, it can be divided into at least three broad areas (A. Rowe ed. 1998: chaps. 9–11). Central Chimborazo is defined as the area of the western foothills of the central valley, west and southwest of Riobamba, the provincial capital and market center. The unifying costume feature is a straight wrapped anaku. Although regional variation was once more prominent within this area than it was in the 1980s, the costume of the San Juan area in the north was still distinct from the area between Cacha and Columbe. The most obvious distinguishing feature is that the anaku is midcalf length in the San Juan area, while in the south it is ankle length. The area north of Riobamba is occupied mainly by mestizo-whites and is important for Furcraea growing and processing (see Miller et al. 2005). The central valley and the foothills of the eastern cordillera, southeast of Riobamba, are designated Eastern Chimborazo. The pleated anaku is found in this area, and we discerned at least three distinct costume zones. Southern Chimborazo, separated from the north by a desert area between Guamote and Palmira, orients itself south to Cañar Province in the gathered skirts of the women’s costumes. Lynn Meisch aptly refers to this break as the Great Skirt Divide. In men’s costume, there was a shift from cotton to wool for pants. There is a cultural break as well, perhaps due to the fact that Southern Chimborazo was a transition zone between the Puruha- and Cañarspeaking populations in the pre-Inca period.
244 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
The Cañari ethnic group resides in the central part of Cañar Province around the town of Cañar (Map 6). We have no historical costume information for the related people in the lower-altitude zone from Zhud westward, or for the other indigenous people of the eastern haciendas. Women’s Costume in Central Chimborazo Far more historical costume information is available for Central Chimborazo than for other parts of the province. The earliest representations of a woman from the Riobamba area are five watercolors from the 1850s, all of similar composition (e.g., Fig. 9.1; see also Ortiz Crespo 2005: 236–237). Osculati’s (Fig. 9.1) is labeled Indiana di Riobamba, Guerrero’s is labeled Provincia de Riobamba (Hallo 1981: 59), and an anonymous work dated ca. 1879 is labeled India de Riobamba. The similar painting in the Madrid album is labeled Yndia de San Miguel. There is a town called San Miguel de Tapi, not far northwest of Riobamba, which could be the place mentioned.1 The fifth watercolor is not labeled. In the four images not shown here, the woman is shown with a riderless llama, in two cases carrying a pack, suggesting travel from her home to Quito. All the watercolors show her spinning with a vertically held spindle and a stick distaff tucked into her belt. She is wearing a black anaku, from the shoulders to just below the knee in length, secured with a red belt. The length of the anaku suggests the San Juan style more than the Cacha-to-Columbe area. The red belt should perhaps be taken as generic, and not as a representation of a mama chumbi, which in twentieth-century practice is covered by a patterned belt (and is not worn in the San Juan area). In four of the five paintings, she wears an elbow-length black shawl, pinned at the throat. The Madrid painting shows the tupu clearly. The most unusual feature of her costume is the black hood on her head, which seems likely to be descended from the pre-Hispanic Bolivian garment (see Chapter 2). It is of interest that she is not wearing a Spanish-style felt hat. In the Madrid album painting, she is wearing red wrist wraps and a red necklace with a row of silvery pendants. In the 1879 painting, she wears only a belted anaku (no chemise) and her hairstyle is therefore visible. Her front locks are trimmed next to her upper ear, and the hair in back is wrapped. The next evidence is a few photographs taken around 1900. One shows a group of three alcaldes and two women (Chiriboga and Caparrini 1994: 131, fig. 64). The upper part of the anaku is covered by the shawl, but again the anaku hangs only to slightly below the knee. The hem of what is probably an embroidered chemise is barely visible. Both women wear a large white shawl folded in half and over this a black shawl with sharp vertical pleats.
Costume in Chimborazo and Cañar Provinces 245
9.1 Left: indigenous woman from riobamba. right: indigenous man of Licán
traveling on a llama. From Osculati 1854: tav. VII, fig. 2.
Both shawls are fastened with a tupu. The patterned belts are wound around the waist multiple times. One of the women wears earrings that hang halfway down her chest. Their hair is cut to shoulder length in front of the ears, and one cannot see how it is worn in back, but their heads are uncovered. Both women are barefoot. The pleats in the shawls are fascinating in relation to similar Quito garments. The differences between the watercolors and this photograph could be due to chronological change, to regional variation, or to the fact that the women in the photograph are dressed in ceremonial clothes, while the women in the watercolors are presumably in daily dress. Two other photographs, by Horgan, dated 1901, alas cannot be specifically localized. One shows a group of seated women who are wearing a full-length anaku and dark shawl (Chiriboga and Caparrini 1994: 90, fig. 33). Another shows a woman whose anaku is folded and bunched at the belt, as we recorded in Eastern Chimborazo, together with a white shawl (ibid.: 72, fig. 17). The full-length anaku of Inca-style dress continued to be worn by Central
246 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 9.2 Sebastiana Chimbolema, of
Majipamba, wearing a full-length anaku, a style she had worn daily until 1985. The costume would usually have been worn with a felt hat. Photograph by Laura M. Miller, 1988, 88-50-35.
Chimborazo women until the second half of the twentieth century (Fig. 9.2).2 In 1965, over half of the women middle aged and older still wore it (Robinson ms.: 115), but we saw only a few very old women wearing it in 1989. At that time we were fortunate to be able to document exactly how it was worn in Majipamba, one of the Colta-area communities (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 187–191). Carol Ann Robinson (ms.) recorded the same costume in Colta Monjas in 1965. A changalli (Q ) or delantal (S, apron) was also worn, a rectangle falling in front of the body from the waist to the bottom of the anaku, secured by the belts. Three belts were used, a supplementary-warp-patterned belt, then a mama chumbi, and on top, a kawiña chumbi. The old mama chumbi is some 16 centimeters (61/2 inches) wide, with wool warp and cabuya-fiber (probably chawar) weft. Like Otavalo examples, it is always red with green borders. The kawiña chumbi is a wool belt, woven in a complementary-warp weave.3 It is always divided into three lengthwise stripes, the outer two in yellow and black or purple with a center stripe in green and red. The outer edges are red. The de-
Costume in Chimborazo and Cañar Provinces 247
signs are hand picked and consist of horizontal bars alternating with small geometric, anthropomorphic, or vaguely animal-shaped motifs. Kawiña is the name of an ethnic group and province not far south of Cuzco in the Inca Empire, where it seems likely the style originated, brought to Ecuador by mitimaes (see A. Rowe ed. 2007: 189–190, 192–195). Sometimes a supplementarywarp-patterned belt was worn on the outside. Belts were made for sale in Central Chimborazo at least as early as the 1940s and are common textile items purchased by travelers in Ecuador (Fig. 9.3). The shoulder wrap is secured with a tupu (Fig. 9.4). It may be of one panel or two sewn together, usually treadle-loom woven, although occasionally backstrap-loom woven. A style of cotton carrying cloth, made of a single panel of treadle-loom woven fabric, often of hand-spun yarns, has narrow dark (green, magenta, or black) wool weft stripes at intervals and hemmed ends. It tends to be longer than the wool shawls. The Textile Museum examples (1988.19.148, 1989.22.51) are 1.56 and 1.64 meters (611/2 and 641/2 inches) long. It is also likely that simple warp-resist-dyed shawls from either Azuay or Cotopaxi Province were used as carrying cloths, as was also the case in 1989. Another style of cotton shoulder cloth has red and green wool embroidery at the ends, and a carefully made short fringe with colored tassels added (Pl. 6). We saw no one wearing these embroidered cloths (nor are they men9.3 Supplementary-
warp-patterned belts in Chimborazo styles, collected in Quito in 1949. Left: 2.28 × .082 meters (893/4 × 31/4 inches). right, overall size: 2.67 × .075 meters (105 × 3 inches). The Textile Museum 2007.26.3 and 2007.26.2, gift of George S. Vest.
248 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 9.4 Girls in Majipamba, 1968.
Photograph by Sylvia Helen Forman.
tioned by Robinson); they are probably an obsolete festival style. In Troje, we were told that they were used for carrying things to market and for festivals, and were called kipina (Q , for carrying). In the January 1929 issue of The National Geographic Magazine (Gayer 1929: pl. I), a man is shown wearing such a piece as a neck scarf. Examples purchased in the Riobamba market were said to be from Cacha, Colta, or Cajabamba. One piece, catalogued in 1906 by the Museum of the American Indian in New York, with a matching chemise (Fig. 9.5), was said to be from San Andrés, which may refer to a mestizo town west of Riobamba. San Andrés may refer to the place where the pieces were made or marketed rather than where they were worn. These pieces are rather crudely embroidered on a ground of machine-made fabric. The examples seen in the Riobamba market in 1989, however, were beautiful used pieces, finely worked on a ground of hand-spun and handwoven cotton. One of the latter, said to be from Cajabamba (see Pl. 6, top), has a design identical to the old museum pieces. A chemise with embroidery similar to the fine shawls was also seen in Cacha and said to be an obsolete festival style (Fig. 9.6). The tailoring is similar to that of the Museum of the American Indian chemise, though the fabric is handmade. The sleeves are short with large triangular gussets. The
Costume in Chimborazo and Cañar Provinces 249
lower part is gathered into the lower edge of a deep yoke that frames the neck opening. Another style of chemise with black embroidery was said to be from Cebadas by the Riobamba market vendor whose stall contained a number of examples, together with matching shawls (Fig. 9.7). We visited Cebadas briefly and found no examples, but since the style has been obsolete for some time, we were not surprised.4 Cebadas lies within the Eastern Chimborazo area, but by 1989 the costume seemed similar to that of Central Chimborazo, and it was not clear how it might have differed during the time when these embroideries were worn. The length of the example illustrated is, however, comparable to the Central Chimborazo ones, and it seems likely that it was worn with a full-length anaku. The age of these embroideries is uncertain, but they are no longer made, and we saw no one wearing them in 1989. The owners of the example we saw in Cacha said it was thirty years old (i.e., ca. 1960). Since a chemise was not a normal part of the costume, it probably was confined to festival use, as suggested by our Cacha informants. The Textile Museum collection also contains two blouses purchased new in the Cuenca market in 1945. They are of machine-made cotton fabric with relatively crude hand embroidery in wool. One (Fig. 9.8) is a finished chemise 9.5 Embroidered chemise
said to be from San Andrés, near riobamba, acquired in 1906. Machine-made cotton fabric, embroidered in wool. 1.19 × .83 meters (463/4 × 323/4 inches). National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1/1846.
9.6 Embroidered chemise probably from Cacha. Handwoven cotton plain weave,
embroidered in wool. 1.34 × .77 meters (523/4 × 301/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.19.40, Latin American research Fund.
9.7 Embroidered chemise, said to be from the riobamba area, but similar to other
examples said to be from Cebadas. Handwoven cotton plain weave, embroidered in wool. 1.24 × .86 meters (483/4 × 33 7/8 inches). The Textile Museum 1985.46.7, Latin American research Fund.
252 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 9.8 Chemise collected in the Cuenca
market in 1945, but probably worn in the Colta area. Cotton plain weave, embroidered in wool and cotton. 1.10 × .68 meters (431/4 × 263/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1965.51.50A, anonymous gift.
similar to modern examples from Central Chimborazo (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 197, fig. 181; 201, fig. 186) but with short sleeves. It does not resemble the blouses known to have been worn in the Cuenca area, but it could be ancestral to modern Central or Southern Chimborazo or even Cañari-style blouses. The other piece is an unfinished neck panel (Fig. 9.9), identified by the late Dennis Penley (personal communication, 1978) as made and worn in Cajabamba. The old-style earrings were often made of red seed beads and fell to below the waist (see Fig. 9.2). Coins were placed at the lowest point in both the Cacha and Colta areas. The earrings were commonly worn underneath the belts to support them. A strand was also frequently draped over the top of the ear, to prevent pull on the earlobes. Women also wore necklaces. In the Colta area, old-style beads were of many colors, while in Cacha, they were red. In these older necklaces, coins or commemorative religious medallions, strung on edge, were sometimes interspersed with the beads (Fig. 9.10). Robinson (ms.: 132) says that the necklaces with coins were worn only on special occasions in the Colta area. Cacha informants told us that they were worn daily there, however. In the late 1970s, women stopped wearing them as a result of evangelical missionaries proselytizing in the province who thought that they looked too much like rosaries, associated with the Catholic faith and festivals. The collection of the late Sylvia Forman, who did anthropological work in Majipamba in the 1960s, includes two necklaces of much greater length (Fig. 9.11). These have small beads, coins or religious medallions at intervals, and a small metal cross at
Costume in Chimborazo and Cañar Provinces 253
each end. It appears that these were reserved for special occasions. Rebecca Tolen’s 1989 photograph of a music contest shows women dressed in what was thought of as “traditional” dress in Pulucate who are wearing these long necklaces (called rosarios), as well as knee-length earrings (section by Tolen in A. Rowe ed. 1998: 178, fig. 160). Robinson (ms.: 133) reports that strings of small beads in a variety of colors were also worn on the wrists in the Colta area, and some, though not all, women were wearing them in 1989. Wrist beads were still being worn in Troje. Women also wore multiple steel finger rings. Women in these communities leave the front locks of their hair loose at the side (Fig. 9.12). Some women bleach the unbound forelocks. Robinson (ms.: 134) says that a purchased product known as jabón negro (S, black soap) is used for bleaching. The rest of the hair is long and wrapped from the nape of the neck down nearly to the end with a narrow complementary-warppatterned band in red wool and white cotton with a zigzag-and-dot design reminiscent of the Inca key pattern (A. Rowe ed. 2007: 187–191). Similar 9.9 Detail of blouse panel collected
in the Cuenca market in 1945, but probably worn in central Chimborazo Province. Cotton plain weave with wool embroidery. Overall size, 98 × 62 centimeters (381/2 × 241/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1965.51.50D, anonymous gift.
9.10 Group of necklaces with coins. The
latest coin (on the bottom necklace) is dated 1971. Overall lengths, top to bottom: 41, 48, 64 centimeters (161/8, 187/8, 251/4 inches). Collected by Sylvia Helen Forman.
9.11 Rosario necklaces, shown folded in half. The latest coin is dated 1948. Length from tassel tip to tassel tip, left: 1.04 meters (41 inches); right: .95 meters (373/8 inches). Collected by Sylvia Helen Forman.
9.12 The riobamba market, 1945. Photograph by Walter H. Hodge.
Costume in Chimborazo and Cañar Provinces 255
9.13 Women in the riobamba market wearing gourd hats, 1947. Photograph by Edgar Aubert de la rüe. Photo SCALA, Florence, © 2011 Musée du quai Branly, Paris, PP0036183.2.
hairbands are also made in Cacha, where they are called Cusco chumbi, in apparent recognition of the Inca origin of the weave and pattern. Plain-weave and supplementary-warp-patterned hairbands are also used in Cacha and neighboring areas. The old-style hat worn by Colta women is made of felted white wool, with a rounded crown and a wide brim. These hats are apparently brought in from the Ambato area, and presumably are made in Pomatúg. The brim is turned up slightly (Peñaherrera de Costales and Costales Samaniego 1961a: láms. XVIII, XIX, XX). Around the base of the crown is a black ribbon that continues down into long streamers, the ends of which are embroidered in red and green and fringed. However, a number of photographs taken in the 1940s, as well as Gayer’s 1929 photograph, show women bareheaded, so it is possible that women only gradually adopted the custom of wearing a felt hat. A photograph taken in 1947 in the Riobamba market (Fig. 9.13) shows a
256 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 9.14 Woman and man in the Cajabamba market, 1988. Except for the woman’s hat, the fabrics are machine made, but the woman’s hairstyle, hat, and the use of a changalli are conservative for the period. The man’s poncho is a machinemade imitation of the usually treadle-loom woven jirga poncho. Slide by Ann Pollard rowe.
group of women wearing gourds on their heads instead of felt hats. Unfortunately, it is not possible to say precisely where the women were from, but the custom of wearing gourd caps could have considerable time depth. During the 1970s, costume changed dramatically when women started wearing machine-made instead of handwoven cloth for their anaku and shawls, blurring earlier regional variations. This change was the direct result of rapid and thorough social changes (see text by Rebecca Tolen in A. Rowe ed. 1998: 168–186). Much hacienda land was parceled, and population growth led to the increasing participation of rural people in urban markets in labor and goods. Evangelical Protestantism has also been a transforming force in the area, promoting both literacy and a more assertive mode of interaction with whites, and changing the nature of ritual gatherings and celebrations. The 1989 costume (Fig. 9.14) consisted of a long-sleeved chemise with simple hand or machine embroidery, with a half-length anaku over it, secured with belts that continued to be handwoven, but with acrylic substituted for wool yarns. Not all women wore the changalli (apron). Women also started to wear machine-made fedoras. Earrings are no more than an inch long, and due to evangelical influence, necklaces no longer have coins.
Costume in Chimborazo and Cañar Provinces 257
Men’s Costume in Central Chimborazo The earliest depiction of indigenous male costume in Chimborazo Province is a painting by Alexander von Humboldt reproduced as a two-page color plate in his book on his 1799–1804 voyage (Humboldt and Bonpland 1810: pl. 25).5 The plate depicts Mt. Chimborazo, with a small scene of presumably indigenous people in the lower-right corner (they are barefoot). The men are wearing dark pants to just below the knee in length. The pants are close-fitting where visible, and there is a short slit up the side of the knee. This style is an interesting contrast with later use of loose white cotton pants. The men are also wearing ponchos with blue and white stripes, although one is red and white. Osculati also illustrates a man identified as from Licán, another town just west of Riobamba (see Fig. 9.1). He is riding a llama and wearing short white pants, a white poncho with narrow red stripes, and a dark-colored hat with a low cylindrical crown and narrow brim. It is interesting that this costume is completely distinct from that seen in Central Chimborazo in the twentieth century. Unlike the woman, this rider does not appear among the other published watercolors. There are also two photographs by Horgan, dated 1901, that show male costume. In one, three men wear knee-length white pants, plus a poncho (Chiriboga and Caparrini 1994: 70, fig. 15), and in the other (with the woman with the Eastern Chimborazo–style anaku), the men all wear shaggy sheepskin chaps (ibid.: 72, fig. 17). A few of them also have what looks like sheepskin cuffs over their forearms. They are harvesting, so the cuffs probably have a practical purpose. A Colta man in Majipamba, who was sixty-five years old in 1989, told Laura Miller that as a boy, he and other boys wore a camisa with a poncho over it until the age of ten. A camisa was a long shirt, with either long or short sleeves. It was made of thick white cloth and embroidered. He noted that girls, too, wore the camisa, with an anaku over their lower body. An embroidered chemise collected in 1945 in Cuenca may represent this garment (see Fig. 9.8). After age ten, boys dressed as grown men, wearing calzón (S, pants), made of white cotton handwoven material called liencillo (see Fig. 9.15). Such pants were still available for purchase in the local markets in 1965 but had disappeared by 1988. Robinson (ms.: 143–146, 148–149) illustrates three styles, which she says were worn by older men. The oldest style is cut similarly to Salasaca pants (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 137, fig. 122), but opens at front and back (fastened with cords) instead of at the sides, while the others have a more
258 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
modern cut with a back waist yoke instead of crotch gussets, a front opening fastened with a button, and slightly tapered legs. Robinson indicates that various types of belts were worn, including handwoven ones. Our Majipamba informant described a narrow red man’s belt called the chumbillina, which he likened to the woman’s mama chumbi. It was woven on the backstrap loom and had braided fringe. These final loops (called angu) had a leather cord laced through them. Men wore shirts that were generously pleated into the yoke across the back and had wide cuffs. The shirt described by Robinson, which she collected in 1965 and is likely a more recent design than that described by our Colta informant, has no fullness in the back, and is crudely made (ms.: 139–140). The front opening extends halfway down the chest and is not embroidered. The hats worn by men are the same as those already described for women. According to Robinson (ms.: 153), Colta men wore their hats without any decoration, so that they became softer and more flexible over time. Men also wore a kushma, without side seams, to just below the hips (Figs. 9.15–9.16). It was made on the backstrap loom, in a single panel with the neck slit woven with discontinuous weft yarns. It was black wool with narrow warp stripes at the side edges. It, too, was wrapped at the waist with a chumbillina. Robinson does not mention the kushma, so evidently it had already become obsolete by 1965, but it appears in the 1945 photograph in Figure 9.15 (though no belt is visible). The Textile Museum’s examples (Fig. 9.16) are from the Colta area and Pulucate, and we are not certain if it was worn in Cacha. The Pulucate kushma has red side stripes, while those from Santiago de Quito and Majipamba in the Colta area have green side stripes. In Llinllín, near Columbe, Amelia Morocho told Lynn Meisch in 1989 that boys formerly wore the pichunchi, similar to the woman’s full-length anaku, until they were fifteen or sixteen years old and started traveling outside the community, at which time they began to wear pants. Her father, in his early fifties in 1989, wore the pichunchi in his youth. The concept of this costume appears to be similar to the former use of a long kushma for boys in the Otavalo area and may have a similar basis in the belief that boys would have precocious sexual desires if put into long pants too young. When Amelia’s father began to wear trousers, he wore a handwoven belt as well as a black and white wool kushma under his poncho. By 1989, the kushma was only worn by old men. The old-style hat was the same for men and women. Some men carried a whip, sometimes two or three, under their poncho. The whip had a handle made from a deer’s hoof, and the lash consisted of lengths of leather made into a round braid. Sometimes the men also carried a lasso. Jirga ponchos were made and worn throughout Central Chimborazo (see
9.15 Man in the riobamba market, 1945, wearing a kushma under his jirga poncho and carrying several sieves in his left hand. His shirt appears to be machine made with the cuff unbuttoned. Photograph by Walter H. Hodge.
9.16 Kushmas, bottom: Majipamba; center: Pulucate; top: Santiago de Quito. Warpfaced plain-weave wool. 1.40 × .60 meters (55 × 231/2 inches); 1.24 × .61 meters (483/4 × 24 inches); 1.27 × .62 meters (50 × 241/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1993.18.23, gift of Sylvia Helen Forman; 1988.19.140 and 1988.19.144, Latin American research Fund.
260 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Figs. 9.14–9.15). They were woven on the treadle loom in a 2/2 twill weave of white wool with narrow black warp stripes at intervals. They were worn undyed or piece dyed in red or purple. In Majipamba, we recorded an all-black twill poncho that was said to be worn for mourning. Although not worn in Majipamba any longer, this style of poncho was still worn by middle-aged and older men in other areas in 1989. According to one man we talked to in Troje, they were also woven and worn in Troje, Pulucate, San Martín, San Bartolo, Cicao, and Miraflores. However, they were also worn in Cacha and in other parts of Chimborazo Province. For festivals, men in all these areas formerly wore another style of poncho said to have been made in Cacha. This style is backstrap-loom woven in two four-selvedge panels, with a separately made fringe band around the outer edge. The use of such a fringe band is particularly interesting, since though rare in Ecuadorian ponchos, it is common in southern Peru and Bolivia. It seems likely that the fringe bands may have been transmitted together with the idea of the poncho itself from the south. While Peruvian and Bolivian ponchos typically have their corners folded in, these Chimborazo ponchos do not. Many of the oldest examples (Figs. 9.17–9.20) are made entirely of cotton (industrially spun) and are indigo dyed on a white background, with one of several warp-resist-patterned designs, including diamonds, chevrons, zigzags, X’s, etc.6 They have three wider patterned stripes in each half, with flanking narrow patterned stripes and usually additional narrow patterned stripes either between the main ones or near the outer edges. Often there are narrow flanking stripes in red. Most have indigo solid stripes, but occasionally examples with a predominance of white are found (Fig. 9.17). The white ones have been called wedding ponchos, and this is a plausible function, although no documentary evidence is available. A photograph in the January 1929 National Geographic (Gayer: pl. I) shows a man wearing a predominantly blue example, although, alas, the community is not identified. The Textile Museum collection also includes a cotton poncho without warp resist but otherwise in a similar format (TM 1986.19.96). The style shown in Plate 7 seems distinctive and may have been made in a different area than the others.7 Similar wool ponchos without warp-resist-dyed patterning also occur (Fig. 9.21). They have four clusters of narrow stripes plus a narrower cluster in each half, usually at the outer edges. An example with the narrower clusters at the center has been published (Colburn 2001: 74, fig. 6). Red wide stripes are most common, but other colors such as green or purple also occur. The Textile Museum collection includes a loom for such a poncho with magenta plain stripes that was said to have been purchased in Troje in 1970 (A. Rowe
9.17 Cotton poncho
from Central Chimborazo Province, with white plain stripes. Warp-faced plain weave with warp-resist-dyed patterns in indigo. 1.51 × 1.45 meters (591/2 × 57 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.19.94, Latin American research Fund.
9.18 Cotton poncho from Central Chimborazo Province, with predominating indigo blue. Warpfaced plain weave with warp-resistdyed patterns. 1.44 × 1.40 meters (563/4 × 551/8 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.19.99, Latin American research Fund.
9.19 Cotton poncho from Central Chimborazo Province, with predominating indigo blue. Warpfaced plain weave with warp-resistdyed patterns. 1.49 × 1.43 meters (585/8 × 561/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.24.1, Latin American research Fund.
9.20 Cotton poncho
from Central Chimborazo Province, with predominating indigo blue. Warpfaced plain weave with warp-resistdyed patterns. 1.20 × 1.36 meters (471/4 × 531/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.19.98, Latin American research Fund.
Costume in Chimborazo and Cañar Provinces 263 9.21 Cacha-style poncho with plain stripes. Warp-faced plain-weave wool. 1.495 × 1.29 meters (59 × 503/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1988.17.25, Latin American research Fund.
ed. 2007: 28, fig. 1.17). A fine example with red plain stripes was said to have been worn in Pulucate (TM 1989.22.78). Interestingly, similar ponchos with or without lining or fringe, were worn by whites and hacienda owners on horseback in Colombia in the 1830s (Deas, Sánchez, and Martínez 1989: 65, 67, 69, 91; see also Figs. 5.1–5.2 here) and perhaps also in Ecuador (cf. Fig. 7.17), although poncho depictions tend to be generic, suggesting an origin for this style going back to the early diffusion of the poncho. The poncho in Figure 9.22, which was acquired by the Museum of the American Indian in 1904 and identified only as from Ecuador, has a layout and design that combines features of the cotton and wool ponchos, but is entirely of wool. The wide plain stripes are red, and the warp-resist-patterned stripes are purple. It may represent another Central Chimborazo poncho style of the period or be a rare survivor of an old Cacha style. Bound-warp resist-patterned ponchos were still being woven in Cacha Obraje in 1989, but at least since the late 1960s, the solid stripes have been made of wool while the warp-resist-dyed stripes are indigo-dyed cotton.8 The solid stripes are most often red but sometimes black. The patterns are simple diamonds without the variety found in the older pieces. Despite this simplification, these ponchos are usually of significantly finer yarns and weaving than other kinds of ponchos made in Chimborazo Province.
264 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 9.22 Wool poncho with warp-resist-dyed stripes in purple and with red plain stripes, acquired in 1904 by the Museum of the American Indian. 1.515 × 1.305 meters (593/4 × 511/2 inches). National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1/1847.
These handwoven Cacha ponchos were the favored festival and wedding costume in many parts of Central Chimborazo as well as in Cacha itself. By 1989, machine-made acrylic imitations of the striped style (without warpresist patterning), usually red, but sometimes in blue, were being marketed by Otavalos, and were widely worn even on an everyday basis in Central Chimborazo. By 1989, most men were wearing machine-made shirts, pants, and hats, so they identify themselves as indigenous only by wearing the poncho. Besides the Cacha style described above and jirga ponchos, some men in Central Chimborazo wear solid-colored red ponchos locally backstrap-loom woven. In the late 1980s, there was also another style of machine-made acrylic poncho marketed by Otavalos. This style is red or blue, with some pink and turquoise single stripes on each side, as well as a wide multicolored striped area near the outer edge. Southern Chimborazo The Madrid album includes a watercolor of a woman from Tixán (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 234–235). She is wearing a black anaku just below the knee in length and a large white shawl that hangs to just below the level of the anaku.
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The anaku is depicted as if it is fairly narrow, but the front is not shown. The woman is hatless, but has her side locks cut short below her ear and the rest of her hair drawn together at the back. The watercolor confirms the idea that the anaku was worn in the area in the past, although by 1989, women were wearing polleras (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 222–223). We also found an old woman wearing a pleated anaku and a handwoven shawl hanging to midthigh level in Nizag, which is south of Alausí (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 226, fig. 219). The anaku was half length and worn with an embroidered chemise. Although other women in this area wore polleras, they also used handwoven belts, which are not functionally necessary for polleras. Both the kawiña chumbi and supplementarywarp-patterned belts were seen in this area. It thus seems clear that the Great Skirt Divide was farther south in the past than it now is. In the area around Achupallas, however, we encountered polleras with no evidence of a previous use of the anaku, including the absence of handwoven belts. A photograph from the 1940s (Murra 1946: pl. 164, center) of sheep shearing in southeastern Chimborazo shows women in polleras. The embroidered chemises we saw in both Nizag and Achupallas (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 229, fig. 223) were shorter than those worn farther north, to match the shorter skirts. Floral motifs are embroidered on the cuffs of the long sleeves and around the neck of a short square yoke, open down the front and back. In Achupallas, Laura Miller was told of an older style of blouse, called talpa or pulka, closed at the front of the neck and with a slit in the back that was fastened with a button. Several people said that these blouses were brought, like the polleras, from the Cuenca area. By 1989, younger women were wearing factory-made sweaters and T-shirts. Miller was also told of a type of triangular scarf with lace and embroidery, called sulun, formerly used to cover babies’ heads when carried on their mother’s backs. This item also probably derives from the Cuenca area. By 1989, babies wore European-style bonnets. Shawls were backstrap-loom woven, treadle-loom woven, or factory made, fastened with a tupu, a safety pin, or simply knotted. The simplest kind of cotton warp-resist-patterned rebozo from Azuay was used as a carrying cloth. In 1989, many women were still wearing handmade hats made in Pomatúg. They had a low crown and a medium-sized flat brim. They were undecorated in Achupallas, with a colored string around the crown in Nizag, or with red strings over the top of the crown in the Zúlac area. Some younger women were wearing fedoras. Women in the Zúlac area wore their hair in two braids, while in Achupallas they wore only a single braid. Laura Miller was told that men used to a wear a kushma in this area, but stopped around 1950. The kushma was made locally on the treadle loom and
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was said to be similar in general appearance to Cañari examples. Usually the kushma was held close to the body with a kawiña belt. Over the kushma, men wore a white poncho with no collar. Men also used to wear pantalones de la tela moronga, pants woven from both black and white wool yarn, which were brought from Riobamba. Miller’s informant referred to the Riobamba traders as “puruhuays.” They took pigs, sheep, and goats in exchange for the cloth. Men also wore chaps over their pants on cold and rainy days. A photograph from the 1940s taken in southeastern Chimborazo shows a man wearing pants similar in cut to those in the von Humboldt painting (Murra 1946: pl. 164, center). One man told Miller that his father used to make ushuta (Q ), shoes that were cut from cowhide and then shaped to the foot. By 1989, men were wearing factory-made shirts and pants. A few older men wore handmade hats similar to the women’s (though without ribbon trim), but most wore fedoras. Most of the ponchos in the area were red, or red with some contrasting stripes, but some were blue, locally woven on the backstrap loom. Most had a collar and a neck gusset but usually no edge binding. Some men wore sheepskin chaps, especially in cold weather for outdoor work. Cañar Province Early photographs of people from Cañar were published by the Italian traveler Enrico Festa (Fig. 9.23), who was there in 1896. The woman is wearing a thick gathered skirt of nearly ankle length, which Festa (1909: 229) says is usually dark blue. It seems to have some decoration on the hem. Her shawl looks handwoven and coarse. It is worn over a blouse on which there is no visible decoration, although Festa says that blouses were often embroidered. She also wears a finer fringed carrying cloth and a hat. A photograph from the 1940s also shows a nearly ankle-length skirt (Murra 1946: pl. 168). In the 1980s, Cañari women wore knee-length polleras in pink, red, or orange, with appliqué and embroidered flowers on the lower edge; a short embroidered blouse; and short shawls (see Fig. 9.24).9 Handmade hats were still common, although they have a slightly smaller shape than the older ones. A few beautiful warp-resist-dyed ponchos survive that are made of cotton (Pl. 8) rather than the wool that has been common for some time. The yarns were industrially produced (also, it is not easy to dye cotton red with natural dyes), which suggests a mid- to late-nineteenth-century date, possibly extending into the early twentieth century. The designs are similar to the probably contemporary warp-resist-dyed cotton ponchos made in Chimborazo
9.23 Cañari man and woman, 1896. From Festa 1909: following p. 230.
9.24 The Cañar market in 1986. The man’s poncho is black with a blue stripe. The woman’s skirt is dark pink, and her shawls are dark blue and black. Slide by Ann Pollard rowe.
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Province. The poncho in Plate 8 even has a separately made fringe band like the Chimborazo examples. Juan Tenesaca, a Cañari friend of Lynn Meisch, described the men’s costume worn 100 to 150 years ago, as told to him by an elderly Cañari, Pedro Pachisaca, who died in 1972 at the age of ninety-two. Pedro used to make sandals (ushuta) with wooden soles. He also wove warp-resist-patterned ponchos, which then as now were used for festivals and other special occasions, in two styles. One style, no longer made, had floral designs. The other style, called poncho ladrillo (S, brick) or poncho gato (S, cat), still worn in the 1980s, has red and black checks. Sr. Tenesaca also said that, formerly, Cañari men wore knee-length white pants (confirmed by Festa 1909: 229) and a poncho for everyday wear that had a tan warp and a black weft. He also said that striped belts were older than the fine complementary-warp-patterned ones with hand-picked motifs, although he did not know how much older. According to Zaruma (n.d.: 77), instead of a shirt, men previously wore a wide-sleeved bayeta garment called a botón (S) that resembled a priest’s cassock. Festa (ibid.) compares the kushma to a priest’s robe and indicates it was secured with a decorated belt. He also says that blue and white was a common color combination for poncho stripes. Another Cañari friend described to Lynn Meisch an item of dress called maki mangas (Q , arm; S, sleeves), wool sleeves that extend from the elbow to the wrist, joined by a string over the shoulders. Meisch never saw these garments worn in Cañar, but similar hand-knit wool sleeves are worn in the Huancavelica area of Peru (Noble 1995). The photograph in Festa’s book (see Fig. 9.23) shows a man wearing sheepskin chaps, a striped poncho, sandals, and a felt hat. Festa says the sandals had leather soles. The man’s long hair appears to hang loose instead of being braided, as was usual in the 1970s and 1980s. A group photograph of Cañari men published in 1892 by Teodoro Wolf shows a similar costume (Chiriboga and Caparrini 1994: 73, fig. 18). Some men wear chaps, and others wear dark pants. On a couple of the men, white shirtsleeves are visible. In the 1980s, some men still wore handwoven costume, consisting of long black bayeta pants with machine embroidery on the cuffs, a handembroidered shirt, and a backstrap-loom woven kushma of a single panel, secured with a backstrap-loom woven belt.10 The belts are woven in a distinctive complementary-warp technique with fine yarns and a wide variety of hand-picked designs.11 A variety of poncho styles are worn, from very short to midthigh length, solid black or red, or with stripes, as well as warpresist-patterned examples worn for festivals, weddings, and market days. The kushma and poncho usually have a commercial-fabric edge binding affixed
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with machine embroidery. Pants, kushma, and poncho may be worn in multiple layers, a custom that may go back to the sixteenth century. Some men also wear sheepskin chaps and may carry a whip. The handmade hat is like the women’s. By the 1980s, some men wore factory-made pants and shirts, but they continued to braid their hair and wear ponchos (Fig. 9.24).
CHAPTEr 10
Azuay Province
The Cholos of Azuay: Historical Introduction
margaret young-sánchez
Azuay Province (see Map 6) is famous for a mild, temperate climate that permits cultivation of palm trees, sugarcane, peaches, and other fruits, in addition to subsistence crops such as maize, beans, and vegetables. Common livestock include sheep, cattle, pigs, and guinea pigs. Cuenca, Azuay’s capital, is also its only true city, with a census population of about 277,000 in 2001 (www.world-gazeteer.com). Cuenca is a communications and transportation center for both Azuay and Cañar, and it dominates the region’s commerce, manufacturing, and higher education, as well as the practice of medicine and law. Within Ecuador, Azuay is notable for the variety and quality of its artesanía, or handcrafts. Certain towns and villages specialize in the production of items such as pottery, jewelry, and basketry (Chordeleg); embroidery (Gualaceo); or shawls (Bulcay). Other crafts, such as Panama-hat making, carpentry, and weaving of ponchos and blankets, are practiced by individuals scattered throughout the province. Most of these products are crafted by cholos—the peasant farmers who constitute the bulk of the province’s population. The cholos of Azuay are Spanishspeaking descendants of indigenous people and Spanish colonists. Older individuals may also speak Quichua. Cholo is not a strictly racial or ethnic term, although it implies that an individual has some indigenous ancestry. More importantly, the term cholo denotes a social group distinguished by both occupation and costume (see A. Rowe ed. 1998: chap. 13, by Meisch). Economically, cholos are small farmers who cultivate subsistence crops and sometimes keep livestock. Many cholos own insufficient land to support a family and must obtain additional income through craft working, trading, or working as
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laborers (both locally and in other regions). Most cholos live in small villages or on isolated homesteads, but some live in Cuenca and the larger towns. Many of the latter continue to farm small plots. Cholos form only one of the four socioeconomic groups into which Azuay’s population can be divided: (1) the Cuenca elite, (2) the urban middle class, (3) cholos, and (4) indigenous people.1 Most members of the Azuay elite class have permanent residences in Cuenca. The highest social elite, or nobles, as they call themselves, are not only white but also preoccupied with family history. Only families that can be traced back to the Spanish colonial and early republican ruling class are accepted as nobles (Brownrigg 1972: v-vi). Members of the white elite own and operate Cuenca’s major businesses; dominate government within the region; and often own estates in Azuay, Cañar, and Chimborazo. Many are cosmopolitan and highly cultivated; their children attend universities in Cuenca, Quito, the United States, or Europe. The town- and city-dwelling middle class includes shopkeepers, merchants, and workers employed in government, education, and service and manufacturing industries. Most would describe themselves ethnically as “white” or “mestizo.” Few engage directly in agricultural activities or strenuous physical labor. A small number of Quichua-speaking indigenous people live in remote Azuay communities, especially in the south, near Nabón, and in the eastern region close to Sígsig. Located in isolated areas above the river valleys and major roads, indigenous communities can usually be reached only after a strenuous hike up steep, narrow paths. Often, they are located in proximity to estates, since indigenous people provided labor to the estates as debt peons or sharecroppers until the 1964 land reform gave them title to their plots (Monsalve Pozo 1965; Brownrigg 1972: 88–89). The fields farmed by indigenous people are often steeply sloped and badly eroded, forcing many of them to continue to work on the estates or to migrate seasonally to the coast for agricultural work (Hirschkind 1980: 105–107, 167–168). Two of the groups described above are defined on the basis of ethnic identity: the white Cuenca elite and the indigenous people. The relative positions of these two groups were established by the Spanish conquest five centuries ago. Despite this clear perceived dichotomy, there are certainly very few nobles of purely European ancestry, or indigenous people of exclusively indigenous stock. Cholos and the urban middle class are both acknowledged to be of mixed Spanish-indigenous ancestry, but they are defined less by ethnic identity than by occupation, wealth, and costume. Both groups are the products of social and economic mobility made possible by special factors in Azuay’s history.
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In Azuay, costume is an important visual indicator of the socioeconomic group to which an individual belongs, and a change of dress is essential for a transfer from one group to another. Both the elite class and the urban middle class of Azuay wear modern, Western-style clothing. Members of the elite own expensive, fashionable garments that would not be out of place in any American or European city, while the middle class is garbed in less expensive versions of the same fashions. Rather than a sharp division between the costumes of the elite class and the middle class, there exists a continuum of fashion, quality, and price. In contrast, both cholos and indigenous people wear traditional costumes that sharply distinguish them from both elite and middle-class individuals. The remainder of this essay explores the historical development of the cholo identity in Azuay, and the social, economic, and legal forces that contributed to its growth and now encourage its decline. The Colonial Period The early Spanish conquerors and settlers of the Corregimiento of Cuenca (which included the territories of both modern Azuay and Cañar) found Azuay badly depopulated as a result of the Inca civil wars.2 After the Spanish conquest, forced labor in the Spanish mines and the labor demands of Cuenca’s Spanish settlers burdened the indigenous population (Chacón Zhapán 1982: 2–7) and contributed to the region’s further depopulation. In 1558, just a year after the foundation of Cuenca, Spanish settlers complained that indigenous flight from such obligations was causing serious labor shortages (Cabildo de Cuenca 1938: 130–131). The census of 1567 records 5,470 tributary indigenous men in the Corregimiento of Cuenca, from which a total indigenous population of 27,350 can be estimated (Chacón Zhapán 1990: 23, 217). By 1564, it was necessary to bring Puruhá people from as far as Riobamba to work the mines (Salazar de Villasante 1983: 66–67). Immediately after the Spanish conquest, Azuay’s mild climate encouraged the introduction of numerous Eurasian crops, including sugarcane, grapes, apples, quince, peaches, pears, oranges, limes, citrons, pomegranates, and figs. Sheep and cattle were also introduced, although Azuay specialized in pigs and horses (Espinoza, Achig, and Martínez 1982: 38–39). Transportation to markets on the coast and in the northern highlands was slow and difficult, and thus many agricultural products were consumed only locally. Lack of an export market for high-bulk, low-value agricultural goods discouraged the growth of huge estates. Fruit conserves, hams, and cheeses were products valuable enough to make long-distance exportation profitable (Vázquez de
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Espinosa 1948: 354). Production of goods such as fruits, pigs, cheese, and horses is generally carried out on medium-sized estates, and thus Azuay’s economic specialization contributed to a pattern of mainly small and mediumsized landholdings, in contrast to the large haciendas of northern and central Ecuador (Espinoza, Achig, and Martínez 1982: 38).3 The Corregimiento’s indigenous population provided not only agricultural labor but also many of the artisans required by urban dwellers. As early as the mid-1500s, indigenous people worked in Cuenca as shoemakers, tailors, hat makers, barbers, tile makers, masons, carpenters, tanners, and blacksmiths (Chacón Zhapán 1990: 70–72). These skilled workers owned homes, land, and livestock and gradually assimilated many aspects of Spanish culture (ibid.: 72–73). Lower-class Spaniards and mestizos also served as merchants and craftsmen, but colonial society nevertheless maintained a rigid social distinction between Spaniards and mestizos on the one hand and indigenous people on the other (ibid.). Mestizos identified their interests with those of the Spaniards, and they despised and maltreated indigenous people (ibid.: 248–255). In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Azuay attracted large numbers of indigenous immigrants fleeing the oppressive hacienda and obraje (textile factory) systems in Otavalo, Latacunga, and Riobamba. With the decline of the northern textile industry in the eighteenth century, the living conditions of many indigenous people became truly insupportable. They fled to a comparatively advantageous situation in the south as forasteros, nonlocal indigenous people who were legally exempt from the mita (labor tax) and owed only half the normal level of tribute payments. In 1729, Cuenca’s city council reported to the Audiencia in Quito that over 1,500 forasteros had been living within the Corregimiento of Cuenca for more than one hundred years. Because of their lesser obligations, these forasteros had come to occupy the best lands and houses, while the local indigenous people worked ceaselessly to fulfill their mita and other service requirements. To redress this situation, the council requested permission to convert the forasteros into tributaries (Chacón Zhapán 1990: 544–545), but their request was not granted. As a result of continued immigration from other regions, the Corregimiento of Cuenca became the most populous administrative department in the Audiencia (Espinoza, Achig, and Martínez 1982: 42–43, 64). According to the census of 1767, the Corregimiento was inhabited by 23,944 whites and mestizos, 50,822 indigenous people, and 1,221 blacks (Chacón Zhapán 1990: 216). Although there were few obrajes in Cuenca and the surrounding region, textile production at the household level nonetheless played an important
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role in the economy of the region. Most of the cloth produced in the Cuenca area was low quality and inexpensive, destined for use by indigenous hacienda laborers in Peru and by plantation workers on the coast around Guayaquil (Espinoza, Achig, and Martínez 1982: 57). Merchants from Lima transported raw cotton from the north coast of Peru to the Cuenca region and portioned it out to spinners. The cotton yarn then passed on to the weavers, and the finished cloth was shipped back to Lima. The same merchants also obtained bayetas in Azuay, woven from locally produced and spun wool. The income gained by the indigenous spinners and weavers was largely used to pay tribute demanded by the Spanish Crown. By 1765, the disproportionate economic burden on Cuenca’s indigenous population of local origin seems to have caused a crisis. In that year, Cuenca’s corregidor sent a report to the Crown in which he noted that the number of tribute-paying Indians in the region was steadily declining as they sought to relieve themselves of their mita obligations (Merisalde y Santisteban 1983: 204–209). Some fled the province altogether, while others left the indigenous communities and moved to the towns, especially Cuenca. Still others had their children baptized outside the region so that when they returned, the children were legally forasteros. Some parents actually maimed their children to make them unfit for mita labor (ibid.). To this day in Azuay, mitayo is perhaps the most insulting of all epithets. As local indigenous people dissociated themselves from their communities to avoid the tribute and labor obligations entailed by membership, forasteros from other regions continued to usurp or purchase communal lands. By both legal and illegal means, Spanish estate owners and the Church also obtained possession of much indigenous community land, as when the community was forced to sell land to meet the collective tribute requirement. When Cuenca’s corregidor was ordered in 1825 to oversee the distribution of indigenous community lands to individual members, he reported that many communities no longer possessed any such corporate holdings (Vintimilla 1982: 156). In the towns to which large numbers of forasteros and local indigenous people moved in the late eighteenth century, Spaniards, mestizos, and indigenous people already worked as merchants, traders, and artisans. As everincreasing numbers of indigenous people settled on the outskirts of the towns to earn their living as carriers, agricultural laborers, and craftsmen, the social distinction between lower-class mestizos and indigenous people seems to have become difficult to maintain. The blending together of these two groups produced a single group that eventually became known as cholo.
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The Nineteenth Century The prolonged struggle for independence from Spain resulted in increased taxation to pay for costs of the war, and in significant damage to infrastructure such as roads (Palomeque 1982: 123–124). The Audiencia of Quito’s incorporation into Gran Colombia created a new political boundary with Peru, and new duties were imposed on cross-border trade (ibid.: 125). These factors combined to drastically reduce commerce with Peru in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Lima merchants had supplied the southern highland region with raw materials (like cotton), imported foods, and manufactured goods. Peru had also absorbed much of the region’s exports, such as quinine bark and textiles. Curtailment of this trade brought about a severe shortage of hard currency and devastated the Cuenca economy. Construction of a road to Naranjal, to provide a route for exports to the coast, became an important goal of local officials and landowners (Vintimilla 1982: 145). The province’s indigenous people, who had used income from weaving to pay their tribute to the Crown and later their taxes to the republican government, found themselves unable to meet governmental demands. The economic hardships created by the decline of textile manufacturing accelerated the loss of indigenous community land and forced many indigenous people into peonage on haciendas (Palomeque 1982: 131–132). The worsening economic plight of the rural indigenous population is evidenced by rebellions throughout the province during the nineteenth century (González and Vázquez 1982). The majority of these uprisings were attempts to evade taxation, mita service (especially road construction), or the military draft (Vintimilla 1982). Others sought to preserve the land of indigenous communities against expropriation by Spaniards (ibid.: 156–159). Significantly, the social and economic oppression that stimulated Azuay’s nineteenth-century uprisings is very similar to that described by Merisalde y Santisteban in 1765. Presumably it was the general deterioration of the regional economy, and the hardships this imposed on the already impoverished rural population, that brought about open rebellion in the nineteenth century. This rural population was still largely indigenous in the nineteenth century, and it was still subject to exploitation on the basis of this ethnic identity. It was probably in the nineteenth century that the region’s mestizo and urban indigenous population came to be known as cholo. Friedrich Hassaurek confirms the use of the term in the 1860s in Quito. According to Hassaurek, cholos largely controlled the trades and retail commerce. “They are tailors, carpenters, shoemakers, blacksmiths, joiners, etc. . . . The Cholos are mechan-
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ics and small shop-keepers.” Hassaurek notes that “cholas de vestido” dress in European fashion, while “cholas de centro,” or “bolziconas” wear red, pink, yellow, or blue wool petticoats, several shawls, embroidered blouses, sandals, and straw hats. The hair is worn in two braids (Hassaurek 1867: 124–125). A similar situation probably existed in Cuenca as well. The descendants of the “cholas de vestido” may now form what I earlier called the “urban middle class,” and the term cholo is no longer applied to them. The costume of the nineteenthcentury “cholas de centro” is very similar to that of today’s cholas in Azuay. The Twentieth Century Although the cholo identity probably came into being in the nineteenth century or even earlier, it appears not to have extended much beyond the major towns of Azuay until the twentieth century. As late as 1943, traveler Albert Franklin (1943: 216) noted, “So strict are class divisions that Indians appear rarely in Cuenca, though the great basin is full of them. The market in Cuenca is a cholo market, run by and for cholos, who manage to impart to the ‘decent’ [upper-class] visitor and to the Indian a sense of intruding into a world not his. The Indians have their markets in Gualaceo, Paute, and many smaller towns, and live their lives as tenant serfs on the great haciendas of the basin.” Franklin’s observations are confirmed by the archaeologist Wendell Bennett (1946: 13), who stated in 1946 that “the rural population is composed largely of Indians who speak Quechua as a common language, although the majority know Spanish too. The urban population is mainly Mestizo plus a small White aristocracy. Few urbanites speak anything but Spanish.” Franklin’s account of his trip from Loja to Cuenca reveals how difficult travel remained in the southern highlands of Ecuador in the 1940s. Much of Franklin’s journey was accomplished on mule back, along poorly marked, slippery trails following ridges high above the river valleys. He also records the isolation of rural farmsteads and the suspicion of outsiders common to both cholos and indigenous people (Franklin 1943: 187–190, 199–200). In one instance, he mentions an indigenous boy’s fear of kidnapping by white travelers for forced domestic service (ibid.: 193, 195). An important connection to the world economy was provided by the Panama-hat industry. In 1949, Victor von Hagen commented enthusiastically on the positive social and economic effect of the Panama-hat industry in Azuay. Although hat weaving had been practiced on a small scale in the region since the mid-nineteenth century, a booming export market to Europe and the United States in the early twentieth century led to a surge in production. According to Von Hagen, over 200,000 hat weavers lived within a
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40-mile radius of Cuenca. Weavers produced on a part-time, cottage-industry basis, selling to agents in Cuenca. Production responded rapidly to fashion changes: designers in New York could specify dimensions and quality levels for a slightly higher cost per hat. The income generated by hat production resulted in improved levels of prosperity among both cholos and indigenous persons in Azuay (Von Hagen 1949: 81–89). But after the Second World War, demand for Ecuador’s hats in the United States dropped significantly. By the 1950s, the industry was in serious decline, provoking a depression in Azuay’s economy (Hirschkind 1980: 95–98). Although hat weaving is still practiced in Azuay today, it is no longer an important factor in the local economy. Franklin’s account also records the beginning of changes that would lead to a significant reduction in the isolation of Azuay’s people: the extension of the Pan-American Highway through the province and the initiation of air service to Cuenca (1943: 220). Local road construction proceeded rapidly, making most towns and villages accessible by motorized vehicle. The vast improvement in communications and transportation links after the Second World War (and a decline in rural agricultural incomes) led to rapid urbanization. It also favored the gradual expansion of the cholo class in Azuay, which continued to draw recruits from the indigenous population. Towns and villages accessible by car, truck, or bus came to be dominated by cholos. The few remaining indigenous communities in Azuay could be reached only on foot. The 1964 land reform (Monsalve Pozo 1965) gave new rights to some landless indigenous people but did not substantially relieve their poverty. According to Brownrigg (1972: 88–89), “Communities which remain the most thoroughly Indian in Azuay are isolated by their geographic marginality or by the poverty and dependence of their economic roles (especially on haciendas), or by both factors. The economic liberation of Indian peasants on small freehold plots [as a result of the 1964 land reform] has had an acculturating effect. Minimally, the Indian enters a course toward bilingualism in order to maximize market transactions. Successful entry into the monetary economy enables the acculturating Indian to modify his or her dress customs in favor of modern machine-made clothing or the fineries of the chola country style.” But the same factors that have helped cholos expand at the expense of indigenous ethnic identity also favor the disappearance of the cholo identity itself. Mary Weismantel has examined the complex meanings of the term cholo in Azuay (2003) and in Ecuador and Peru (2001). In Azuay, the word is used with affection, and the image of the chola is a symbol of civic and regional pride. But even locally, the term cholo retains connotations of backwardness and low social status. In 1972, Brownrigg found that Cuenca resi-
278 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
dents consistently rated traditionally costumed individuals as lower in class than those in modern dress (1972: 80–154). In the 1990s, women in chola costume were singled out for discrimination, abuse, and insult (Ann Miles cited in Weismantel 2003: 334). According to Weismantel, Cuencanos who speak proudly of the region’s cholas would never allow one to marry into their own family (2003: 334). As modern communications and transportation have improved, Azuay’s cholos have increasing exposure to the world beyond Cuenca. Radio and television, movies, magazines, and posters depict a prosperous urban world filled with material comforts and glamorous activity. Many people from Azuay travel to the coast and to Quito seeking work. The region also sends a flood of illegal emigrants to the United States (Miles 1997). Nearly 600,000 Ecuadorians now live there (Pribilsky 2007: 7). According to recent estimates, 70 percent of Ecuador’s migrants to the United States are from Azuay and Cañar (ibid.: 8). Many of these migrants work at menial jobs in the New York region that permit them to send money and goods home to family members in Ecuador. Some (especially earlier migrants) have settled permanently in the United States but continue to maintain ties to kin in Azuay. Most, however, plan to return to live in Azuay, bringing with them savings acquired during their sojourn abroad. The money earned is often invested in land, or used to educate children, build a house, buy a truck, or start a business. In fact, migration for work in foreign countries is often the only way to obtain the capital necessary for such ventures (Pribilsky 2007). As a result of this broadening of horizons and the limited economic opportunity in Azuay, Cuenca is no longer the standard of comparison for Azuay’s cholos and middle class (Miles 1997: 68–69). This position has been usurped by the United States. And while social barriers have always prevented the lower classes from aspiring to become members of the Cuenca social elite, there are no such rigid restrictions against joining the American-style middle class. Shedding the traditional costume that so clearly marks cholos is the decisive first step in this process. The abandonment of the cholo identity is occurring rapidly in and around Azuay’s larger towns. By the early 1990s, few young girls dressed as cholas, and only middle-aged and older men still wore ponchos. In many families in which the older generation combined farming with artisanship and wore cholo costume, the children have no interest in farming and wear only modern clothing. For many in the younger generation, the cholo identity is an impediment to social and economic upward mobility. For others, the abandonment of traditional costume is not entirely voluntary. Wearing the pollera is prohibited for licensed Cuenca market vendors (Weismantel 2003: 345). And traditional costume components like polleras,
Azuay Province 279
shawls, and earrings are too expensive for many working-class women to afford, a source of embitterment for those financially precluded from wearing the costume of their mothers and grandmothers (ibid: 344–345). Paradoxically, the remunerations sent home by some of Azuay’s immigrants to the United States may contribute to the preservation of cholo identity and costume for some family members in Azuay. Advertisements aimed at Ecuadorian migrants in Queens, New York, feature photos of Azuay and Cañar cholas as the beloved faces back home (Weismantel 2003: 347). Weismantel also describes traditionally costumed cholas at Cuenca’s airport welcoming their emigrant children home for visits (ibid.: 337), a sight that underscores the continuing fluidity of social identity in Azuay. Historic Costume in Azuay
lynn a. meisch and ann pollard rowe The earliest pictorial evidence for costume in Azuay Province consists of mural paintings in the Carmen convent in Cuenca, which date to around 1800 (Martínez Borrero 1983).4 Most of the murals, of course, show religious imagery, but in the slanted border between the wall and ceiling of the refectory are some small vignettes of daily life. It is amusing that the Carmelite nun’s habit includes a small concession to fashion, namely a front panel with sharp horizontal pleats (ibid.: 152, pl. 45), in contrast to the usual habit, for example in Trujillo, where the front panel lacks pleats (Domínguez Bordona 1936: lám. XV, center). In the vignettes, some figures wear Spanish costume (Martínez Borrero 1983: 52, pl. 9), others a modified Spanish costume, but only a few can be interpreted as indigenous. The modified Spanish costume entails for men a shorter jacket than that worn by Spaniards (ibid.: 230, pl. 74). Most men are shown wearing pants that end snugly just below the knee, but one man in a shorter jacket and two who are jacketless have pants to midcalf length (ibid.: 238, pl. 80). The presence or absence of hats, with the top of the crown rounded and a small brim, does not seem to correlate with the style of the pants. The men in knee pants are probably of Spanish descent. Since the longer pants are worn by working men, climbing a tree to pick the fruit and slaughtering pigs, they are probably lower status, perhaps mestizo. The fancier women’s modified Spanish costume consists of a midcalflength full skirt, a white blouse with elbow-length sleeves, a plain shawl, and a light-colored hat (Martínez Borrero 1983: 53, pl. 10; 230, pl. 74; 238, pl. 80). The hats are large, with a cylindrical crown (and hatband) and a fairly broad
280 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
brim. One shawl is red and the other is white; both are draped across the chest like a rebozo, with the ends not visible. The skirts have two horizontal trimming bands, and one (in profile) is shown with a hip angle and vertical pleats (the other woman is seated with a basket). The front of this skirt is not shown, so one cannot be sure if it is a faldellín or a pollera. The standing lady also wears elegant white stockings with red clocks. The women are both watching men pick fruit. By comparison with the available contemporary information from both Quito and Trujillo, this costume probably was worn by high-status people of Spanish descent. At the same time, such features as the hat and shawl are clearly ancestral to cholo costume. Another woman, seated on a bench and roasting chickens on a spit, is not wearing a hat or shawl (Martínez Borrero 1983: 238, pl. 80) but has a white puff-sleeved (elbow-length) blouse, a red skirt over a dark skirt with a vertical design, and a large white apron. These skirts are probably polleras. This costume is presumably a lower-status one than the preceding and may represent a mestizo identity. The indigenous costume shown is interesting. There is a small painting of a shepherd spinning, presumably a woman, who is wearing a kneelength belted rectangle (presumably meant to represent an anaku) and a hat (Martínez Borrero 1983: 227, pl. 72). A muleteer is wearing pants to below the knee; a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to above the elbows, over which is a tunic a little below the waist in length; and a hat with a round crown and droopy brim (ibid.: 239, pl. 81). It is significant that none of the men are wearing ponchos. The Carmen convent also has a magnificent nativity sculpture of painted wood that includes some small scenes of daily life in the framing on the front panels (Malo González 1991: 103–104, 110–111). It is undated, but the costumes in the small vignettes suggest a later period than the murals. There is a man with two pack llamas and two other men plowing, all presumably indigenous, who wear knee-length pants, while several other men, including some on horseback, wear long pants. The men with knee pants also wear white shirts, and most of them also wear a sleeveless overgarment with a neck slit that in at least one case is clearly a poncho (see also Martínez Borrero 1983: 126, pl. 33). Only three women are shown, all seated, and their costume is unfortunately difficult to make out from the published illustration. Two watercolors from the 1850s in the Madrid album are titled Yndia de Cuenca (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 231, 245) and another is titled Yndia de Tarqui (ibid.: 233), a town not far south of Cuenca. One of the women from Cuenca (ibid.: 245) is on horseback, suggesting some level of prosperity. Tarqui was
Azuay Province 281
in the 1980s still an indigenous area, so there is no reason to question the indigenous identification. The hair is cut shorter at the sides of the face (ibid.: clearest in 233), generally an indigenous style. The women all wear a navy blue gathered skirt of midcalf length and a navy blue shawl of the indigenous style tied on the chest. In two of the watercolors (pp. 231 and 233), a long-sleeved white blouse is visible, with or without (the one from Tarqui) embroidery on the cuffs. Two (231 and 233) have a white carrying cloth, without any fringe or patterning. All wear a hat, similar to the earlier Creole style described above. The skirts are undecorated, although one (233) has a wide facing band at the bottom. It thus appears that indigenous women started wearing skirts sometime in the first half of the nineteenth century. The hats could be either felt or the plaited style with the unfortunate misnomer of “Panama hat.” The hats have a wider brim than the handmade hats worn in Azuay in the 1980s. Two are of a light tan color that makes them seem as if they might be Panama hats, especially the one with an evident black hatband (231) (the other hat is tilted so the hatband area is not visible [233]). Panama hats originated on the coast of Ecuador (sometime well before Stevenson’s visit in 1808), and their manufacture was introduced into highlands around 1845 (Rowe and Meisch 2005: 120). The third hat (245) is the same shape, but a darker brown color and has no hatband, suggesting it might be felt. In 1848–1849, far more felt hats were manufactured in Azuay than Panama hats (Palomeque 1982: 128), so felt is certainly plausible in this instance. In the 1970s and 1980s, indigenous men and women wore only felt hats rather than Panama hats.5 Women wore their hair in a single braid rather than the two braids of cholo women, and they wore the indigenous-style rectangular shoulder wrap without fringe, pinned on the chest. Modern examples are most often red or black, and frequently machine embroidered with birds and flowers around the lower edge, similar to the pollera, which they also wear. The indigenous man’s poncho is usually red, sometimes with stripes on each half, similar to those also worn by cholos. Indigenous men more often wear pants of handwoven black bayeta than cholos do. A photograph by Harry Franck published in 1917, taken in the Azogues market, shows cholo costume (Fig. 10.1). Two older women are wearing white hats that appear to be made of felt, but the unfinished hats in their hands are Panama hats. The women all wear a warp-resist-patterned shawl with knotted fringe, similar, but not identical, to those worn in the 1970s and 1980s. Each has a different pattern, and none has a border. The fringe on two of the shawls
282 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
10.1 The Azogues market, Cañar Province, in the 1910s. From Franck 1917:
opposite p. 184.
is visible, but it is much shorter, about 15 centimeters (6 inches), than is found on good-quality later examples. A shawl collected in 1917 (Fig. 10.2) has a warp-resist pattern similar to those in the Franck photograph, although with slightly longer fringe. The pioneering research on the beautiful warp-resist-patterned shawls of the Cuenca region, the highlight of the twentieth-century cholo woman’s costume, was done by Dennis Penley (1988) in the mid-1970s. The shawls were dyed and woven (using industrially produced yarns) in the communities of Bulcay and Bulshun, near Gualaceo, and often knotted by women in Gualaceo, but were worn throughout the Cuenca Valley.6 In 1977, Penley generously introduced Meisch to many of the artisans he knew, and she worked with them for the next two years. Laura Miller in turn researched shawl making in the area in 1985–1986 and also made a trip to Tacabamba in the department of Cajamarca, Peru, to document the production of almost identical shawls (1991). Penley (1988: 46) noted that an especially prized design was called imitación peruano (S, Peruvian imitation). It consists of dark motifs on a white cotton ground, a crosswise border at each end, and long elaborate knotted fringe (Figs. 10.3–10.4).7 Miller conducted an oral history project with the help of local students that established that warp-resist-patterned shawl weaving had a history in the Gualaceo region dating to at least the nineteenth century, and that merchants took what were called paños pacotillos, low-quality resist-patterned shawls,
Azuay Province 283
with thicker thread and less complex patterns, to sell to other pilgrims at the fiesta of the Virgin of Cisne in Loja on September 8.8 There, the Gualaceo merchants met women from the Cajamarca area wearing Peruvian-style shawls, which they brought back home, where people copied the style. This trade and innovation took place within the memory of the oldest people, in other words, in the early twentieth century. Photographs from around 1920 (Anthony 1921: 338–343; Fig. 10.5), taken at the (unspecified) fiestas in Loja, show crowds of people in which virtually every woman is wearing a warp-resist-dyed shawl with long knotted fringe. A number of these shawls are in the Peruvian style, with dark designs on a white background, the distinctive border, and long fringe. These women also wear dark ankle-length gathered skirts, cotton blouses as described below, and white hats, possibly Panama hats. We have no way of knowing if they are local, Peruvian, or from the Cuenca region, but the point is that the Peruvianstyle shawls are very much in evidence. Other indigo-dyed cotton shawls made in the Cuenca area since the 1920s have a design like the Peruvian-style examples but also a deliberate blue speckling in the ground area, an effect called zhiru (mottled) in Azuay, a term 10.2 Detail of an Azuay Valley
paño (shawl) acquired in 1917. Cotton yarn, warp-resist dyed, with knotted (macramé) fringe. Overall size: 2.62 × .73 meters (103 × 283/4 inches). Courtesy of the Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 40.0/1507.
284 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 10.3 Detail of a Peruvian shawl, collected in 1957 in San Miguel de Pallaques, department of Cajamarca, Peru, but showing the Ecuadorian coat of arms. Cotton yarn, warp-resist dyed, with unfinished knotted (macramé) fringe, including an inscription, DAMELA PArA COSEr (Give it to me to sew). Overall size: 3.10 × .92 meters (122 × 361/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1999.7.45, gift of John Cohen.
that is neither Spanish nor Quichua (Fig. 10.6). Others have blue designs on a light ground without any borders (Fig. 10.7) or, more rarely but requiring less tying, white designs on a dark ground (Fig. 10.8). Still others have designs on a white ground but also a border on each side marked off with solid blue stripes (Fig. 10.9). Examples with side borders but a field design only of dashes, called paño pacotillo, were also made but were used as carrying cloths rather than as shawls. All these shawls are indeed similar to those from the Cajamarca area (see Fig. 10.3; see also Olivas Weston 2003: 140–159). As previously noted, many Cuenca-area shawls (for example, Figs. 10.6, 10.7, and 10.9) have a small bird motif that occurs not only on shawls in Cajamarca (see Fig. 10.3; also ibid.: 152, 154) but also on nineteenth-century shawls in Mexico (Logan et al. 1994: 32, 36, 43), serving to confirm the line of transmission. Small flower designs also occur on shawls from each area. The knotted fringe of the South American examples is, however, more elaborated than on the Mexican ones.
10.4 Azuay Valley paño (shawl). Cotton yarn, warpresist dyed, with knotted (macramé) fringe that shows the Ecuadorian coat of arms and an inscription, AMOr TE JUrO CON TAL TErNUrA EN LA SEPOLTUrA TE OLBIDArE (Love, I swear to you with such tenderness I will forget you in the grave). 3.00 × .905 meters (118 × 351/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1988.17.29, Latin American research Fund.
10.5 Festival in Loja. From Anthony 1921: 339.
10.6 Azuay Valley paño zhiru (shawl), shown folded in half. Cotton yarn, warp-
resist dyed, with knotted (macramé) fringe. Overall size: 3.02 × .755 meters (119 × 293/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.19.93, Latin American research Fund.
10.7 Detail of Azuay Valley paño
(shawl). Cotton yarn, warp-resist dyed, with knotted (macramé) fringe. Overall size: 2.51 × .73 meters (983/4 × 283/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.19.62, Latin American research Fund.
10.8 Detail of Azuay Valley paño
(shawl). Cotton yarn, warp-resist dyed, with knotted (macramé) fringe. Overall size: 2.49 × .77 meters (98 × 301/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1988.19.3, Latin American research Fund.
Azuay Province 289 10.9 Azuay Valley paño (shawl), shown folded in half. Cotton yarn, warp-resist dyed, with knotted (macramé) fringe. Overall size: 2.87 × .74 meters (113 × 29 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.19.36, Latin American research Fund.
Good-quality Cuenca-area shawls have a 60–90 centimeter (two to three foot) undyed fringe at each end with designs made by tying the warp ends together in overhand knots. A few shawls have fringe made in crochet or a square mesh knotted net (single element, filet) with embroidered motifs. Probably these types of fringe are replacements for a damaged fringe of the usual kind. Motifs include flowers, birds, the seal of Ecuador, and sometimes folk sayings, the date, or the wearer’s name. Lower-quality shawls have shorter fringe with simpler patterns.9 Other less expensive shawls have colored stripes, obviously dyed with synthetic dyes. This style has warp-resist side-border floral patterns, flanked by solid stripes, and central stripes with simple (block) warp-resist patterns, also separated by solid stripes (Fig. 10.10). The patterns are usually in black on a red ground, and the solid stripes are white, yellow, red, or blue. The fringe on these simpler shawls is not as elaborately knotted as the indigo-dyed examples. The example illustrated in Figure 10.10 has a crocheted and embroi-
290 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 10.10 Detail of an Azuay Valley
striped cotton shawl, with simple warp-resist patterning, collected in 1932. The fringe is knotted square mesh, embroidered. Overall size: 2.40 × .75 meters (941/2 × 291/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1981.9.36, gift of Marion Stirling Pugh.
dered fringe. Penley (1988: 36–39) indicates that this style is called paño alverjilla (S, sweet pea).10 Textile Museum examples in this style were collected in the 1930s and 1940s. Miller (1991: 350) notes that the use of wool yarn for shawls began around World War II, when the supply of cotton was cut. An old example illustrated by Penley (1988: 48–49) has a pattern similar to the examples described above with colored stripes. Such wool shawls were called paño cachemira, literally “cashmere” but actually just referring to fine wool. Another style of cotton shawl has scrolling warp-resist patterns in the central stripes, separated by solid wool stripes, a style called paño caracol (S, snail; Penley 1988: 44, 47). Although cotton shawls were again made after the war, the cotton yarn and indigo dye had become so expensive by the 1980s that the majority of shawls were being made of wool with synthetic dyes. These shawls usually have patterns like the paño caracol, but are called paño cachemira (Fig. 10.11). They are usually made from white wool yarn dyed with hot pink or bright red synthetic dye, then bound and overdyed with black synthetic dye. Although
Azuay Province 291
fine knotting is sometimes done, the example in Figure 10.11 has a simple diamond mesh embroidered with floral designs and sequins. The older cholo blouse style, seen in photographs from the 1920s (see Fig. 10.5; Anthony 1921: 338, 339, 341), buttons up the back. It is a solid light color or striped, with a yoke that opens in front, and long sleeves with cuffs. In the 1980s, cholo women were still wearing this style, often decorated with rickrack. A blouse collected in 1932 (Fig. 10.12) is a pullover style with short sleeves, and a separate band at the waistline, in a pink cotton fabric trimmed with blue ribbons. This is evidently the style that has evolved into the 1980s style with short gathered sleeves and waist, and smocking on the lower front (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 256, fig. 243). The cholo pollera is similar to that worn by indigenous women. It is red, orange, or yellow, gathered into a waistband and with machine embroidery along the lower edge. Figure 10.13 shows polleras from 1932, the mid-1960s, and 1986. They are all similar in construction, but the style of the embroi10.11 Azuay Valley paño cachemira
(shawl). Wool yarn with warpresist patterning, fringe knotted and embroidered. 2.79 × .77 meters (1093/4 × 301/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1986.19.58, Latin American research Fund.
10.12 Blouse collected
in 1932. Commercial cotton fabric. 48 × 93 centimeters (19 × 361/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1981.9.35, gift of Marion Stirling Pugh.
10.13 Chola cuencana polleras, collected in 1932 (top), 1963–1968 (center), and
1986 (bottom). Wool fabric with machine embroidery. Lengths: 80, 76, and 71 centimeters (311/2, 30, and 28 inches). Waist width (excluding ties): 35.5, 39, and 42 centimeters (14, 151/4, 161/2 inches). Circumferences: 3.09, 2.84, and 3.485 meters (1211/2, 1113/4, 1371/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1981.9.34, gift of Marion Stirling Pugh; 1982.7.7, gift of Eleanor Mitchell; 1986.19.76, Latin American research Fund.
Azuay Province 293 10.14 Cholas in the Gualaceo
market in 1988. The woman wearing the paño is also wearing a dark green bolsicón. Slide by Laura M. Miller, 88-54-9.
dery has evolved into smaller and more detailed flowers, and shortening of the length is also evident. The thirties skirt is made from coarse orange wool fabric in a twill weave, probably treadle-loom woven, while the later ones are of finer, clearly machine-made fabric. Cholo women may also wear a bolsicón, with horizontal tucks sewn in near the hem, of fabric in green, blue, or purple (Fig. 10.14).11 Related to the pollera is a rectangular baby-wrapping cloth that also has embroidery along the lower edge. The Textile Museum has two examples collected in 1945, both of wool fabric and hand embroidered in floral motifs along one edge (Fig. 10.15). The second piece has a red ground and is more coarsely embroidered. More recent examples are similar but machine embroidered (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 259, fig. 247). Anthony’s and Franck’s photographs confirm other descriptions of the early-twentieth-century cholo man’s costume. Meisch was told by people from Chordeleg and Gualaceo that in the early 1900s men wore a white hat and a white cotton poncho with stripes, usually red or red and yellow, and warp fringe. These ponchos were woven on the backstrap loom from imported cotton sewing thread. Two men in Franck’s photo (see Fig. 10.1) wear a light poncho with dark stripes that might be of this kind. The knotted fringe seen on the shoulders of one of the men would be unusual for a poncho, but the
294 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 10.15 Carrying cloth for a
baby, collected in 1945. Wool fabric, hand embroidered. 81.5 × 83.5 centimeters (32 × 33 inches). The Textile Museum 1965.51.51f, anonymous gift.
man also seems to be carrying a warp-resist-dyed shawl, perhaps to sell. Another man in the same photograph wears a dark poncho with light stripes, while another wears a poncho that appears to be made of patterned machinemade cloth, so obviously the red and white striped style was not the only one current at that time. There are a number of hat styles on the people in the crowd; most look like Panama hats with dark hatbands. Some, however, especially those lacking hatbands, may be felt. Where their clothing is visible, the men seem to be wearing dark pants and jackets under their ponchos. The American Museum of Natural History has two cotton ponchos collected in 1917, one with three selvedges and black and white stripes (the two panels not sewn together), and one with four selvedges and stripes of medium blue, two shades of violet, and maroon (Fig. 10.16). Ponchos similar to the white and red cotton examples mentioned above, but with indigo blue stripes instead of red ones, were worn until around 1970 in warm weather (Margaret Young-Sánchez, personal communication, 1994; Fig. 10.17).12 Handspun wool ponchos have also been common, usually red, with a set of contrasting stripes at the outer edges (Fig. 10.18). A wool poncho with allover stripes but red wider stripes at the center and near each side may represent another Azuay style (Colburn 2001: 75, fig. 7). Some ponchos have end selvedges while others have warp fringe. Red ponchos were still being worn in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as a style with 2-inch-wide stripes in various colors across the entire poncho. Most have a collar and warp fringe. Warp-resist-dyed ponchos were worn for Sundays
10.16 Cotton
poncho acquired in 1917. 1.16 × 1.18 meters (453/4 × 461/2 inches). Courtesy of the Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 40.0/1510.
10.17 Cotton poncho
with indigo stripes. 1.54 × 1.345 meters (605/8 × 523/4 inches). Collection of Martha Egan.
296 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 10.18 Wool poncho,
red with green stripes, collected by Peace Corps volunteer David Knight in Jima, cantón Sígsig, in 1963. The green dye was said to be juniper berry. 1.24 × 1.36 meters (483/4 × 531/2 inches). Collection of Martha Egan.
and festivals, one style with red solid areas and another style with brown, but by the late 1970s very few weavers were producing them, since young men were turning to other work.13 In the late 1970s, some men seen in the markets of Paute, Azogues, Gualaceo, and Chordeleg wore handwoven black or brown bayeta pants, but by the late 1980s machine-made pants were usual. By this time, few younger men in Azuay were wearing a distinctive costume.
CHAPTEr 11
Saraguro Costume in Loja Province
lynn a. meisch The Saraguros are an ethnic group numbering between 22,000 and 30,000 people in 1996 (Belote and Belote 1999), located in small settlements within a 12-mile radius of the town of Saraguro in Loja Province (see Map 7). In 1985, the town had a population of 1,600 people, mostly whites, and a Sunday market attended by Saraguros throughout the region. The Saraguros are primarily agriculturalists, with some practicing transhumance, driving their cattle over the eastern cordillera of the Andes and down into the Oriente to pasture them. Beginning in the late 1990s, Saraguros, like many other Ecuadorians, began emigrating abroad, especially to Spain, where they have found work in agriculture. History In 1586, Cabello Balboa mentions Zaraguro as a place on the border between Cañar and Palta territory where the Palta were defeated by the army of Tupa Inca (3a pte., cap. 16; 1951: 320). The earliest documentary reference to the Saraguros as a people is a note in the governor’s report of 1582 saying that they fought the Cañar-speaking community of Leoquina (Pacaibamba) at the time of the Spanish conquest (Arias Dávila 1897, III:178, para. 5). The location mentioned, some 16 leagues from Cuenca, thus near the southern edge of what was Cañar territory, is clearly the same place mentioned by Cabello Balboa and the same region they now occupy. Modern Saraguros hold that their ancestors were Inca mitimas, a notion not contradicted by the above meager historical information.1 One indige-
298 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
nous friend spoke of stories told by the elders in his community of Tuncarta that mentioned an origin in a precise location in southern Peru. I have been unable to find other documentary evidence for this, but local oral history should be taken seriously. A dance performed at Christmas is called the gigantes (giants) and represents the original people the Saraguros say were in the area when they arrived, who were taller than they were. Saraguro terms for costume and loom parts are predominantly of Inca origin, including the terms for the woman’s shawl (lliglla) and for heddles (illawa), for which alternate terms are often used in Ecuador. After the Spanish conquest, the Saraguros managed to retain their lands. From the late 1500s to the 1940s, the Saraguros were reserved as “free” Indians paying head taxes to the government. They also provided forced labor, animals, pack stock, and goods for the local tambo (way station) on the highway between Cuenca and Loja (Belote and Belote 1989: 103). This independence, coupled with their isolation—the modern road connecting Saraguro with Cuenca and Loja was not constructed until after World War II—has resulted in a prosperous, tightly knit, and proud community. Anthropologists and former Peace Corps volunteers Jim and Linda Belote, who did research in Saraguro between 1962 and 1972, and who have visited frequently since then, note that “it is unlikely that many basic elements of Saraguro settlement have changed appreciably over the last two centuries” (Stewart, Belote, and Belote 1976: 377). Costume Although Saraguro is a relatively remote area, some travelers noticed the striking and conservative costume. In addition, the people of Saraguro remember older styles of dress. The earliest representation of the costume is in the Madrid album, probably dating to the 1850s (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 241, pl. 35).2 A watercolor of a man in what is recognizably Saraguro costume is clearly labeled as such. He wears a black poncho, above the knee in length, under which is a line probably indicating a black kushma, and black pants, which come to about 3 inches below the knee. The pants have a short slit on the outer side, undoubtedly for ease of movement. The man wears a white hat with a tall crown and a wide floppy brim, and his long hair hangs down his back unbraided, similar to Franck’s 1917 description below. A second illustration, published by the Frenchman Édouard André in 1883, consists of a black and white engraving of two men identified as lo-
Saraguro Costume in Loja Province 299
janos (Villacís Verdesoto 1981: 73; Ortiz Crespo 2005: 116). The term means that they could have been from one of a number of ethnic groups, including Saraguro. Both men have long hair parted in the middle. One wears his completely loose; the other has it tucked behind his ears (or pulled back behind his ears and tied). Both are wearing light-colored ponchos that come to just above and just below their knees, and knee-length dark pants. One is barefoot and one is wearing sandals that tie with thongs (the details are indistinct). It looks as if one man has a shirt collar showing underneath his poncho. The other appears to be wearing beads, possibly a rosario. In its general outline, this costume is similar to contemporary Saraguro male dress. The next description is from Franck’s 1917 travelogue. He wrote that “Zaraguro is a little world of its own. The great majority of its population is Indian, but a new type of Indian, of darker skin and more independent manner than those to the north. . . . Here each owns a little patch of land and refuses serfdom” (1917: 203). Franck describes Saraguro male costume as follows: His dress is somber, in marked contrast to the gaudy colors of his quiteño cousin. In place of the loose white panties, he clothes his legs to the knee with a close-fitting coffee-hued woolen garment, and covers all the rest of the body with a poncho of the same color. He wears an immensely thick, almost white, felt hat of box-shaped crown, the brim drooping about his face, and his long jet-black hair, instead of being confined in a tape-wound braid, is commonly flying about his head and shoulders. He buys nothing from the outside world—except masses and indulgences—shears his own sheep, the wool of which, usually black, his women spin and weave into the heavy cloth that provides the somber garments of both sexes. (Ibid.: 203–204)
Franck says nothing about the details of women’s dress, and he mistakenly assumes that they predominate as weavers, when in fact it is the men. A photograph (Fig. 11.1) shows a man and a woman who look contemporary except for their hats, which have a higher crown and droopier brim than those worn in the 1970s.3 Various Saraguros confirmed to me that the old hats had floppier brims. The newer-style hats with stiff brims and black spots on the underside (Fig. 11.2) were originally worn in the barrio of Tenta and then spread to other barrios, although hats with drooping brims are still worn in Oñacapac. By 1977–1979, handmade hats were being produced by only one old man in the town of Saraguro, so they are carefully guarded by families and brought out mainly for mass, fiestas, and markets. In the 1980s, everyday hats were usually
300 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador 11.1 A couple from Saraguro in the 1910s. The woman is spinning dark sheep’s wool. From Franck 1917: opposite p. 213, top.
either the paja toquilla (“Panama”) hat from the Cuenca area or a factorymade fedora (Fig. 11.3). A 1943 travel book also mentions the Saraguros in the condescending tone typical of so much travel writing: “His hair hangs in dank locks about his rugged, deep-chiseled, dark copper features. His toadstool hat makes no concessions to picturesqueness. His poncho is made of the undyed wool of the black sheep” (Franklin 1943: 172). Franklin also gives a rather strange description of the pants that sounds almost like he might be referring to a loincloth, but this seems unlikely, given the earlier evidence for pants, cited above. By the time of my fieldwork in the late 1970s, men customarily wore their hair in a single braid down the back.4 These early travel accounts confirm another feature mentioned in the 1980s by older Saraguros: that earlier dress was made from undyed wool. The newer style is to wear dyed dark navy blue or black. For the navy blue, indigo imported from El Salvador was originally used, but since the late 1970s, it has been unobtainable, so synthetic dyes are now usually used instead.
11.2 Old man wearing a felt hat, kushma, cloth chaps, and poncho, with an alforja (double bag) over his shoulder, 1978. Daniel Chalán of Las Lagunas, Saraguro area. Photograph by Lynn A. Meisch, 78-52-21A.
11.3 Older and younger couple, Gunudel, Saraguro area, 1988. Photograph by
Lynn A. Meisch, 88-73-28.
302 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Women’s Costume Prior to the time of Franck’s photograph, women and girls wore a garment called a tupullina (Q , to bring the tupu onto the body) instead of a blouse. According to Alegría Losano of Ñamarin, the tupullina was a four-selvedge rectangular wool garment that was wrapped around the upper body and pinned over both shoulders with tupus. In 1979, Saraguro friends made a tupullina for me, complete with handcarved bone tupus, and dressed their daughter in it, resulting in a lively afternoon in which all the relatives and neighbors visited to observe the activity. People disagreed about how the tupullina was worn and tried to remember how it looked on their parents and grandparents. Some Saraguros, for example, insisted the tupullina was pinned over one shoulder only, but most others insisted it was worn with the back pulled toward the front and pinned with tupus at each shoulder (like the Inca anaku and the Salasaca pichu jerga). Then, too, the Saraguros may have been describing individual or barrio differences. The Textile Museum tupullina (1995.7.4), a reproduction piece, is 1.47 × .67 meters (58 × 271/2 inches), with four selvedges, made of undyed brown wool. Besides bone, the tupus could be made of wood.5 I was told that they were often made from a hardwood called palo escoba, although the Textile Museum examples (1995.8.8a–c) are made of another hardwood, called pitil. These have a small disk head. Saraguros say that the tupullina was first replaced by a short-sleeved blouse, worn up until around 1940 (Fig. 11.4). The reproduction example shown is made of purchased unbleached muslin, with wide cuffs. The embroidery is basically the same as that on later blouses. The next style was a long-sleeved blouse of commercial white cotton cloth, worn until around 1970. Subsequently, blouses had the same cut and embroidery but were made from shiny synthetic or rayon fabrics in various colors, sewn by white women in town.6 Other women’s garments have changed very little, except in color. Women wear a pollera, of treadle-loom woven wool fabric, gathered into a waistband that ties (again, made for sale in town), and over this an anaku of unusual form, made of wool fabric usually woven on the backstrap loom, and finely pleated into a handwoven waistband. The pleating probably derives from that found in late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century Quito (see Chapter 7). The modern anaku is slightly shorter than the one shown in Franck’s photograph. A belt in turn-banded 2/1 twill is worn over the pollera, and a supplementary-warp-patterned belt over the anaku. The old belt shown in Figure 11.5 is interesting for having the supplementary warp in red cotton, rather than the wool or acrylic used in more recent belts. The rectangular
Saraguro Costume in Loja Province 303 11.4 reproduction of an oldstyle short-sleeved blouse. Cotton, embroidered. 67 × 85 centimeters (263/8 × 331/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1995.7.5, Latin American research Fund.
shoulder wrap and carrying cloth is usually of handspun wool and made on the treadle loom, but a few are woven on the backstrap loom. They are usually undecorated but may have narrow stripes or an embroidered line at the lower edge of the garment. A tupu is used to fasten the shawl, secured around the neck with a metal chain or braided ribbon. Saraguros say that these were originally made of bone, with a plain oval head with a hole in the middle (Fig. 11.6). A slightly later style had a square head with a hole in the middle. Nati Guamán of Las Lagunas remembered her father carving examples from bone or wood as late as the 1950s, and an occasional bone tupu could still be seen in the Saraguro market in the 1990s. The tupu eventually became more ornate, with protrusions carved from the head, like the petals of a daisy. By the early twentieth century, jewelers in the town of Saraguro (white men) began to mold-make the tupu from Peruvian silver sol coins. At least six soles were needed to make a tupu. In 1978, a silver tupu made from soles cost U.S.$80.00 and upward, and even then silver soles were scarce, since they had not been minted since the turn of the century. A more common and less expensive tupu is made from Ecuadorian sucres minted in 1937 and 1946, which have a high nickel content. Others are made of nickel washed with silver. The rosario (S, rosary) is an old style of necklace that has now virtually disappeared. Formerly it was worn daily, but later only by a bride or the sponsor of the Christmas fiesta. It was made of wooden or glass beads, coins (representing the ten stations of the cross), and a silver crucifix. Originally the coins were silver Peruvian soles, but later Ecuadorian coins were used. The only rosario I ever saw during fieldwork was from the community of San Lucas and had red and blue wooden beads (with the paint almost gone), 21/2 and 5 cen-
11.5 Old belt with red cotton supplementary warp, recycled for use as the tail of a wiki (devil) costume. 1.96 × .012 meters (77 × 1/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1988.17.8c, Latin American research Fund.
Saraguro Costume in Loja Province 305 11.6 Bone shawl pins made by Polivio Sarango, Tuncarta, 1979. Slide by Lynn A. Meisch, 89-1-14.
tavo coins from 1928, and one old silver coin with all the markings worn off. The example in the National Museum of the American Indian has Job’s tears seed beads and a metal cross and medal from Our Father of the Cloud church (25/743). Another necklace style still worn consists of multiple strands of glass beads. Until the 1950s, women wore finely carved wooden beads or beads made from sacha achira seeds (wild achira, Canna indica), and from a plant called San Pedro, which grows in the Oriente. Imported glass and plastic beads of various colors were then substituted. Another style of necklace, often worn together with the preceding style, is made from tiny glass or plastic seed beads joined in circular zigzag rows (see Fig. 11.3; A. Rowe ed. 1998: 269, fig. 254).7 A third style of beaded necklace, called colgante, of one color in the form of an inverted triangle ending in false pearls, appeared in the 1990s. In some instances, young women wore beaded earrings to match. By 2000, Saraguro women were producing necklaces based on the older circular style but with a variety of new and intricate designs, including various diamond patterns and representations of strawberries or leaves, etc. (Belote and Belote 1998, 2000a). Several specific Spanish-style earrings are worn. The filigree kurimolde style came in around the turn of the twentieth century (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 270, fig. 255). A second style has half-moon shapes, with attached bits of colored glass. A more general style has a flower or bird near the hook, from which is suspended an ornate pendant, often with birds, leaves, and flowers, ending in round teardrop-shaped pieces of colored glass mounted in a silver cone. The finest earrings were again made of Peruvian silver sol coins. Men’s Costume In the 1990s, men still wore a kushma on formal occasions (see Fig. 11.2). It is woven in either one or two panels and is sewn up the sides. It is nearly square,
306 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
measuring around 80 centimeters (311/2 inches) on a side. By the 1970s, many men and boys were wearing factory-made shirts under or instead of their kushma for daily work. In the 1950s, the kushma was secured with a handwoven wool belt in turnbanded 2/1 twill (A. Rowe ed. 2007: 157, fig. 5.1). In the 1970s, a few old men were still using this style, but most wore a leather belt. An old Spanish-style leather belt is made in town, with three to six buckles and decorated with hammered old Ecuadorian brass sucre coins (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 271, fig. 257).8 By 2000, these belts were seldom worn except on special occasions (Belote and Belote 2003). Saraguro male dress throughout the twentieth century is distinguished by short knee-length pants, presumably derived from European-style eighteenth-century knee breeches. Saraguro pants may be made of backstraploom woven fabric, treadle-loom woven fabric, or factory-made fabric, or even from purchased long pants cut off at the knee and hemmed. According to Daniel Chalán of Las Lagunas, men formerly wore cured sheepskin chaps like those worn in other parts of the sierra, but around the turn of the twentieth century, these were replaced by cloth chaps. An older style of cloth chaps came down to the ankle and was tied with small handwoven bands. These older, longer chaps probably did protect the legs of men wearing short pants when they worked in the fields. By the 1970s, these cloth chaps were knee length and were worn primarily for fiestas and to mass (see Figs. 11.2, 11.3). They are woven from finely spun white wool on the backstrap loom in one piece, which is then cut and sewn. Most ponchos are plain, formerly of undyed dark wool, and now dark blue or black. Modern ones are slightly shorter than that shown by Franck. Another style, called wanaku poncho, has three groups of stripes in each half. Some indigenous people say that this style is at least 130 years old, while others say it is much older. A reproduction of the style worn in the first half of the twentieth century is woven in various shades of undyed brown wool, similar to the color of the guanaco (i.e., wanaku; Fig. 11.7). Then this style came to be overdyed with red or purple dye. Another indigenous friend said that the yarn was dyed before the poncho was woven and the purple stripes were dyed with carmisí, the Quichua pronunciation of carmesí. Although this term now refers to a red synthetic dye, it formerly referred to cochineal, which might have been more expensive and thus used only to dye the colored stripes. A reproduction of a related poncho, also called wanaku poncho, is black, with narrow stripes in brown, blue, magenta, and yellow (Fig. 11.8). This style was said to have been worn between about 1895 and 1910. The reproduction uses natural dyes, including black from logwood (palo campichi ), from
11.7 reproduction of a wanaku or suku poncho, made of undyed tan wool yarns, in a style said to have been worn in the second half of the nineteenth century in Las Lagunas, Ilincho, Gurudel, and Gulacpamba. Yarns spun by Nati Guamán, woven by Daniel Chalán, Las Lagunas, Saraguro area. 1.86 × 1.23 meters (731/4 × 481/2 inches). The Textile Museum 1995.7.1, Latin American research Fund.
11.8 reproduction of another old style of wanaku poncho, of plied wool yarns, said to have been worn between about 1895 and 1910. Yarns spun by Nati Guamán, woven by Lucho Ulloa, Las Lagunas, Saraguro area. 1.86 × 1.24 meters (731/4 × 483/4 inches). The Textile Museum 1995.7.2, Latin American research Fund.
308 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Chayajsapa in southern Loja Province near Cumbe, mixed with the bark of garro, a small plant with medium-sized green leaves. The magenta is from shalshi, that is, upiñang, a poisonous fruit similar to taxos. Yellow is quilluyuyu, blue is synthetic indigo, light brown is the yellow flower of nachi, a tiny plant, and dark brown is walnut.9 Another style is mostly black, with only a narrow band of red and white stripes near the side selvedge, called poncho listado (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 272, fig. 259). Jaime Reibel, who did development work in Saraguro between 1978 and 1985, indicates that the example in the National Museum of the American Indian (25/730) dates to the mid-1960s and that by 1980 this style was worn mainly by impoverished old men. In the 1970s, ponchos started to be woven in acrylic on treadle looms in one workshop in Ilincho and one in Quisquinchir. In addition, Otavalos sell dark-colored acrylic ponchos at the Saraguro Sunday market. These ponchos, however, have not entirely replaced local backstrap-loom woven ones. Saraguros describe the old style of footwear as leather sandals, and in 1979 one old man in San Lucas still wore deerskin sandals (Jaime Reibel, personal communication, 1979). According to Polivio Sarango, another older style of sandal was made from worn-out handmade felt hats, with thongs attached. Nati Guamán told me that these were worn by pregnant and married women. Sandals made of rubber tires replaced leather ones for a time.10 By the 1970s, men were wearing factory-made rubber boots or shoes with socks.
Conclusions
ann pollard rowe Perhaps our most notable finding is the longevity of Inca-style costume, which in women’s dress and even in men’s tunics continued until the midtwentieth century in several areas. This survival results in part from the fact that the Spanish overlords did not object to it. When they did object to something, such as men’s loincloths, it was quickly replaced by Spanish garments. In the colonial period, indigenous garments formed part of the tribute and payment system, which would have reinforced their use, but even after these systems were no longer in effect, people continued to make and wear this clothing. Presumably the fact that this small country had relatively few resources and attracted relatively little outside attention also contributed to the conservatism of the costumes of its indigenous inhabitants. The woman’s full-body anaku, introduced into at least northern Ecuador by the Incas, continued in use into the twentieth century in Imbabura (Otavalo area), Pichincha, and Central Chimborazo. Even in some areas where gathered skirts were current during the 1970s and 1980s, there is evidence of the anaku not very far back, notably in eastern Imbabura and much of Southern Chimborazo. The main nineteenth-century evidence for Spanish-style skirts is in Quito and the Cuenca Valley, the most urbanized zones. We lack mid-nineteenth-century evidence for Cañar and Loja, although photographs from around 1900 do suggest polleras in both areas. Thus, the Great Skirt Divide appears to have simply crept northward a little, and the skirts that appear in Quito can be explained by the proximity of European influence. Although in Imbabura, southern Pichincha, and Chimborazo a full anaku evolved into a half anaku, in Tungurahua a half anaku was worn with a separate wrapped top, and there is evidence also in Saraguro for such a combina-
310 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
tion. The Saraguro pleated skirt is called anaku and is backstrap-loom woven, suggesting its derivation from a wrapped garment. The half anaku in Tungurahua (and Bolívar) is also fuller than those in Otavalo and Chimborazo, which may reflect the influence of the pollera, as seems to have been the case in Saraguro. Unfortunately, we have no pre-1900 evidence for these costumes. Similarly, the man’s kushma was worn throughout the colonial period all over highland Ecuador. Moreover, it not only survived in use through much or most of the twentieth century in Central Chimborazo, Cañar, and Saraguro, but also into twentieth-century memory in Imbabura and parts of Pichincha Province. There is also evidence of young boys wearing tunics to the exclusion of pants in Otavalo, Salasaca, and Chimborazo within the memory of the oldest inhabitants. It is interesting that the kushma was often worn belted, unlike Inca tunics, and also that it was not always sewn up the sides. Possibly these features derive from a pre-Inca kushma originating in southern Ecuador, though for Cañar, the term is the only record of such a garment. In Cañar, Central Chimborazo, and the old Zámbiza costume, these two features go together: the belt was used to hold the cloth close to the body. But the Saraguro kushma was both sewn and belted. The sewn tunics worn by the Indio principal of Quito in Albán’s 1783 painting and in Nayón (near Quito) seem to have been unbelted, in the manner of Inca examples. Perhaps in Quito a tunic closer to Inca custom would be expected, whereas in Saraguro, the local custom of a belt was added to the Inca-style tunic. The kushma was also usually made from a single loom panel, and thus is a relatively narrow garment. Possibly the Salasaca poncho, which is a long and narrow single panel, evolved from a kushma. It is also notable that these Inca garments (except belts) are usually undecorated, although some have a simple striped pattern. This situation contrasts markedly, for example, with that of the southern highlands of Peru and Bolivia, where the clothing often has elaborate woven patterning. Although in some cases the garments are or were treadle-loom woven (e.g., in Salasaca and Otavalo), which would tend to restrict the amount of patterning, in many cases the indigenous backstrap loom is or was used (e.g., in Chimborazo, Cañar, and Saraguro). Ordinary Inca garments (again, except belts) also lacked woven patterning apart from simple stripes, so it is possible that its absence in modern garments goes back to this distant source. Moreover, as noted in our earlier volume (A. Rowe ed. 2007: chap. 7), the kawiña belt and its counterpart in eastern Imbabura, as well as the complementary-warp-patterned bands with zigzag and dot designs found in Central Chimborazo, can be traced back specifically to the period of the Inca occupation. Other belt styles seem even more recent. We can trace the
Conclusions 311
supplementary-warp-patterned belts only back as far as the Albán paintings in the 1780s. The modern widespread distribution of these belts, which look very similar from southern Colombia to southern Ecuador, suggests that they were a popular trade item in the late colonial period. This distribution seems less likely in a pre-Inca context, when the area was politically fragmented. Also, although Cañares functioned as policemen throughout the Inca Empire, no trace of their modern belt technique is present in the archaeological record, and there are other reasons for thinking that it is probably a relatively recent development (A. Rowe ed. 2007: 195–198). Better candidates for preInca Ecuadorian belt-weaving traditions are the turn-banded 2/1 twill belts (A. Rowe ed. 2007: chap. 5) and the few bands with alternating-float-weave patterns (see Fig. 8.7). The survival of pre-Inca Ecuadorian spinning and loom styles is also noteworthy, regardless of the garments produced. Beaded wrist wraps are another ancient survival. Tracing Spanish influence proves to be far from straightforward. The pleating of the Saraguro anaku likely had its source in the eighteenth century, when such pleated garments were in fashion in Quito and Cuenca, including the lliglla and kushma as well as the anaku. This timing parallels Saraguro men’s knee pants, which are a more general eighteenth-century style, although they continued to be worn in some Spanish provincial areas throughout the nineteenth century. Making sharp pressed pleats is unknown in pre-Hispanic textiles; rather it is a European garment technology, a way of dressing up undecorated yardage. Pleated garments were not part of fashionable dress in eighteenth-century Spain, however, so the idea must have come from some regional area, but again we confront the lack of information on late-seventeenth- and early-eighteenth-century Spanish regional dress. The only late-eighteenth-century engraving showing pleated garments is of a townswoman from Roncal in Navarra (Cruz Cano y Olmedilla 1988: pl. 50), with a pleated apron and a kind of half skirt pulled to the back. Part of the problem may also be that sharp pleats are not easy to represent in an engraving. In early-twentieth-century Spain, pleated skirts occur not only in Navarra (Ortiz Echagüe 1957: pl. 35, Ochagavia) but also in Ansó in Aragón (ibid.: pls. V-VI, 44, 52, 58) and Montehermoso in Extremadura (ibid.: pls. 203, 206, 209). The pollera is first mentioned by Juan and Ulloa as an underskirt worn by the wives of caciques in Quito in the 1730s, and by 1790 it is their everyday outer garment. Gathered skirts were worn in Cuenca in 1800 by women of intermediate status, although we do not know what they were called. Although pollera is a Spanish word, first used for a style of underskirt in the mid-seventeenth century, it is not common as a skirt name in Spain sub-
312 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
sequently. Nevertheless, it is often used for gathered skirts worn by indigenous or intermediate-status (chola) women in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. It is interesting that in the nineteenth century the pollera often showed the lower calf and ankle, perhaps following the fashion of the earlier higher-status faldellín. Although by 1900 both the pollera and bolsicón were ankle length, they become shorter again during the twentieth century, following the similar trend in European clothing. In the nineteenth century in both Cuenca and Cañar, the indigenous woman’s pollera was blue, and did not become red, pink, orange, or yellow until the twentieth century, perhaps due to the availability of synthetic dyes. The embroidered decoration found on twentieth-century examples seems to have been a local development. An investigation of the Spanish sources of Guatemalan men’s costume concluded that several distinctive features had arrived in eighteenth-century immigrations from the northern provinces of Spain (Altman 1992). Pleated garments also fit this pattern, as does the timing of the pollera and the higherstatus faldellín. The term bolsicón, current in twentieth-century Azuay, literally translates as “large bag” and is not found in early Spanish sources. In modern Spanish dictionaries, it is listed as an Americanism found only in Colombia and Ecuador. It presumably relates to the term bolsicona, a nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century word for an intermediate-status woman in Imbabura, Quito, and Cuenca. The mid- and late-nineteenth-century images from Quito show a generic long gathered skirt with one or two light-colored trimming bands near or at the lower edge. The horizontal tucks characteristic of twentieth-century Cuenca examples are found on fisherwomen’s skirts in northeast England painted by Winslow Homer in the 1880s, and it is possible that the idea could have been imported from England in the late nineteenth century along with the inexpensive industrially produced wool fabric of which they were probably made. Similar skirts were also sometimes worn in the early twentieth century in Villahermosa in Spain in place of the vertically pleated style mentioned above (Ortiz Echagüe 1957: pl. 202). Men’s pants became part of indigenous costume early in the colonial period. Loose white pants were characteristic Spanish sailor’s garb in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century (Bernis 2001: 452–453). Otherwise, they were generally worn as underwear. Little information is available on the cut of such drawers, but one example (of unspecified date and region) has a cut similar to Salasaca pants (Stapley 1924: pl. 3). The Spanish regional origins of felt hats are also difficult to pin down. They were introduced to Ecuador in the sixteenth century. Hats were highly susceptible to stylistic change, in remote
Conclusions 313
rural areas as well as in the cities, both in Spain and in Ecuador. It is interesting, however, that most Spanish felt hats in the literature are black, whereas Ecuadorian examples are white. Alpargatas were introduced just as early but were apparently less changeable. Two alpargatas (not a pair), collected in 1940 and that are recognizably similar to those of Otavalo are on exhibition at the Museu Etnològic in Barcelona in the section on Catalonia. One has a plainweave toe cover, but the other has a herringbone-twill toe cover. A leather belt style with multiple buckles similar to that found in Saraguro was worn in rural Castile in the early twentieth century (Ortiz Echagüe 1957: pl. 120), but earlier documentation is lacking. In contrast, the origin of the shirts worn in Imbabura Province can be pinpointed relatively precisely. A wonderfully detailed study of North American men’s shirts suggests that the pleated front style in square-cut shirts was common between 1810 and 1860 (Brown 1999: 11), with wider panels later than narrower ones, corresponding to the style of waistcoat then in fashion. The style was worn in Quito, over time working down the social scale, en route to arriving in the Otavalo area somewhat later. In Quito, the chemise was adopted in the eighteenth century but probably not elsewhere until later. The sleeve ruffles evident in the chemises shown in the Alban and Malaspina paintings of Quito costume are characteristic of European eighteenth-century women’s dresses (not necessarily chemises), but the similar sleeves in twentieth-century Imbabura chemises, both in the Otavalo and eastern Imbabura areas, may not be directly related to these earlier examples, given the evidence for how recent the Imbabura chemises are. Elsewhere, sleeves are of more modern style, although shorter sleeves can be found slightly earlier in both Saraguro and Central Chimborazo. The rebozo was already in use by 1730 in Quito, probably introduced from Mexico. Its origin and development has proved to be more interesting and complex than has previously been suggested, with even a possible West African influence. Evidence that it was warp-resist dyed does not occur in Mexico until the late eighteenth century or in Ecuador until the mid-nineteenth century, and the introduction of a knotted fringe seems to have been later still in Ecuador. So influence from Mexico appears to have continued over a significant period of time. Although in Mexico it was initially worn by both white and mestizo women, and only later primarily by indigenous women, it was associated with intermediate-status women in Imbabura and Azuay. In Cotopaxi, indigenous women adopted it, and simple versions were widely used as carrying cloths, which was not its original function. Mexican, Peruvian, and Ecuadorian warp-resist-dyed rebozos were woven of machine-made cotton yarns, and their diffusion probably coincides with
314 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
the availability of such yarns during the industrial revolution. A recent study of the rebozo-weaving community of Chilapa in Mexico makes this point and the further one that the labor needed to bind the warps and knot the fringe replaced hand spinning in the economy (Kyle 2008: 65). Also, industrially woven cloth offered no competition for the rebozos. Rebozo production started in the mid-nineteenth century in Chilapa and lasted until the midtwentieth century when higher food prices eliminated the profit margins of the rebozo makers (Kyle 2008: 169–171). A similar dynamic seems to have operated in Ecuador, with warp-resist-dyed cotton ponchos (in Imbabura, Chimborazo, and Cañar), which also used machine-spun yarn, as well as rebozos (in Imbabura, Cotopaxi, and Azuay). The poncho appears to have arrived in Ecuador from the south, and despite relatively limited eighteenth-century evidence, we can trace its northward journey. Its arrival in Ecuador does seem to coincide with the revolutionary period and independence from Spain in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Many Mapuche ponchos had warp-resist-dyed diamond designs, which seem to have been imitated in many areas where the poncho spread, including in Ecuador (A. Rowe 1977: 19–22). This does not, however, exclude the possibility of Ecuadorian innovation, as may have been the case with the pulling of the dovetailed warp to make chevron designs. Warp-resist dyeing was in some cases transferred from industrial cotton yarn to handspun wool, for example in Cañar and Azuay. Although evidence for warp-resist dyeing in pre-Hispanic Ecuador is available, and the modern technique includes the indigenous dovetailed warp join, the association of warp-resist dyeing with the culturally hybrid rebozos and ponchos suggests a nineteenth-century import rather than continuity. At the other end of the prestige spectrum is the jerga poncho, made out of treadle-loom woven fabric. These ponchos were widely worn in the nineteenth century, not only in Central Chimborazo where they could still be seen in the 1980s, but also earlier in Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Bolívar, and Tungurahua (by Chibuleos) Provinces. The fabric was probably made in the obrajes and was readily available and inexpensive. Even after the demise of the obrajes, many men would have had the skill to continue to make the kind of cloth they were accustomed to wearing. Although gaps in the record remain, it has been possible to trace the history of indigenous costume in Ecuador in more detail than might have been supposed. This historical detective work, although focused on one small corner of the Andes, is also to some degree applicable to other parts of Hispanic America where similar historical forces operated.
Notes
Chapter 1 1. See Salomon 1986, chap. 1, for a more extensive and referenced discussion of geographic factors in Ecuador’s culture. 2. Tumbaga is an alloy of gold, copper, and whatever trace elements are to be found in the gold, generally a bit of silver. This alloy has a lower melting temperature than either pure copper or pure gold and has approximately the same hardness as tin or arsenic bronze. Generally, tumbaga was used to make ornaments that were destined to be depletion gilded, although the red gold color was apparently much admired in parts of Colombia. Tumbaga was hard enough to be used for tools in areas in which copper was relatively rarer than gold. 3. Many of the ancient holy sites (huacas) have simply had a statue of the Virgin Mary or the Sacred Heart of Jesus placed on or near them. Ancient huacas in use today include springs, waterfalls, irrigation system heads, places where landslides are common, large rock outcrops or boulders standing on their own, and various mountains or hills with striking shapes or other unusual features. 4. Guaman Poma was illustrating Inca life for Europeans in the European tradition of showing ordinary, as well as socially or religiously important, people going about their daily tasks. Like the earlier Codex Mendoza of Mexico, this kind of illustration was utterly foreign to the native South Americans, who did not have an art category for depictions of daily life. The only exception is among the Moche of Peru, who, it is suggested, showed the supernatural in daily clothing. However, a short perusal of medieval European art, in which the supernatural was likewise shown in modern dress, shows that this is different from illustrating lower-status people in ordinary lower-status clothing doing ordinary tasks. 5. A similar preparation was used in pre-Hispanic Central America and Mexico. 6. This is usually called “head deformation” by Euro-American writers, not one of whom would refer to modern cosmetic orthodontia or plastic surgery as “tooth deformation,” “nasal deformation,” “jaw deformation,” “thigh deformation,” etc. A much less ethnocentric term is “head modification” or “cosmetic head modification.” 7. The introduction of the ceramic mold in late Chorrera times may have con-
316 Notes to Pages 27–45
tributed to the often unelaborated decoration of the head in simpler figurines of many styles. 8. Some unwary or overenthusiastic researchers have posited that the markings on Chorrera figurines represent actual pants and weskits, garments that are, in fact, totally unknown in ancient South America (cf. Anawalt 1998). A careful examination of Chorrera figurines with this pattern of painting and incision shows clearly that the artists were depicting body paint and, perhaps, tattooing, since details of breasts and genitals are shown. 9. Over forty-five rock-crystal bead “workshops” (actually clusters of debris from working rock crystal and then sweeping the floor) have been found at this very small site. Debris and beads broken in manufacture are common, whereas whole beads are rare. Crystal beads identical to those manufactured at Pirincay have been found in Chorrera burials, and Chorrera ceramics have been found at Pirincay, confirming the trade between coast and highlands. 10. Women as well as men wear capes, but the tabards and all-in-one suits seem to have been exclusively male garments. 11. Eduardo Kohn, an ethnologist and ethnobotanist who conducted research on medicinal plants used by indigenous peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon, has suggested two possibilities: Cordia nodosa and Croton lechleri. A decoction of the leaves of the former is used to treat both insect and snake bites, to combat infection, and to promote healing. Croton is widely used to promote the healing of wounds, and there are rumors that a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company is planning to market it sometime in the near future (Kohn 1992 and personal communication, 1993). 12. The term “Panzaleo” is used in a confusing manner in Ecuadorian archaeology. It refers variously to the sixteenth-century inhabitants of the region, to a 200 bc–ad 500 ceramic style from the vicinity of Riobamba, and to a second millennium bc type of nonrepresentational thin grey ceramics found from the region of Latacunga and Riobamba to the north of Quito, but probably manufactured in the eastern lowlands (Bray 1995). This contradictory use of the term “Panzaleo” is based on a bad habit that early archaeologists and others had of giving all the prehistoric remains from a region the name of the historic inhabitants. Since so many of the artifacts given historic names were looted and actually came from quite different regions, this has resulted in serious problems of nomenclature. 13. A major problem in studying Capulí costume is the vast number of falsifications and repainted figures. Both outright falsification and repainting of genuine ancient pieces, often originally unpainted or with faded decoration, of ceramics of this style has been rampant since the early 1960s, and most museums and private collections contain significant quantities of dubious pieces. Many have metal ornaments “restored” to them (Bruhns and Kelker 2009). 14. The Ingapirca burials cannot be precisely dated. The site was occupied by both the Cañares and the Incas and apparently was reused by the Cañares after the Spanish conquest. It is thus possible that some of these burials could be early colonial in date. The fanciest female burial, Tomb 1 of the Pilaloma sector of the site, is a case in point. Although the excavators have called this architectural complex Cañar, there is nothing to distinguish the architecture from the Inca architecture of the rest of the site. The mode of burial, a woman buried with ten retainers (?) in a boot-shaped tomb capped with a stone stela, is definitely not Inca (Fresco 1984: 64–68, 79–92). In any event, be-
Notes to Pages 50–60 317
cause the vast majority of dress pins from Ecuador have been looted, they are useless for considering the diffusion of Peruvian dress styles into the northern Andes. 15. For assistance with bibliographical references, I owe much to Karen Stothert, the late Olaf Holm, Ernesto Salazar, Kathleen Staples (formerly Epstein), Emilia Cortés Moreno, the late John H. Rowe, and Winfield Swanson. The bibliography in Doyon-Bernard 1994 was also helpful. In addition, I am grateful to Karen Stothert for making useful comments on an earlier version and sending me photographs. 16. The evidence is from Pampa Gramalote in the Moche Valley (Conklin 1975) and the Huaca Prieta in the Chicama Valley (Wallace 1979). The Pampa Gramalote site is Initial Period (Conklin supplies a date of ca. 1500 bc). The Huaca Prieta textiles are slightly later, extending into the beginning of the Early Horizon. Earlier Preceramic Stage twined textiles from the Huaca Prieta are S-spun and Z-plied and the spinning is less refined than in the later woven textiles (Bird and Mahler 1951: 74). At La Galgada, a site of intermediate altitude on the Tablachaca River, there was a conversion from S-spinning to Z-spinning in the early woven textiles of the Initial Period (Grieder et al. 1988: 163). 17. The gourds were excavated by Junius Bird (1963; Bird, Hyslop, and Skinner 1985: 71) and recognized by him as intrusive. See Marcos 1973 and 1979 for comments on the Valdivia attribution. See Hill 1975 (pl. V, figs. 30–32) for related ceramics. Such trade pieces are more reliable for comparing dates of distant sites than radiocarbon measurements, which are much less precise than is commonly supposed. In this case, however, the stylistic resemblance is not conclusive. 18. Estrada 1957b: 40–45; Felter 1967; Funes Sánchez 1970; Wilbert 1974; Guinea Bueno 2004a. Wilbert seems not to have observed Ecuadorian spinners, since his descriptions and illustrations of spinning in South America do not apply to coastal or highland Ecuador, his citation (p. 26) of Funes Sánchez notwithstanding. 19. For spinning on the Ecuadorian coast, see Barrett 1925: 252–257; Holm 1978; Klumpp 1983; Hagino and Stothert 1984; Stothert and Parker 1984; Stothert 1997; Stothert and Freire 1997: 37–38. For spinning in the Ecuadorian highlands, see Meisch, Miller, and Rowe 2005. For spinning on the Peruvian coast, see Vreeland 1986. 20. Compare Meisch, Miller, and Rowe 2005: 83; Vreeland 1986: fig. 6. 21. Meggers 1966: pls. 51–52; Gardner 1979, 1982, 1985. Most are housed in the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. I studied them in 1994, and this report contains my own observations, as well as Gardner’s. A few were returned to Guayaquil in 1995 but stolen off the delivery truck, and a few others have been accessioned by the Smithsonian. Other smaller fragments from the Milagro area, also preserved by proximity to metal, are reported by Estrada (1957b: figs. 67–69, 72). The oldest was adhering to a pectoral from Lomas Partidas and the others, from Jácome and Sabana Grande, are just pre- or post-Hispanic. All are plain-weave cotton with S-spun yarns. Additionally, Holm (1978, 1980) mentions a tomb found near Manglar Alto in Manabí that contained Milagro-Quevedo objects, as well as a few textile fragments (no further description available). 22. In her published articles, Gardner tentatively identified these fragments as warp-faced. 23. Tsáchila weaving has unfortunately never been recorded in detail, but Chachis
318 Notes to Pages 62–70
and Tsáchila fabrics have cut and sewn ends identical to each other (Textile Museum examples 1986.19.30 and 1969.17.1). 24. Buys and Domínguez 1988: 46–47, 85, no. 119; cf. also Doyon-Bernard 1994: 99nn2 and 4. 25. I am grateful to Myriam Salazar for bringing these objects to my attention. 26. Estrada says it was from a cemetery of the “período Tuncahuán,” which he considers to be Regional Development Period (ca. ad 500–ad 1000). The pin, not illustrated, is described as a “tupu,” but unequivocal evidence for pre-Inca tupus is lacking in Ecuador, and Inca remains are common in the Riobamba area (Bruhns, personal communication, 1994). Even if the pin should be Inca, we know enough about Inca textiles to say confidently that the textile is not (see Chapter 2). 27. The information about the head not belonging with the body is from Ernesto Salazar, personal communication, 1994, as was the suggestion that the mummy might be from the Paltacaló region. Bruhns and Kelker (2010: 169–171) suggest that the mummy is Peruvian, without considering the possibility of a Paltacaló origin. The camelid-hair pieces, however, are in a generic highland style, while the skirt does not match known Peruvian coastal textiles. Chapter 2 1. The Incas had no system of writing. They transmitted their traditions about the past in pictures and oral narratives, using knotted cords (khipu) as aids to the memory. The descendants of each Inca ruler undertook to hand down the record of his deeds. Tupa Inca was a great conqueror, and we have a summary account of his conquests dictated by his descendants to a Spanish writer in 1569 (J. Rowe 1986). This summary closely parallels the accounts of Tupa Inca’s conquests found in the Spanish sources based most directly on Inca traditions: Sarmiento de Gamboa, another account now lost that served as a common source for Cabello Balboa and Murúa, and Betanzos. These are the sources of the present narrative, except as otherwise indicated. 2. It was the Spanish writer Francisco López de Gómara who promoted the lord of Quito to the rank of king in a book published in 1552 (López de Gómara, cap. CXVIII; 1979: 178, and cap. CXIX; 1979: 179). López de Gómara never visited America. He got his information on the Incas from Agustín de Zárate, whom he had an opportunity to meet in Valladolid in 1548 and 1549. Zárate was in Peru from 1544 to 1546, and while there he collected information for a book he proposed to write about events in that country, a book actually published in 1555. Zárate said that he got his information on the Spanish discovery of Peru from Rodrigo Lozano and other eyewitnesses (1944: 17). Presumably he had a copy of something Lozano had written. Lozano went to Quito with Diego de Almagro in 1534 and was present at the founding of the Spanish city. What López de Gómara said about the Incas is very close to what Zárate said, but with one significant difference. Zárate speaks of Quito as a “province” or a “land” and its leader as “lord” (señor); in the corresponding passages in López de Gómara, Quito is a “kingdom” (reino) ruled by “kings” (reyes). López de Gómara’s little embellishment was picked up later by Garcilaso de la Vega, who made it part of his romantic vision of Inca history (see especially book 8, chap. VII and book 9, chap. II of his Comentarios reales).
Notes to Pages 75–77 319
3. Betanzos, Ia pte., cap. XLVI; 1987: 194; Sarmiento de Gamboa, cap. 63; 1906: 112. Betanzos was married to a great-granddaughter of Pachacuti who had been one of Atau Huallpa’s wives, and she was obviously one of his informants. Sarmiento collected testimony from descendants of all of the Inca rulers in Cuzco in 1571 and 1572. The common source of Zárate and López de Gómara, presumably Rodrigo Lozano, said that Atau Huallpa’s mother was the daughter of the lord of Quito (Zárate, lib. 1, cap. XII; 1944: 47; López de Gómara, cap. CXIX; 1979: 179). Lozano may have heard this story in Quito. Cieza de León heard a story that Atau Huallpa’s mother was a native of Carangui (1a pte., cap. XXXVII; 1984: 122). 4. This account of the maritime trade on the coast of what is now Ecuador is based on the example of a single sailing balsa that was taken in 1526 by a Spanish ship sent by Pizarro and his partner, Diego de Almagro, to look for better country than the mangrove swamps at the mouth of the San Juan River, where the Spanish company was operating. The ship was commanded by the pilot, Bartolomé Ruiz. The balsa was a large one that carried about twenty people and a large and varied cargo. The Spanish took some of the people on the balsa with the idea of teaching them Spanish so that they could serve as interpreters. They did learn Spanish and proved immensely valuable when Pizarro explored the north coast of what is now Peru in 1528. We have three accounts of the balsa taken by Ruiz; two of them include information on where the people on the balsa came from, and the information is contradictory. One account says that the people came from Zalangane, explained as a group of four towns including Salango, which is in Manabí, Ecuador. The other says that they came from Tumbez in northern Peru. This contradiction can be resolved. The account that says that the balsa came from Zalangane is an anonymous report that, from internal evidence, was written in the second half of 1527 (Porras Barrenechea 1937: 63–68). We know it from a copy that was transmitted to the Hapsburg court in Vienna by Juan de Sámano, secretary to the emperor Charles V. The author of this account says that “it appears” (parece) that they come from Zalangane, and that “apparently” (a lo que parece) sixteen or seventeen towns, which he names, were subject to Zalangane. Some of the names are recognizable as the names of places on the coast of Ecuador, including two as far away as Esmeraldas. He says further that all the things in the cargo of the balsa, including the fine cotton and wool textiles, were made in Zalangane. The account that says that the people on the balsa came from Tumbez is in the third part of the Crónica del Perú by Pedro de Cieza de León (1987). Cieza said that he got his information on Pizarro’s early voyages from Nicolás de Rivera, who took part in them (Cieza de León, 3a pte., caps. II, IV, VII; 1987: 6, 13, 22). In one place, Cieza’s text lapses into the first person, suggesting that he was quoting from a written original. Cieza de León, still relying on Rivera’s report, provides the only detailed account we have of Pizarro’s voyage of exploration in 1528. Ruiz was again the pilot on this voyage, and some of the men taken from the balsa went along to serve as interpreters. They sailed from the Island of Gorgona. Ruiz sailed directly to Tumbez in twenty days. He could do so because he had the men from the balsa with him to tell him how to do it. They stopped for wood and water at the Island of Santa Clara, off Tumbez; the men from the balsa recognized it and joyfully said to the captain how close they were to their home country (Cieza de León, 3a pte., cap. XIX; 1987: 51). This anecdote implies that at least some of the people on the balsa were indeed from Tumbez.
320 Notes to Pages 82–119
The simplest explanation of the information about Zalangane and the other places on the Ecuadorian coast that appears in the account transmitted by Sámano is that there was at least one person from Zalangane on board the balsa who was among those taken by the Spanish. Perhaps he was the first one to learn enough Spanish so that his captors thought they could interrogate him, when in fact he did not yet know enough of the new language to understand the questions fully and tell a complex story. As for the balsa’s cargo of trade goods, some of it at least had to have originated at Tumbez or elsewhere in the Inca Empire, particularly the “wool” (camelid hair), both spun and unspun, that the balsa carried. The Spanish saw llamas (ovejas) at Tumbez in 1528 (Cieza de León, 3a pte., cap. XX; 1987: 55). When they marched down the coast of Ecuador in 1531, they did not report seeing llamas (ovejas de la tierra) until they got to the Island of La Puná, where Pedro Pizarro said he saw five very fat ones (1978: 18). The balsa traders knew that there was a demand for camelid hair where they were going. 5. There is a good account of the Spanish conquest of Inca Quito in English in Hemming 1970: 151–168. My account is based on Jijón y Caamaño 1936–1938, vol. 1, and Cieza de León 1987, a work not known to Jijón y Caamaño. 6. Cieza de León describes this town as between Quito and Mulahaló. It is therefore a place that does not exist anymore, and should not be confused with the contemporary town of Panzaleo, south of Latacunga (Salomon 1986: 154–155). 7. After A. Rowe ed. 2007 went to press, two additional pre-Hispanic Kawiñastyle textiles came to my attention: a four-selvedged rectangle in the Maiman collection in Israel (Makowski, Rosenzweig, and Jiménez 2006: 125, cat. 84), and an unpublished tunic found on the south coast of Peru, now in the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin (V.A. 16226). 8. John Rowe (personal communication, 1994) assured me that Atienza, a cleric at the cathedral in Quito, is highly unreliable, but I assume he actually saw these costumes, which are plausible. Chapter 3 1. Archivo Municipal, Libros de Cabildos, vol. 2, f. 135, July 24, 1540. Quito, Ecuador. 2. Archivo Nacional Histórico de Ecuador, Indígenas, Caja 1, Carta sobre la encomienda real de Otavalo, 1601. Quito, Ecuador. 3. Archivo Nacional Histórico de Ecuador, Indígenas, Caja 2, Visita, cuenta y numeracion . . . de Quito, 1624; and Visita, cuenta y numeracion . . . de Cayambe, 1632. Quito, Ecuador. Chapter 5 1. As noted elsewhere in this volume, decentralized political organization characterized all of highland Ecuador in the period before the Inca expansion. See Salomon (1986) on the functioning of the hereditary chiefdoms in the Quito area, as well as among the Pasto.
Notes to Pages 120–132 321
2. Calero (1991) has reconstructed the history of indigenous-Spanish relations for the region that today comprises southern Nariño, while Landázuri (1990) has examined the economic and political organization of the Pasto of the four towns of Carchi. 3. An important general source on the resguardo in the New Kingdom of Granada is González 1979. The resguardo system’s potential for safeguarding aboriginal rights was most fully realized in southern Colombia, where hereditary chiefs used the resguardo structure to expand their landholdings and to cement their precarious political authority (Rappaport 1990). 4. Research on the social and economic organization of Carchi in the twentieth century has been largely the province of economists. See Lehmann (1986) on the expansion of potato production in the mid-twentieth century. 5. The maintenance of indigenous identity among the descendants of the Pastos in Nariño is examined in Rappaport (1994). 6. The most extensive research on northern Andean forms of long-distance trade has been done by Frank Salomon (1986). The distinctively northern Andean trade terminology is still used by the descendants of the Pastos, who call those who sell small quantities of goods at excessive prices mindaleros. 7. Archivo Nacional del Ecuador, Quito, 1694, “Materia seguida por don Ambrosio de Prado y Sayalpud, sobre el cacicazgo de Cumbal,” Fondo Popayán, caja 13, f. 4v. See also Cardale de Schrimpff (1979) on the relationship between textiles and political authority in the pre-Hispanic period. 8. Archivo Nacional del Ecuador, Quito, 1727, “Doña Juana de Basuri y Sanbursi, sobre que se le entregue la encomienda de buesaquillo en Pasto,” Fondo Popayán, caja 45. 9. Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla, 1570–1571, “Tassacion de los tributos de los naturales de las ciudades de San Joan de Pasto y Almaguer de la governacion de Popayan hecha por el señor licenciado Garcia de Valverde oy de la Real Audiencia de San Francisco del Quito Año de MDLXX y MDLXXI años con las ordenanzas y relaçiones de la visita y otros autos a ello tocantes,” Audiencia de Quito 60:2. See also Salomon 1986: 208. 10. Archivo Histórico del Banco Central del Ecuador, Ibarra, 1606, “Testamento de Doña Catalina Tuza, principal del pueblo de Tuza,” 1335/295/1/M. 11. See Cardale de Schrimpff (1992: 113–115), who says that hat making was introduced from Ecuador in the mid-nineteenth century. The material, from Carludovica palmata, is the same as in Ecuador, but is called iraca in Nariño. See Rowe and Meisch (2005: note 9) for additional references. 12. This was true even in the mid-nineteenth century, when Felipe Pérez described the commercial production of ruanas and blankets in the Pasto region (1862: 372). Chapter 6 1. Fieldwork in Otavalo was done over twenty-one years between 1973 and 2007, including short visits in 1973 and 1974, eight and one-half months in 1978–1979, one month each in 1981 and 1984, ten months during 1985–1986, several weeks in 1987, parts of the summers of 1988 and 1989, the entire summer of 1990, several weeks in February 1991 and in the summer of 1992, throughout most of the interval from Octo-
322 Notes to Pages 134–162
ber 1992 to the end of 1995, the summers of 1996–2003 and 2005, and short visits in January 1999 and 2007. 2. McDougall’s tag identifies this shawl and the Otavalo wedding poncho acquired at the same time (40.0/8292) as “Loja, Cuenca region,” an obvious error. Both pieces were published in Larsen et al. 1976: 197. 3. A complete man’s and woman’s costume from the Otavalo area, many pieces specifically from Cumbas, was collected by Aníbal Buitrón in 1947 for the American Museum of Natural History in New York (40.0/6280–6300). Information on pieces from museum collections has been inserted into the text by the editor. A few items of this vintage also exist in the collection of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (45.123.2–3, chemises; 45.123.15–16, 32–34 belts; 45.123.20e hat with wide upturned brim). Other items in this collection identified as Otavalo are not indigenous costume (45.123.9–10, 17–19, 20a–d). Costumes from the 1960s exist in the collections of the Fowler Museum of Cultural History, UCLA (X68-2069 through 2086) and at Cornell (Robinson ms.). Other Otavalo costumes at the Fowler Museum are from the 1970s (X76-1058A-F, X761059A-P, X76-1060A-C, and 85–903). 4. The American Museum collection mentioned in note 3 has two chemises, one from Cumbas (40.0/6287) and one from Punyaro (40.0/6288), and two top sections (buches) from Quiroga embroidered in black by a mestizo woman, in designs similar to the Cumbas example (40.0/6289 and 6290). The design on the Punyaro chemise is similar to that shown here, while those on the other examples are geometricized floral patterns, more like the blouse worn by the woman in Parsons’ plate XVI, whose hat also resembles those of Cumbas. 5. A possible exception is a photo by Bodo Wuth published in 1952 (Blomberg 1952: 156) of a boy perhaps three or four years old. He is wearing a huge white hat, a white shirt, and a poncho, with a wool skirt-like garment over his legs that comes nearly to his ankles. 6. There are also two examples in the collection of the Museo del Banco Central in Quito (14-1-78 and 78-1-78) and one in the American Museum of Natural History in New York, collected by Elsie McDougall (40.0/8292, published in Larsen 1976: 197d). 7. See A. Rowe ed. 2007: chap. 6 for a description of the ingenious weaving technique. 8. The historical information in this section is derived chiefly from Obando 1986 and Tobar Bonilla 1985. Both of these studies are illustrated with line drawings by the authors. 9. Tobar Bonilla 1985: 268. Obando (1986: 86) says that the hats were formerly made in Peguche. However, Ilumán, not far from Peguche, is known as a place where considerable hat making was formerly done, so Tobar Bonilla’s information appears more reliable. Obando confirms the existence of the single hat maker in Ibarra, also mentioned by our Natabuela informants. He died in 1984. 10. Earthwatch volunteer Leslie Grace led the four visits to Natabuela in 1989 and wrote several of the reports. Other volunteers on these visits included Barbara Borders, Liz Drey, Iris Garrelfs, Eileen Hallman, and Patt Hill. I also went on one of the visits. 11. Also Català Roca 1981: 213, pl. 647. Examples in the ethnographic collection of the Banco Central in Quito include: 1-66-77, 2-66-77, 52-68-77, 1-31-77. Another
Notes to Pages 163–176 323
example is in the CIDAP collection in Cuenca (17-9-76, given by Olga Fisch), illustrated by Pfyffer (2002: cover). See also Peñaherrera and Costales 1961a: lám. V; Jaramillo Cisneros 1991: 41–42. 12. An example is in the ethnographic section of the Museo del Banco Central, listed as camisa de novio, or “bridegroom’s shirt” (4-66-77). It has yellow-green, green, and red embroidery in floral designs on the front placket panel. See also Tobar Bonilla (1985: 274–275); Obando (1986: 119). 13. It is possible that the child’s chemise in Collier and Buitrón 1949: 21 bottom, has appliqué decoration. A comparatively early East Imbabura costume is in the Lowe Art Museum in Miami, collected ca. 1943 (82.0218a–d). It includes an embroidered chemise with a collar design (rather than an actual collar), a black wool pleated skirt, a white cotton petticoat, and a seed necklace. 14. An example is in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973.259.6b. “A” is a poncho of the pink with warp-resist style (not worn in Zuleta). The museum also has a Zuleta woman’s chemise and blue acrylic skirt (1973.259.5a, b). Chapter 7 1. The figures from this engraving were redrawn several times and colored for later European publications, such as Middleton’s Compleat System of Geography (1779), Grasset de Saint-Sauveur’s Costumes civils actuels de tous les peoples connus (1784–1787), and Ferrario’s Il costume antico e moderno di tutti i popoli (1817–1826). The work was done by people who had never been to Ecuador and who altered various details for artistic effect. These later engravings should not be used to provide additional information on eighteenth-century costume in Ecuador. 2. In documents dating to 1603–1607 and the 1680s mentioned by Teresa Castelló Yturbide (Logan et al. 1994: 20). 3. Later sources frequently plagiarize Pieter de Marees. The engraving in Marees (by de Bry) appears unlikely to have been based on a sketch made in Africa, and it, too, was often plagiarized. 4. White rebozos without fringe also occur in costumbrista paintings in Colombia, although worn by indigenous women rather than blacks. See, for example, a painting by José S. de Castillo of 1834 showing a wedding dance in Guaduas (Deas et al. 1989: 133) and a painting of a mujer del pueblo, Bogotá, ca. 1835, by Auguste Le Moyne (Cárdenas Lince 2005: 33). 5. Another possible candidate (Castelló Yturbide and Martínez del Río del Redo 1971: 11) has a design entirely unlike later examples. One of the late-eighteenthcentury embroidered examples has some stripes in a large-scale warp-resist chevron design in red (Blum 1997: 59, pl. 103). The old warp-resist-dyed rebozos in the Museo Franz Mayer are dated by Irmgard Johnson to the nineteenth century (Logan et al. 1994: 27, 54). 6. Juan and Ulloa state that the cloth was woven by indigenous women on the backstrap loom. It is not clear if this was an unwarranted assumption on their part or whether the custom has changed since then, since in much of highland Ecuador in the twentieth century, men were the usual weavers.
324 Notes to Pages 178–195
7. All of the Albán paintings are illustrated in Ortiz Crespo 2005: 135–140; Bernand (1994: 98–103) illustrates the two shown here plus the Yumbo from near Quito; Salvat and Crespo (1977: 50, 173–174) illustrate the Señora Principal and both Yumbos. Posters of the paintings are also available from numerous websites. A set of four copies, excluding the two principal women, was sold at Christie’s, New York, in 1992 (www .artnet.com). 8. The India Cacique and the Llapanga are illustrated in Malaspina 2001: 270, pls. 32–33. 9. Except for the addition of butchers, this list is suspiciously like Juan and Ulloa’s, and in both cases it is followed by the same slanderous story about drunkenness. 10. In Ortiz Crespo (2005: 350–351) this engraving is compared to a later watercolor of an alfalfa seller from El Batán, which is plausible. 11. Salvat and Crespo 1977: 180 (color plate), from the Museo de Arte Colonial in Quito. 12. See Ortiz Crespo 2005: 218–219 for additional clearer examples. One ascribes the costume to Cotacachi (ibid.: 218), and the (rather garbled) engraving in El Correo de Ultramar to Otavalo, but it resembles the earlier Quito costume so closely that these attributions seem doubtful. Guerrero’s (Hallo 1981: 109), labeled only Traje Yndiano de Novia, is clearest. 13. The ponchos of several generals are illustrated in Taullard 1949: unnumbered color plate after fig. 263 (belonging to San Martín), plus figs. 264, 267–274, 277–280. 14. The engravings were supposedly based on a painting done to record a festival of 1790, now lost (Estabridis Cárdenas 2004: 121–122). Photographs of these engravings can be found online from the John Carter Brown Archive of Early American Images, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island (http://jcb.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/ detail/). The engravings show some masquerade costumes as well as Peruvians of varying ethnicities and social status in normal or festive dress. The question is whether only the masquerade costumes or all of them were based on the painting of 1790. 15. Hallo 1981: 92–93, labeled as impoverished Indians; Ortiz Crespo 2005: 412– 413, additional spinners; 334–337, female meat sellers. 16. Guerrero’s image is identified as an indigenous fruit vendor in the main plaza (Hallo 1981: 58). Similar images are simply labeled fruit seller (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 516–517). 17. The images are labeled Yndia de la Capital (Hallo 1981: 48), India mujer del alcalde (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 308) and Yndia Gobernadora—Ambato (ibid.: 309, pl. 64). Ambato is a city in central Ecuador, and presumably an identification error, although it makes one wonder if the costume or the office might have been rare or obsolete in Quito by the time this image was made. These paintings are paired with comparable ones of men, noted below. Others show indigenous women in similar costumes participating in religious observances (ibid.: 322–323). This last image is labeled chola, which in comparison with related images labeled India, seems likely to be an error. 18. See also Hallo 1981: 105, a bolsicona, with long braided hair, and a sheer white square or triangular shawl under a smaller blue pile one; 73, a vendor of used clothes wearing a hat; 74, an empanada seller, also wearing a hat. In the Madrid album, see Ortiz Crespo 2005: 302–303, pl. 61, for a woman selling sweets; 304–305, pl. 62, a woman selling sundries; 368–369, a bread seller.
Notes to Pages 195–219 325
19. See the paintings by Guerrero (Hallo 1981: 49, 51, 60, 67, 79, 94, 98) and by the painter of the Madrid album (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 248–249, 301, 356–359, 378–379). 20. The water carrier is the most frequently depicted figure. Ortiz Crespo 2005 illustrates twelve examples (pp. 52–57). See also Ades 1989: 86, fig. 3.81. 21. A pair of alpargatas of this type collected in 1919, listed as from “Quito,” is in the Museum of the American Indian (8/8901). 22. Hallo 1981: 47, 75; Ades 1989: 86, pl. 3.79; Ortiz Crespo 2005: 279, 307, pls. 53, 63. 23. The capisayo also appears in a scene of ordinary indigenous people at leisure, without its trim (Hallo 1981: 93), which is so unusual that it may not correspond to common practice. 24. An embroidered blouse also seems to be shown in an 1883 black and white engraving (after a photograph) of a huasicama (indebted servant) in Quito (Villacís Verdesoto 1981: pl. 48; Ortiz Crespo 2005: 428). She wears both a mama chumbi and a wawa chumbi with indistinct motifs, as well as a multiple-strand necklace and bead loop earrings. 25. Stübel and Reiss 1888: pls. 11–12. The man identified as from Zámbiza in the Madrid album appears to have been mixed up with the one from Nayón (Ortiz Crespo 2005: 342–345), or perhaps the costume was changing. The street sweeper in the Madrid album and the related paintings shown is presumably also from Zámbiza, although except for Guerrero’s, they lack any village identification (ibid.: 362–364). 26. Guerrero’s paintings of a similar couple (Hallo 1981: 56–57) are identified as from Nanegal, which is in the northwest not far from Gualea. Since all the other images are labeled Quixos, Archidona, or Napo, Guerrero’s identification is presumably an error. Albán’s Yumbo de Maynas and the Yumbo in Stevenson’s frontispiece are early representations of this figure. 27. The most obvious is the barber (Samaniego 1977: pl. 28), who is actually described as antiguo. 28. Samaniego 1977: pl. 13, and lower center of cover, upper left of cover; León Mera 1983: 267. 29. Franck 1917: 149–151. For example, he describes the men’s hair as long, which by this time was only true of men from north of the city. He also describes the men’s hair as wrapped with a red tape, which is actually a women’s style. His descriptions are also racist in the extreme. 30. It would be interesting to know if these ponchos were cotton or wool. The same plate (Fig. 5.1 here) also shows a black poncho with pleats perpendicular to the neck slit attributed to Otavalo. The black pleats presumably copy those found in earlier Quito costume but are not otherwise documented in Otavalo. 31. See the buche collected and documented by Aníbal Buitrón in 1947, in the American Museum of Natural History collection, 40.0/6289, illustrated on their website. Vest also collected another Otavalo-style buche in Quito, with a green floral design (TM 2007.25.2). None of these pieces is finely made, and all were undoubtedly commercial work. 32. Fowler Museum UCLA, X66.1171, 1172. 33. See also Nordenskiöld 1924: 195 (a woman from Zámbiza spinning); Gill 1934: 134, top (a family from “the suburbs of Quito” bringing brooms for sale). Also see undated postcards by Bodo Wuth, one of a woman from Calderón and one showing
326 Notes to Pages 220–240
seated women in the Calderón cemetery on the Day of the Dead. The latter at least predate 1973, when Lynn Meisch first visited Ecuador, and may date as far back as the 1940s. Unfortunately, the photographs in the Buitrón monograph are so poorly printed that little can be discerned in them. 34. An example of this style of headcloth was collected by Herbert Spinden for the Brooklyn Museum as part of an Otavalo costume in 1942 (42.385d). It is possible that at least some of these headcloths were made in Otavalo for sale to women in the Quito area. 35. In 2002, the American Museum of Natural History in New York received a gift of a long-sleeved embroidered chemise and a blue cotton skirt, 103 centimeters (401/2 inches) long, that appears to be of some age, although no collection date is given (40.1/6528A, B, photos available on the museum’s website). It is attributed to Otavalo (and may perhaps have been purchased there), but the chemise resembles those in Vest’s photos here. The skirt is longer than those collected by Beals (the dimensions and the materials of these pieces are reversed in the records.) 36. Fowler Museum UCLA, X66.1174 and 1175. Chapter 8 1. The photographs of the Latacunga men (Stübel and Reiss 1888: pls. 18–20) all show only the upper chest and hatless head. Two wear the mottled style of poncho shown in Figure 8.1, and the third wears the twill poncho with black stripes shown in Figure 8.2. The sieve seller is also reproduced in Chiriboga and Caparrini (1994: 69, pl. 14). 2. A shawl collected by Hans Disselhoff in 1937–1939 is in the Ethnologisches Museum in Dahlem (V A 2978). Pfyffer (2002: 206) mentions one purchased in Salcedo in 1942 in the Museum der Kulturen in Basel (Ivc 3718). She also notes that the same museum has similar shawls made in 1958 in Huachi and Santa Rosa, near Ambato. Santa Rosa is one of the Angaguana communities, and Huachi is in the same area. The Hearst Museum of Anthropology in Berkeley includes shawls collected in 1965–1967 (Mossman/Vitale collection). One similar to The Textile Museum example illustrated here was purchased in the Pujilí market in Cotopaxi Province (16-20188). Others in the Salcedo-area style were purchased in the Cuenca market in Azuay Province (16-20189, 16-20190, 16-20195, 16-20196, 16-20212, and probably 16-20193, 16-20221). 3. Good half-length photographs of women from Pasa and Quizapincha are included in Peñaherrera de Costales and Costales Samaniego 1961a: láms. XIII, XIV. 4. V A 66765 through V A 66779. The relatively high catalog numbers are because the collection was removed to Leipzig during World War II and returned only in 1991–1992. Undated color photographs of Salasacas by Bodo Wuth showing costume from the 1960s or earlier are in Bustamente 1987: 13, 60–63. 5. See also Chiriboga and Caparrini (1994: 116, pl. 52), who include a photograph of the chest and head of a Salasaca man, dated ca. 1920. The photograph is taken looking up and clearly shows the forehead hair of the man tucked up under his hat. 6. Other photographs by the same person were taken in the Riobamba market (e.g., Fig. 9.13), so it is possible that this one was taken on the south side of the mountain, in Chimborazo Province, although the woman’s costume is more like Llangahua.
Notes to Pages 241–268 327
7. This information is from John Topic, Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario (personal communication, 1994), who has studied the documents for this area in the National Archive. He derives the idea that the Tomavelas and Chillanes might refer to ethnic groups from the fact that there are multiple parcialidades within each of these categories. Tomavela and Chillan (modern Chillanes) were also the names of major towns in the area. The notion that there was a Chimbo ethnic group is another figment of Juan de Velasco’s imagination. Chapter 9 1. Ortiz Crespo (2005: 236) suggests that San Miguel should be interpreted as in Cotopaxi Province, based on the presence of the llama, since llamas still exist there. But the labeling of the other images contradicts this idea, and the presence of llamas in Chimborazo Province at that date is plausible enough. We saw llamas in Tungurahua Province at the foot of Mt. Chimborazo (A. Rowe ed. 1998: 155), and in Southern Chimborazo (information from Laura Miller) as well as in Cotopaxi. See also Fig. 8.16 here. 2. See also a color photograph by Bodo Wuth, probably taken in the 1940s or 1950s, published as a postcard and in Bustamente 1987: 10. 3. A kawiña belt, captioned “Riobamba,” is illustrated in Uhle 1889–1890, II: pl. 12, upper left. It is identical to modern examples. 4. Nor does it preclude the possibility that the vendor was protecting her actual source. Piedad Peñaherrera de Costales and Alfredo Costales Samaniego (1957: 169) say that Pulucate was famous for its embroidered chemises, but unfortunately they do not illustrate any examples, so it is not clear which style they might have meant. They also say the chemises were worn by single (i.e., younger) women. 5. The plate has frequently been reproduced elsewhere, and Bernand (1994: 90–91) shows a detail of the relevant corner. 6. Additional examples are illustrated in color in Colburn 2001: figs. 1, 5, 9, 10, 11. The piece in fig. 5 has the main design stripes in two shades of indigo. Two photographs of a man identified as from Huayrapata, San José de Poaló (in Tungurahua, not Cotopaxi), and wearing a poncho of this style, were published by Peñaherrera de Costales and Costales Samaniego 1961b: 175, 401. So it seems that the style was prestigious enough to be coveted outside of Chimborazo Province. 7. This poncho was purchased in Cochapamba, Cotopaxi Province, but the vendor said he had acquired it from a soldier passing through, so, alas, this does not indicate where it was made. 8. A. Rowe ed. 1998: pl. X; A. Rowe ed. 2007: 101, fig. 3.24. The poncho in Colburn 2001, fig. 13, may be an older example, unusual for the parallelogram design in the outer stripes. 9. For additional detail and photographs, see A. Rowe ed. 1998: 230–235, by Lynn Meisch. 10. For additional detail and photographs, see A. Rowe ed. 1998: 235–242, by Lynn Meisch. 11. For detailed information on how the belts are woven, see A. Rowe ed. 2007: 195–198, 207–216, by Ann Rowe and Laura Miller.
328 Notes to Pages 271–282
Chapter 10 1. Lynn Hirschkind’s analysis of Azuay’s social organization (1980: 130–175) is somewhat different; she makes a fundamental distinction between urban and rural populations. Urbanites can be divided into “elite” and “pueblo” (commoner) groups. Commoners can in turn be differentiated into rich and poor, with the poor defined more by the manual nature of their work than by income. Ricos (wealthy but socially undistinguished members of the elite) and rich and poor commoners (excluding cholos) correspond to the group I have called the urban middle class. Hirschkind’s descriptions of them are detailed and informative. “Cholos,” according to Hirschkind, are a subgroup of urban poor commoners, identifiable by costume. Hirschkind describes only two rural groups: “indios” (indigenous persons) and “campesinos” (peasants). Indigenous persons speak Quichua; wear special costumes; and maintain a stoic, humble demeanor toward strangers. Campesinos dress in cholo garb, speak Spanish, and tend to be both more assertive and less impoverished than indigenous persons. Hirschkind describes her social categories as “emic,” that is, reflective of local people’s own perceptions and terminologies. However, this static organizational scheme fails to account for the distinctive shared costume (surely reflecting, at some level, a shared identity) of urban cholos and rural campesinos, whom Hirschkind assigns to fundamentally distinct social groups. 2. According to Hernando Pablos, an early Spanish settler in Cuenca, only three thousand Cañaris survived of an original population of fifty thousand (Pablos 1983: 86). However, he then notes that by the time of his writing, in 1582, the population was twelve thousand. Since the introduction of European diseases would likely have prevented natural population increase, the figure of three thousand after the Inca civil wars seems improbably low. 3. Hirschkind asserts that another significant factor in the prevalence of small and medium-sized landholdings in Azuay is a comparatively high percentage of Spaniards and their descendants among the rural population. She describes these people as a “landed peasantry,” and suggests that historically they were in a stronger position to protect their lands and legal interests than were indigenous persons (Hirschkind 1980: 55–60). The evidence she cites, however (including phenotypical characteristics of Azuay’s modern population and historical references to whites and mestizos living in the region), is ambiguous. 4. Rowe is responsible for the text on the Carmen murals and Madrid album and for text based on museum textiles. Meisch is responsible for the field information (see note 5). 5. Lynn A. Meisch lived in Cuenca and did research in the Cuenca Valley at intervals during two and a half years in 1977–1979, with short return visits in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1992, and 1993. For more information and photos of Azuay indigenous costume of the 1970s and 1980s, see the chapter on Azuay by Meisch in A. Rowe ed. 1998: 261–262 and pl. XV. 6. For more detail on how the shawls are made, see also A. Rowe ed. 2007: 84–100. For additional information and photographs of cholo costume of the 1970s and 1980s, see the Meisch chapter on Azuay in A. Rowe ed. 1998: 254–261 and pl. XIV. 7. A Peruvian shawl accessioned in 1891 at the Field Museum of Natural His-
Notes to Pages 283–302 329
tory in Chicago (45.6102) is illustrated on their website: www.fieldmuseum.org/ research_collections/anthropology/anthro_sites/textiles/. It has dark designs on a light background and a fine knotted fringe, though it lacks the end border found on some other examples. 8. Miller and Proyecto 1986: 22–25; Miller 1991: 345–350. 9. For example, see a number of the shawls collected in 1967–1969 now in the Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley (e.g., 16-20197, 16-20200, 16-20201). Other Azuay shawls in this collection have completely unfinished fringe, presumably intended for purchase by women who would do the knotting (e.g., 16-20191 and 16-20192). 10. The shawls illustrated by Penley are in the collection of the museum run by the Centro Interamericano de Artesanías y Artes Populares in Cuenca. 11. A cholo woman’s costume, acquired in 1975, consisting of a blouse of the pullover style but without smocking, red pollera, blue bolsicón, Peruvian-style zhiru shawl but coarsely woven with short coarsely knotted fringe, and cachemira shawl, is in the Fowler Museum of Cultural History at UCLA (X75-92 through X75-96). The Fowler Museum also has a child’s long-sleeved blouse with back opening and a red pollera acquired in 1967 that can be attributed to the Cuenca area (X67-4732 and 4758). 12. Margaret Young-Sánchez lived in Gualaceo from November 1985 through July 1986, doing a research project on cholos and cholo costume as a graduate-student project in art history at Columbia University. 13. A. Rowe ed. 1998: 260, fig. 249; A. Rowe ed. 2007: pl. 7. Chapter 11 1. Field research in Saraguro was conducted at intervals during two years between December 1977 and December 1979, with shorter return visits in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1993, and 1994. See also Meisch 1982 and 1991 and chapter 14 by Meisch in A. Rowe ed. 1998. 2. The preceding plate is an image of a woman labeled Yndia de Saraguro but in typescript, not handwriting like the male image, so the label is certainly later than the watercolor. Unfortunately, it is possible that the identification is incorrect. Perhaps most telling is that the woman’s hat is not the same as the man’s, but has a lower crown and slightly narrower brim and is also a lighter color. Drawn in three-quarter view from the back, she appears to be wearing a black knee-length wrapped anaku and a black lliglla that is almost as long as the anaku. Black clothes are congruent with Saraguro styles, but the short wrapped anaku is unlike all the other later evidence. 3. See also another photograph of a man published in 1946 but probably taken around 1920 (Chiriboga and Caparrini 1994: 117, fig. 53). The man wears, besides his hat and plain dark poncho, a commercial striped shirt, knee-length pants, and sandals. His hair is long and loose. 4. See Macas, Belote, and Belote (2003: 218–219) for a detailed description of the braid. 5. The Textile Museum reproduction pieces mentioned here were commissioned in 1994 from Nati Guamán of Las Lagunas and were woven by her male relatives. 6. Editor’s note: Saraguro costumes are in the collection of the Costume Insti-
330 Notes to Pages 305–308
tute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acquired in 1973 (1973.259.3 and 4, plus 1973.259.7–8), and in the National Museum of the American Indian, acquired in 1983 as a gift of the government of Ecuador (25/723 through 25/744), evidently collected in 1980, the date of the comments on the catalog cards by Jaime Reibel. The NMAI collection also includes nontextile items (through 25/782). The blouse in the Metropolitan Museum is of pink satin (1973.259.3a). The Textile Museum collection includes male costume collected by Jaime Reibel (some commissioned by him) between 1978 and 1985 (1988.17.1–5, 7–10, 12–15), women’s costume and men’s pants acquired in Quito in 1989 (1989.22.5–10), and miscellaneous items to complete the costumes, collected by Lynn Meisch in 1978–1981 and 1992–1994 (1979.2.1–2, 1981.33.1–2, 1993.24.1–3, 1994.15.1–2, 1994.18.1, 1995.7.1–8). In 1988, a Saraguro man’s costume was on display at the Casa de Cultura in Quito and a woman’s costume at the museum in the Equatorial monument. 7. Editor’s note: Similar necklaces are made by the Guaymí in Panama (TM 1997.6.1) and by several North American Indian groups (Dubin 1999: 213, 325, 522– 523) since the late nineteenth century, when they were probably introduced by outsiders. 8. Similar belts are made and worn in the Tarabuco area of Bolivia (TM 1982.43.59). 9. These plants have not been identified, but see A. Rowe ed. (2007: 262) for some possibilities. 10. NMAI 25/723 and TM 1995.7.7a,b (from Cañicapa, a day’s walk northeast of Tenta).
Glossary ann pollard rowe
(Q ) = Quichua; (S) = Spanish; (T) = Taíno acrylic. Synthetic fiber that mimics the appearance of wool, although it is often more brightly colored. Agave. Plant genus originating in Mexico. The species Agave americana was introduced into Ecuador during the colonial period. It has long, fleshy leaves from which fibers are extracted. See also Miller et al. 2005. aksu (Q , Spanish spelling acso). Inca-style woman’s wrapped dress. Term used in the southern part of the Inca Empire in place of anaku. alforja (S, from Arabic). Double bag, made by folding each end of a rectangle toward the center. Introduced by the Spanish during the colonial period but often backstrap-loom woven. See also backstrap loom. alpargata (S, also spelled alpargate). Espadrilles introduced from Spain. In Ecuador, they are usually made with braided chawar or rubber soles and cloth toe covers, plus heel strap and tie. See also chawar. alternating float weave. Simple weave derived from plain weave in which alternate yarns are interlaced 3/1 in alternating alignment, forming 3-span warp floats on one face and 3-span weft floats on the opposite face (Emery 1980: 114–115). In Ecuador, fabrics woven in this structure are usually warp-predominant, so the warp-float face is used as the front. anaku (Q , Spanish spelling anaco). Originally the Inca-style woman’s full-length rectangular wrapped dress, pinned at the shoulders and belted, in the northern part of the Inca Empire, including Ecuador. It continued to be worn in several areas of Ecuador until recent memory. In the twentieth century, it usually refers to a wrapped skirt (half length) made of a rectangle and secured with a belt. There may be few or many tucks taken at the waist, and its length is variable. In Saraguro, the term refers to a skirt with pressed pleats sewn into a waistband. backstrap loom. Indigenous loom in which tension is maintained by a strap passing around the weaver’s back or hips. bayeta (S). Coarse treadle-loom woven wool fabric. The equivalent English fabric
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name is baize. The same term is sometimes used for an indigenous woman’s shawl in Ecuador. See also treadle loom. bolsicón (S). A European-style gathered skirt, worn by women of intermediate social status in Azuay over a pollera. Twentieth-century examples are blue or green and have a series of horizontal tucks near the lower edge. See also pollera. bolsicona (S). Woman of intermediate social status, equivalent to chola. Term used in nineteenth-century Quito and in the first half of the twentieth century in Imbabura Province. See also cholo. bound-warp resist-dyed. A technique in which groups of selected warp yarns have been partially wrapped and bound, and then dyed before weaving to create designs in the finished fabric. See also warp and A. Rowe ed. 2007: chaps. 2–3. cabuya (T). Fiber from the leaves of either Furcraea or Agave. calzón (S). Spanish-style men’s pants. camelid. A member of the camel family. There are four Andean camelids, the domesticated alpaca and llama, and the wild vicuña and guanaco. They are so closely related that it can be hard to distinguish them in the archaeological record, but llamas seem to predominate in Ecuador. The undercoat hair of all these animals can be used for spinning and weaving. camisa (S). Spanish-style woman’s blouse or chemise or a man’s shirt. See also chemise. changalli (Q , leg or thigh wrapping). An apron-like rectangular panel worn in Central Chimborazo Province over the front of a wrapped dress or skirt. chawar (Q , classic Inca ch’awar). Fiber from the leaves of Furcraea andina, a plant indigenous to the Andean area. The fiber, which is similar to maguey, is used for binding resist for dyeing, woven food sacks, rope, braided sandal soles, looped bags, etc. See also Miller et al. 2005. chemise. The European prototype was a woman’s undergarment in fashionable dress, with short sleeves and a knee-length slightly flared lower portion. In rural dress, the upper part was often decorated and designed to be seen, though usually worn with some type of vest or jacket over it. In Ecuadorian costume, it was worn with a skirt and shawl. The length of the chemise varied depending on the length of the skirt. cholo (S). Term used in Cañar and Azuay for a group of people with a distinctive costume intermediate between mestizos-whites and indigenous people in the socioeconomic hierarchy. See also mestizo. chumbi (Q , classic Inca chumpi). Handwoven belt. cochineal. Red or purple dye from an insect (Dactylopius spp.), indigenous to the Americas, that is parasitic on the prickly pear cactus. See also A. Rowe ed. 2005: 266–277. complementary-warp weave. A weave with two sets of warp, each of a different color, that are co-equal in the fabric. One set floats regularly on one face of the fabric while the other set floats regularly on the opposite face. See also float; warp; and A. Rowe ed. 2007: chaps. 6–7. Creole. In Latin America, the term (criollo in Spanish) refers to a person of Spanish descent born in the Americas and residing there. The term distinguishes them from Spaniards born in Spain, a requirement for many colonial offices. In Latin America, it does not imply mixed blood as it does in North America.
Glossary 333
cumbi, cumbe, Spanish spellings of qompi (Q ). Fine Inca cloth. cusma, cuzma, cushma, Spanish spellings of kusma or kushma (Q ). Man’s tunic. See also kushma. dovetail cord. A cord around which both ends of the warp pass during weaving, the warp yarns from each direction alternating (see also warp). The cord is removed when weaving is complete so that the fabric can be opened out flat. See also A. Rowe ed. 2007: 16, fig. 1.3. dye. A liquid containing a color-producing compound capable of being chemically bonded to fibers. See also A. Rowe ed. 2007: chap. 9 for Ecuadorian dyeing techniques. faldellín (S). A Spanish-style skirt of circular cut with the ends overlapping in front and trimming bands along the vertical and horizontal edges. It was worn by Creole and mestizo women in eighteenth-century Quito and Cuenca, as well as Lima and Trujillo in Peru. float. Any portion of a warp or weft element that extends unbound over two or more elements of the opposite set on either face of a fabric (Emery 1980: 75). See also warp; weft. Furcraea. Plant genus originating in tropical America. The species Furcraea andina is common in Ecuador. It has long, fleshy leaves from which fibers are extracted, for use in making looped bags, braided sandal soles, woven food sacks, etc. The fiber is called chawar. gauze weave. A weave in which adjacent warp yarns cross and re-cross each other in a regular way, with the crosses held in place by weft yarns, forming open spaces in the fabric (Emery 1980: 180–186). See also warp; weft. hacienda (S). A large estate consisting of agricultural and grazing land. heading cord. The first weft at the end selvedge of a fabric, typically thicker than the regular weft yarn. See also selvedge; weft. huasipungo (Q ). A plot of land belonging to an hacienda that is worked by an indigenous family and the produce kept in exchange for their labor on other hacienda lands. This form of serfdom was abolished by the 1964 Law of Agrarian Reform. See also hacienda. indigo. Blue dye. The dye compound (indigotin) is produced by various plants, of which the most important one native to the Americas is Indigofera suffruticosa. The same compound is also now produced synthetically. See also A. Rowe ed. 2005: 254–266. interlacing. A fabric structure in which each element simply passes over or under elements that cross its path (Emery 1980: 62). jerga (S). Coarse twill-woven wool cloth, woven on the treadle loom. See also treadle loom; twill weave. jirga poncho (S, with Q pronunciation). Poncho made from jerga fabric. The style worn in several areas of Ecuador is white (sometimes overdyed red or purple) with narrow black warp stripes at about 2.5-centimeter (1-inch) intervals. kawiña chumbi (Q ). Belt woven of wool or acrylic in a complementary-warp weave. It has a central stripe in green and red, side stripes in yellow and black or purple, and red edges. Woven mainly in Central Chimborazo but worn all over the province and in Bolívar Province. See also A. Rowe ed. 2007: pl. 4, left, and 189–195, 203–207.
334 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
kushma (Q , classic Inca kusma). Term for a man’s tunic in the northern part of the Inca Empire. In Ecuador, it is often made of one loom panel with a neck slit woven in, sometimes sewn up the sides (Otavalo, Saraguro) and sometimes not (Chimborazo, Cañar); it is often worn belted. liencillo (S). Fine, plain cotton cloth, handwoven on the treadle loom. See also treadle loom. lienzo (S). Plain cotton cloth, handwoven on the treadle loom. See also treadle loom. llama (Q ). Domesticated Andean camelid, still raised in small numbers in central Ecuador primarily as a pack animal and for meat, but the hair is sometimes spun and woven. lliglla (Q , classic Inca lliklla; Spanish spellings lliclla, lliquida, etc.). Woman’s rectangular shawl, worn pinned on the chest. The term is Inca, but it is used in only a few areas, including Saraguro and the indigenous parts of Azuay. loom. A device for weaving that contains a means of lifting selected warp yarns above other warp yarns, forming a space through which the weft is passed. A loom also includes a means for stretching the warp. See also warp; weft. looping. The process of making a fabric with a single element that is both put through the edge of the existing fabric and crossed over itself, forming a loop (Emery 1980:31). The entire length of the element must be pulled through the fabric to form each new loop. macana (S). Warp-resist-patterned shawl with fringed ends. Term commonly used for the shawls made in Rumipamba in Cotopaxi Province and occasionally for the shawls in Azuay. See warp resist. maguey. A plant of the genus Agave originating in Mexico. In Mexico, several closely related species of Agave are usually included under this name, but in Ecuador, Agave americana is generally meant, introduced into Ecuador during the later colonial period. It has long, fleshy leaves from which fibers are extracted for use in bound-warp-resist dyeing, looped bags, etc. See also Agave and Miller et al. 2005. mama chumbi (Q , mother belt). Wide underbelt. Those worn in Otavalo, Pichincha, and Central Chimborazo are red with green borders and have four selvedges and a heavy cabuya (sometimes cotton) weft. See also cabuya. mestizo (S). Literally, a person of mixed European and indigenous ancestry, but in Ecuador, the term implies a social class, somewhere between the top and the bottom, rather than race. mestizo-white. General reference to nonindigenous people. mitima (Q , Spanish spelling). Person moved by the Incas from previously conquered areas to newly conquered ones as part of the pacification process. obraje (S). Spanish-run factories common during the colonial period that produced textile yardage on Spanish-style equipment. paño (S). 1. Wool treadle-loom or machine-woven fabric, finer than bayeta. See also bayeta; treadle loom. 2. Local term for the rebozo-like rectangular warpresist-patterned shawl with fringed ends made and worn in Azuay Province. See also rebozo. plain weave. The simplest possible interlacing of warp and weft elements in which each weft element passes alternately over and under successive warp elements (over
Glossary 335
one, under one), and each reverses the procedure of the one before it (Emery 1980: 76). See also warp; weft. plying. The process of twisting together two or more spun yarns to create a larger, stronger, and more even yarn. See also spinning. pollera (S). Spanish-style gathered skirt sewn into a waistband. The lower edge may be embroidered, usually by machine. poncho (S). Man’s overgarment consisting of a square or rectangle with a neck slit in the center. In Ecuador, ponchos are usually made of two loom panels sewn together, except in Salasaca where they are a single panel. rebozo (S). Woman’s rectangular shawl, usually with fringed ends, often worn with both ends over the left shoulder. The term was first used in this sense in Mexico, and is so used in this book. But in Ecuador more recently it has been used for different types of shawls in different areas. For example, it may refer to a shawl also used as a carrying cloth (e.g., Otavalo and Salasaca). In Azuay, it refers to a ceremonial shawl. resist dyeing. A method of patterning yarns or cloth by protecting selected areas so that they are able to “resist” the dye when the material is immersed and remain undyed. ruana (S). Term for the poncho used in northern Ecuador and Colombia. See also poncho. S-spun; S-plied. A way of describing the lie of the fibers in a spun or plied yarn. The slant is parallel to the slant of the midpoint of the letter S when the yarn is viewed vertically. Compare Z-spun; Z-plied. selvedge. The edge of a fabric where the elements of one set reverse direction around the elements of the opposite set. Most woven fabrics have weft (side) selvedges parallel to the warp direction. Many Andean textiles woven on indigenous looms have warp (end) selvedges as well. spindle. Stick used to facilitate the spinning of short fibers, and on which the yarn is wound after spinning. See also spinning. spindle whorl. Small circular weight on a spindle that helps give it momentum when it is spinning. See also spindle; spinning. spinning. Process of creating a continuous yarn by drawing out and twisting together massed short fibers, usually facilitated by the rotation of a spindle. See also spindle and Meisch, Miller, and Rowe 2005. supplementary warp. Extra set of warp yarns added between the ground-warp yarns. In Ecuador, it is floated either on the front of the fabric to create patterns or on the back between pattern areas. See also float; warp; and A. Rowe ed. 2007: chap. 4. synthetic dye. Dye in which the coloring agent is chemically manufactured. synthetic fiber. Fiber manufactured from coal-tar derivatives. Examples include polyester, nylon, and acrylic. tapestry weave. Weft-faced plain weave with the patterns created by reversing the direction of the weft yarns at the edges of each color area (Emery 1980: 78–81). See also weft. treadle loom. European-style loom in which the warp yarns are separated for the passage of weft by depressing foot pedals or treadles. See also weft and A. Rowe ed. 2007: chap. 8.
336 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
tupu (Q , Spanish spelling topo). Straight pin used to secure indigenous women’s wrapped dresses and shawls. tupullina (Q ). Horizontally wrapped Inca-derived woman’s garment, pinned on each shoulder with a tupu. In Otavalo, the term referred to the full-length Incastyle dress, whereas in Saraguro, it referred to an upper-body garment. See also tupu. turn-banded twill. A warp-faced twill weave with a weft interlacing order of over two under one (or vice versa), with the direction of the diagonal changing after every second weft, on a horizontal axis, and with the face of the weave turned after every third (or fifth) weft yarn, creating a design of horizontal bands. See also twill weave; weft; and A. Rowe ed. 2007: chap. 5. twill weave. A weave with floats of consistent length in diagonal alignment (Emery 1980: 92–100). See also float. ushuta (Q , classic Inca usut’a; Spanish spellings ojota, oxota). Sandals, usually with leather or rubber soles. vara (S). Old Spanish unit of measurement, equivalent to about 84 centimeters (33 inches). warp. On a loom, the set of yarns stretched in place before the actual weaving process can begin. In a finished fabric, it is the longitudinal set of elements. Compare weft. warp-faced. In weaving, when the warp elements outnumber and hide the weft elements. See also warp; weft. warp resist. A patterning technique in which portions of the warp yarns are protected from the dye bath before weaving. In Ecuador, warp yarns are protected by wrapping and binding them with another yarn. See also warp. wawa chumbi (Q , baby belt). Long, narrow belt worn over the mama chumbi. weaving. Although sometimes used for any interworking of fibrous elements, the term more often refers to making cloth on a loom. See also loom. weft. On a loom, the weft is inserted over and under the warp yarns during the weaving process. In a finished fabric, the weft is the transverse set of elements. Compare warp. weft-faced. In weaving, when the weft elements outnumber and hide the warp elements. See also warp; weft. Z-spun; Z-plied. A way of describing the lie of the fibers in a spun or plied yarn. The slant is parallel to the slant of the midpoint of the letter Z when the yarn is viewed vertically. Compare S-spun; S-plied.
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Contributors
a n n p o l l a r d r o w e, research associate of Western Hemisphere textiles, The Textile Museum, Washington, DC l y n n a . m e i s c h, professor of anthropology, Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga s u z a n n e a u s t i n, interim dean, College of Education and Human Development, and professor of history and Latin American studies, University of Delaware, Newark k a r e n o l s e n b r u h n s, professor emerita of anthropology, San Francisco State University, California j o a n n e r a p p a p o r t, professor of Latin American cultural studies and anthropology (Department of Spanish and Portuguese), Georgetown University, Washington, DC j o h n h o w l a n d r o w e, 1918–2004, professor emeritus of anthropology, University of California, Berkeley m a r g a r e t y o u n g - s á n c h e z, Frederick and Jan Mayer curator of pre-Columbian art, Denver Art Museum
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Index
Italic page numbers refer to figures. achiote, 23, 27 Achupallas, Chimborazo Province, 265 acrylic, 141, 331 Africa, 174, 313 African-Ecuadorian costume, 3, 214 Agave americana, 7, 331 aksu, 85, 172, 179, 184, 331. See also anaku Albán, Vicente, 178–179, 181, 183, 185, 202, 310, 311, 313, 324n7, 325n26, Pl. 2a, b alforjas, 301, 331 all-in-one garments, 22–23, 38, 39, 40, 41, 49 Almagro, Diego de, 83, 319n4 alpargatas: adoption of, 6, 312, 313; and Carchi and Nariño, 125; and colonial men’s costume, 105; defined, 331; and Natabuela men’s costume, 161–163; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous men’s costume, 222, 222, 223; and Otavalo men’s costume, 149, 155; and Quito indigenous men’s costume, 195, 197, 197; and Quito mestizo women’s costume, 193; and women’s costume, 145, 145. See also sandals alternating float weave, 228, 230, 331 Alvarado, Pedro de, 83 Ambato, Tungurahua Province, 230 anaku: and Atuntaqui, 137; and Azuay indigenous women’s costume, 280; and Bolívar women’s costume, 242, 242,
310; and Chimborazo women’s costume, 243–246, 245, 246, 249, 256, 256, 257, 264–265, 309–310; and colonial women’s costume, 105, 107; and Cotopaxi women’s costume, 226; defined, 331; E Imbabura and NE Pichincha women’s costume, 165, 166; and European silhouette, 5; and Ibarra, 137, 137; and Inca women’s costume, 5, 85, 309; and Natabuela, 158; and National Geographic photograph, 137, 138; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous women’s costume, 219–221, 219, Pl. 4; and Otavalo women’s costume, 138– 140, 139, 145, 209, 309, 310; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 202–204, 202, 205, 206, 207, 212–214, 213, 215, 217, 309; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 170, 172, 179, 180, 181, 183, 184, Pl. 2b; and Quito traveling costume, 200, 209, 210, 210; and Saraguro women’s costume, 302, 309–311, 329n2; and treadle looms, 10; and Tungurahua women’s costume, 236, 238, 239–240, 240, 309–310 André, Édouard, 298–299 Angaguana, Tungurahua Province, 236 Angamarca, Cotopaxi Province, 228, 229 Angochagua, Imbabura Province, 165, 168 Angrand, Léonce, 186 Atacames culture, 16, 52
370 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Atau Huallpa (Inca ruler), 74–76, 79–82, 96, 319n3 Atienza (cleric), 87, 93, 320n8 Atuntaqui, Imbabura Province, 132, 136–137, 149 Audiencia of Quito, 96–98, 104, 111–113, 273, 275 Azogues, Cañar Province, 281, 282, 296 Azuay Province, Ecuador: agricultural production in, 272–273; cholo class, 3, 195, 270–279, 328n1; cholo men’s costume, 281, 282, 293–294, 295, 296, 296, 314; cholo women’s costume, 281–282, 282, 283, 286, 291, 292, 293, 293, 312, 329n11; and colonial men’s costume, 104; indigenous men’s costume, 280, 281; indigenous women’s costume, 280, 281, 282, 291, 309; Integration Period, 21; and intermediate social status, 3; and Late Formative villages, 14; map of, xxiii; Panama-hat industry in, 276, 281; and pre-Inca textiles, 66; Regional Development Period, 18; and Spanish men’s costume, 279; and Spanish women’s costume, 279–280 bags: double bags, 60, 61; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 93; and Inca men’s costume, 88, 88; and Inca women’s costume, 87; and JamaCoaque figurines, 34 Bahía culture: and all-in-one garments, 38, 39; and body piercing, 36, 37; figurines, 30–31, 32, 33, 39; and headdresses, 33, 37, 38; and jewelry, 35–36; and pre-Inca textiles, 52; skirts, 27, 31, 32, 37; and social stratification, 18; and tabards, 31–32, 316n10 bayeta: and Azuay Province, 274, 281; defined, 331–332; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha men’s costume, 168; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha women’s costume, 165; production of, 132; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 173 Beals, Ralph, 217, 220, 222, 326n35 belts: and Cañar men’s costume, 268, 310; and Chimborazo men’s costume, 258, 266, 310; and Chimborazo women’s costume, 244–247, 247, 265; and colo-
nial men’s costume, 105; and Cotopaxi women’s costume, 226, 228, 229, 230; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha women’s costume, 165, 310; and Inca women’s costume, 86; and Nayón, 220, 221; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous women’s costume, 221; and Otavalo, 140–141, 141; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 203, 204, 207; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 179, 180, 181; and Saraguro men’s costume, 306, 310, 313; and Saraguro women’s costume, 302, 304; and Tungurahua women’s costume, 233, 234, 235, 236, 240, 240. See also chumbi Benalcázar, Sebastián de, 82–83, 84, 96–97, 108 blouses: adoption of, 5; and Azuay cholo women’s costume, 286, 291, 292, 329n11; and Azuay indigenous women’s costume, 281; and Azuay mestizo women’s costume, 280; and Bolívar women’s costume, 242, 242; and Cañar women’s costume, 266, 267; and Chimborazo women’s costume, 249, 252, 252, 253; and Cotopaxi women’s costume, 228; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous women’s costume, 220–221; and Otavalo women’s costume, 137, 141–142, 142; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 203, 212, 214, 217, 218, 325n24, 325n31; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 191; and Saraguro women’s costume, 302, 303; and Tungurahua women’s costume, 239, 239 body painting: and Chorrera culture, 27, 28, 29, 316n8; and Guangala culture, 29; and Machalilla figurines, 26; and pre-Inca Ecuadorian costume, 23, 49; and Valdivia figurines, 24 body piercing: and anti-infection agents, 37, 316n11; and Bahía figurines, 36, 37; and Jama-Coaque figurines, 36–37, 36, 42; and pre-Inca Ecuadorian costume, 23; and Tolita culture, 36, 37, 42 Bolívar Province, Ecuador: costume of, 241–242, 310; map of, xxii
Index 371
Bolivia, 90–91, 244, 310 bolsicón: and Azuay cholo women’s costume, 293, 293, 312, 329n11; defined, 5, 332 bolsiconas: defined, 332; in Otavalo, 134, 136; in Quito, 3, 194, 214, 312, 324n18 bound-warp resist-dyed, 57–58, 59, 332. See also warp-resist dyed Brown, Joseph, 186 Buitrón, Aníbal, 139, 143–146, 218–219, 222–223, 322n3, 325n31 Buitrón, Barbara Salisbury, 219, 222, 223 Bulcay, Azuay Province, 282 Bulshun, Azuay Province, 282 Cabello Balboa, Miguel, 71, 73, 297 cabuya, 7, 63, 332 Cacha, Chimborazo Province, 248–249, 250, 252, 255, 260, 263–264, 263 Cajabamba, Chimborazo Province, 248, 256, Pl. 6 Calderón, Pichincha Province, 218, 219–223, 222 calzón, 149, 332. See also pants camelid hair: and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 93, 94; and Inca textiles, 84; and pre-Hispanic costume, 49; and pre-Inca textiles, 7, 8, 51, 62–69, 64 camisas (men’s). See shirts camisas (women’s), 332. See also chemises camisetas, 23, 87, 93, 108 Cañari ethnic group, 21, 37, 244 Cañar language, 79, 243 Cañar people: bronze ornaments, 46; and colonial men’s costume, 104; and dress pins, 45, 316–317n14; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 94; and Inca conquest and rule, 71–73, 79–81, 311; kings of, 70; and skirts, 46, 46; and Spanish conquest, 81–82, 96, 110; tombs of, 19 Cañar Province, Ecuador: Integration Period, 21, 45, 316–317n14; and Late Formative villages, 14; map of, xxiii; and men’s costume, 37, 89, 89, 207, 266, 267, 268–269, 310, 314, Pl. 8; and women’s costume, 46, 46, 266, 267, 309, 311–312 Cangahua, Pichincha Province, 164
capes, 22, 31, 33, 49, 109, 177, 198, 316n10 capisayo, 167–168, 176–177, 186, 198–199, 216, 325n23 Capulí culture, 19–21, 42, 43, 44–45, 44, 63, 316n13 Carchi Province, Ecuador, 9, 63, 65, 73–74, 120–121, 123–129, 321n2. See also Capulí culture Catholic Church, 113–115, 117, 252, 274 Cayambe, Imbabura Province, 97, 167, 168 Cayambi language, 79 Cayambi people, 70–71, 73–74, 121 Cebadas, Chimborazo Province, 249 centro, as gathered skirt, 5 Cerotal, Imbabura Province, 140 Cerro Narrío site, 16, 21 Chachi people, 60, 317–318n23 Challcu Chima (Inca commander), 80, 81 changalli, 246, 256, 256, 332 chaps, 187, 201, 216, 257, 266, 268–269, 301, 306 Charton, Édouard, 187–188, 204 chawar, 7, 62, 63, 68, 332 chemises: adoption of, 5; and Chimborazo women’s costume, 191–192, 248– 249, 249, 250, 251, 252, 252, 256–257, 256, 265; defined, 332; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha women’s costume, 164–165, 313; embroidery on, 142–143, 142, 164, 323n13; and Imbabura Province, 137, 141–142; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous women’s costume, 219, Pl. 4; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 179, 180, 189–192, 192, 313, Pl. 2b; and Quito mestizo women’s costume, 175, 176 Chibuleo, Tungurahua Province, 230, 236–237, 237, 238, 239, 239 Chile, 177 Chillogallo, Pichincha Province, 205, 207, 214 Chillos, Pichincha Province, 97, 100, 101 Chimborazo Province, Ecuador: belt style in, 92; central area, 243, 244– 264, 309, 310, 314; eastern area, 243, 245, 249, 257; and Inca administration, 78, 310; map of, xxii; and men’s costume, 195, 207, 216–217, 243, 245, 256,
372 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
257–258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263–266, 263, 264, 310, 314, 327n6, 327n7, Pl. 7; southern area, 243, 252, 264–266, 309; and women’s costume, 191–192, 243, 244–249, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252–253, 252, 253, 254, 255–2586, 255, 256, 264–265, 309–310, 326n6, Pl. 6. See also specific towns cholo class: in Azuay Province, 3, 195, 270–279, 328n1; costume of, 276, 278–282, 282, 283, 286, 293–294, 293, 295, 296, 296, 312, 314, 329n11; defined, 332; in Quito, 188, 189, 191, 193–195, 199, 223 Chordeleg, Azuay Province, 293, 296 Chorrera culture: and body decoration, 26, 27, 28, 29, 29, 316n8; and ceramic mold, 315–316n7; figurines, 26, 27, 27, 28, 29, 52, 316n8; Formative Period, 15–16; and pre-Inca textiles, 52; Regional Development Period, 16–17; and rock-crystal beads, 28, 316n9 Christianity: and colonial rule, 99. See also Catholic Church; Evangelical Protestantism chumbi, 92, 141, 141, 155, 219, 220, 325n24, 332. See also kawiña chumbi; mama chumbi Cieza de León, Pedro de, 19, 22, 45–46, 76–77, 85, 87, 92–95, 121–122, 126, 319n4 cloaks, adoption of, 6 coca bags, 34, 87 Cochasquí site, 21 cochineal, as dye, 8, 9, 149, 236, 306, 332 Colla people, and Inca costume, 90–92 Collier, John, 134, 136, 138, 139, 142–146, 150 Colombia, 113, 119, 120, 311, 312 colonial Ecuador: and cholos, 272–275; conquest and settlement, 96–98; costume of eighteenth century, 110; costume of seventeenth century, 107–110; costume of sixteenth century, 104– 107; and Inca-style costume, 309; independence of, 111, 113, 120; late eighteenth-century unrest, 111–113; rule of, 98–101; Spanish reform of, 112 Colta, Chimborazo Province, 252–253, 255, 257–258, 259
communal lands, 114, 116, 121, 274, 275 complementary-warp weave, 165, 246, 268, 332 Corregimiento of Cuenca, 272–273 corregimientos, 98, 101 costumbrista paintings, 184, 187–188, 191, 199, 208, 211, 212 costume: defined, 5; and ethnic identity, 2–3, 121–122; Hispanicization of, 169; political and social context of, 1–2; and social stratification, 3, 169, 271–272. See also specific places and types of clothing Cotacachi, Imbabura Province: and alpargatas production, 155; and hats, 145; and jewelry, 146; and men’s costume, 156, 157, 209; and textile production, 132; and women’s costume, 133–134, 134, 156 Cotocallao site, 16 Cotopaxi Province, Ecuador: map of, xxi; and men’s costume, 224–226, 225, 226, 227, 314; and Panzaleo culture, 42; and women’s costume, 226, 227, 228, 228, 229, 230. See also specific towns cotton, 7–8; availability of, 290, 313–314; and colonial costume, 104, 105; as early domesticate, 11, 14; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 93; and Inca textiles, 84; and Pasto Province, 122; and pre-Hispanic costume, 49; and pre-Inca textiles, 50, 62, 66–69 Council of the Indies, 97, 99 cranial modification, 24, 95, 315n6 Creole, 112–113, 332 Cuasmal/Tuza culture, 21, 44–45 Cuenca, Azuay Province: blouses from market of, 249, 252, 265; and cholo market, 276; and commerce, 270, 277; and polleras, 312; shawls of, 284, 289; and skirts, 309, 311; and social stratification, 278; and textile production, 273–274 Cumbal, Nariño Department: belt, 125, 126; descendants of Pasto people in, 122; ponchos, 124–125, 124 Cumbas, Imbabura Province, 144, 322n3, 322n4 cumbi, 84, 107, 333
Index 373
decorative scarification, 23 Disselhoff, Hans, 231, 233, 236, 326n2 dovetail cord, 10, 61–62, 64, 65, 69, 314, 333 dyes, 8–9, 65, 127–128, 306, 308, 333 Earthwatch, 162, 322n10 Ecuador: archaeology of, 13–22; and cacao exports, 113, 115, 118; constitution of 1978, 118; early republican era, 113–114; geography of, 1, 11–13, 49; liberal era, 114–117; modern political divisions, xviii; prehistory chronology of, 14; sites, 15; social unrest of 1960s, 117–118; and trade, 18, 20–22, 42, 62, 77, 272, 274, 275, 311, 317n17, 319–320n4. See also colonial Ecuador; and specific towns and provinces embroidery: on carrying cloth for baby, 293, 294; on chemises, 142–143, 142, 164, 219, 323n13, Pl. 4; on shawls, 247–248, Pl. 6 encomiendas, 97–100, 105–106, 123, 131 Esmeraldas culture, 16 Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador, 16–17, 52–54, 54, 80 ethnic groups: costume distinguishing, 2–3, 121–122. See also specific groups Evangelical Protestantism, 252, 256 faldellín, 175–176, 181, 312, 333 felting, 8 Festa, Enrico, 148, 266, 268 folleras, as skirt, 125, 126, 127, 128 follón, as gathered skirt, 5 Formative Period (1550 bc–ad 300), 12, 14–16, 21, 28, 29, 52 Franck, Harry, 213, 216–217, 281, 282, 293, 298–299, 302, 306, 325n29 Franklin, Albert, 276, 277, 300 Furcraea andina, 7, 62, 243, 333 Gage, Thomas, 174 Garcilaso de la Vega, 94, 95 gauze weave, 52, 333 Genipa americana L., 23 Gran Colombia, 113, 275 Gualaceo, Azuay Province, 282, 283, 293, 296 Gualea, Pichincha Province, 200, 209
Guaman Poma de Ayala, Felipe, 22, 85, 86, 87, 90, 90, 109, 315n4 Guangala culture, 16, 28–30, 30, 52 Guaranda, Bolívar Province, 241–242, 241, 242 Guerrero, Juan Agustín, 156, 188–189, 192, 195, 199, 201, 203, 207–209, 215– 216, 237, 244, 324n16, 325n26 Hacienda La Compañía, Los Ríos Province, and pre-Inca textiles, 55–61, 56, 57, 58, 59, 68, 69 haciendas, 100, 101, 114–118, 131–132, 218, 333 hairstyle and ornamentation: and Azuay cholo women’s costume, 281; and Azuay indigenous women’s costume, 281; and Bahía figurines, 31, 32; and Cañar men’s costume, 267, 268–269; and Capulí figurines, 42, 43, 44, 44; and Chimborazo women’s costume, 244, 253, 254, 255, 256, 265; and Chorrera figurines, 26–27, 27; and colonial men’s costume, 104; and Cotacachi area men’s costume, 156; and Cotopaxi men’s costume, 224, 225, 226; and Cotopaxi women’s costume, 226; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha men’s costume, 164, 167; and Guangala figurines, 31; and Inca men’s costume, 88; and Inca women’s costume, 85, 92; and Machalilla figurines, 26; and Natabuela men’s costume, 161; and Otavalo area men’s costume, 137, 148–149, 155; and Otavalo area women’s costume, 145, 145; and Quito area indigenous men’s costume, 202, 207–208, 215, 217; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 207, 214; and Quito indigenous men’s costume, 171, 176, 178–179, 185–186, 195, 196, 198, 198, Pl. 2a, Pl. 3; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 170, 172, 179, 180, 183–184, 189, Pl. 2b; and Quito mestizo men’s costume, 199; and Quito mestizo women’s costume, 193–195, 194; and Saraguro men’s costume, 298–300, 329n3; and Valdivia figurines, 24, 25 Hassaurek, Friedrich: and Bolívar men’s
374 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
costume, 241; and Cayambe men’s costume, 167; and cholos, 275–276; and early republican era, 113; and obrajes, 132; and Otavalo men’s costume, 148–149, 155; and Otavalo women’s costume, 133, 136–138; and Quito indigenous costume, 169, 194; and Quito mestizos, 188, 193; and Quito travelers, 208, 209 hats: adoption of, 6, 104, 312–313; and Azuay cholo men’s costume, 293–294; and Azuay indigenous men’s costume, 280–281; and Azuay indigenous women’s costume, 280–281, 282; and Azuay Spanish women’s costume, 279–280; and Bolívar men’s costume, 241, 242; and Cañar men’s costume, 269; and Cañar women’s costume, 266, 267; and Chimborazo men’s costume, 245, 257–258, 264, 266; and Chimborazo women’s costume, 255–256, 255, 256, 258; and colonial men’s costume, 105, 109; and Cotacachi area men’s costume, 156; and Cotopaxi women’s costume, 226, 227; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha women’s costume, 165, 167; and Natabuela area women’s costume, 158; and Natabuela men’s costume, 161–163, 162; and National Geographic photographs, 138, 150; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous men’s costume, 222; and Otavalo area men’s costume, 148–150, 148, 155; and Otavalo area women’s costume, 137, 137, 143, 144– 145; and Quito area indigenous men’s costume, 207, 215, 217; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 212–213, 213, 214; and Quito indigenous men’s costume, 195, 196, 198, 198, Pl. 3; and Saraguro men’s costume, 298–300, 300, 301; and Saraguro women’s costume, 299–300, 300, 301; and Tungurahua men’s costume, 231, 233, 237, 237, 240, 240; and Tungurahua women’s costume, 231, 233, 240, 240. See also Panama hats headdresses: and Atuntaqui, 137; and Bahía figurines, 33, 37, 38; Cañar people, 46, 46, 94; coastal figurine,
38; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 93, 94; and Ibarra, 137, 137; and Inca men’s dress, 87–88; and Jama-Coaque figurines, 34, 35, 37, 38; and Manteño figurines, 47, 48, 48; and Natabuela area women’s costume, 158, 160; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous women’s costume, 220–221, Pl. 4; and Otavalo area women’s costume, 143, 209; and Palta people, 95; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 207, 212, 214, 215; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 172; and Tolita figurines, 38, 40, 41, 41 hoods: and Chimborazo women’s costume, 244; and Colla women’s costume, 90, 90; Valdivia peoples, 35, 37 Huaca Prieta site, Chicama Valley, 51, 317n16 huacas, 73, 315n3 Huancavilca people, 20 Huascar (Inca ruler), 75, 79–80, 81 huasipungo, 114, 116–118, 132, 333 Huayna Capac (Inca ruler), 72–77, 79 Humboldt, Alexander von, 186, 257, 266 Ibarra, Imbabura Province, 120, 137, 137, 148 Ilumán, Imbabura Province, 132, 138, 144–146, 144, 147, 150, 151, 322n9 Imbabura Province, Ecuador: belt style in, 92; and colonial costume, 105; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 93; E province men’s costume, 167–168; E province women’s costume, 164–167; and Inca conquest, 73; map of, xix; and Pasto people, 120; and pre-Inca textiles, 62; textile production in, 131. See also specific towns Inca Empire: administration of, 76–79, 311; civil wars in, 79–80, 272, 328n2; conquest, 71–75; costume under, 84–95; men’s costume, 5, 87–89, 88, 309, 310; monarchy of, 70; and Pasto people, 119; and Spanish conquest, 80–84, 96; weaving, 84; women’s costume, 85–87, 86, 89, 90, 90 Inca language, 4, 79 Inca-style costume: and Chimborazo women’s costume, 245–246, 246;
Index 375
and colonial era, 104–110; longevity of, 309, 310; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 170, 172–175 indigenous people: and colonial rule, 99–100, 170, 272–274; and colonial textile production, 101–104; and debt peonage, 114, 115, 271, 275, 276; depopulation of, 98, 100, 103, 328n2; and economic self-sufficiency, 117; eighteenth-century costume of, 110, 170, 172–175; eighteenth-century rebellions of, 111–112; and epidemics, 98, 99, 103; and liberal era, 115, 116, 117; nineteenth-century exploitation of, 111, 275; and republican era, 113– 114; seventeenth-century costume of, 107–110; sixteenth-century costume of, 104–107; and social stratification, 3, 5–6, 169, 170; and social unrest of 1960s, 117–118; and Spanish conquest, 96–98. See also specific ethnic groups indigo, as dye, 8–9, 63, 333 Ingapirca site, Cañar Province, burials, 45, 316–317n14 Integration Period, 20–22, 44–49, 316– 317n14 Isla Puná, 20, 22, 80 Jama-Coaque culture: and all-in-one garments, 38; and body piercing, 36–37, 36, 42; figurines, 30, 34, 35; and headdresses, 34, 35, 37, 38; and jewelry, 35–36, 35, 37; skirt length, 27; and social stratification, 18; and textiles, 52 Jardín del Este, Pichincha Province, 62 jerga, 176, 333 jerga ponchos, 195, 314, 333 Jesuits, 100–101, 112, 113, 209 jewelry: and Atuntaqui, 137; and Bahía figurines, 35–36; and Capulí figurines, 44; and Chimborazo women’s costume, 244, 246, 252–253, 253, 254, 256; and Chorrera culture, 27; and colonial men’s costume, 104; and Guangala culture, 28–30; and Jama-Coaque figurines, 35–37, 35; and National Geographic photographs, 138; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous women’s costume, 220, 221; and Otavalo, 136, 140, 146, 147; and Pirincay, 28; and
pre-Inca Ecuadorian costume, 49; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 212–214; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 172, 179, 180, 181, 189–190, 190, 195, Pl. 2b; and Quito mestizo women’s costume, 193–194; and Saraguro women’s costume, 301, 303, 305; and Tolita figurines, 42 Juan, Jorge, and Antonio de Ulloa, 110, 131, 169, 170–179, 171, 181–183, 187, 199, 311, 323n6 kawiña chumbi, 92, 246, 265–266, 310, 320n7, 327n3, 333 kilts, 22, 31, 33, 37, 41, 41 kushma: and Azuay indigenous men’s costume, 280; and Cañar men’s costume, 268–269, 310; and Chimborazo men’s costume, 258, 259, 265–266, 310; and colonial men’s costume, 5, 105, 108, 109; and Cotacachi area men’s costume, 156, 157; defined, 334; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha men’s costume, 167–168, 310; and Inca men’s costume, 87, 310; and Natabuela men’s costume, 161, 161; and Otavalo area men’s costume, 148–149, 150, 209, 258, 310; and pre-Inca Ecuadorian costume, 23; and Quito area indigenous men’s costume, 202, 207, 208, 209–210, 210, 217, 310, Pl. 3; and Quito indigenous men’s costume, 176–179, 185, Pl. 2a; and Saraguro men’s costume, 298, 301, 305–306, 310, 311; and Tungurahua men’s costume, 231; and Záparo indigenous costume, 210–211, 211. See also tunics La Condamine expedition, 110, 131, 170 La Florida, Pichincha Province, 19, 24, 42, 61–62 La Libertad, Santa Elena Peninsula, Guayas Province, vertical loom with circular warp, 60, 60 La Libertad culture, 52 La Magdalena, Pichincha Province, 205, 206, 207, 215 land distribution, 97, 99, 114–118, 121, 132 La Paz, Carchi Province: ruana, 126, 126; vertical loom, 128, 128
376 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
La Plata Island, 18, 77–78 Latacunga, Cotopaxi Province, 101, 224–225, 326n1 La Tolita, Esmeraldas Province, 52–54, 54 La Tolita Pampa de Oro site, 17 Law of Agrarian Reform (1964), 132, 271, 277 leaf fibers, 7 Liberal Party, 115 liencillo, 168, 257, 334 lienzo, 108, 131, 168, 177, 222, 334 linen, and colonial costume, 105 llamas, 8, 51, 334 Llangahua, Tungurahua Province, 230, 240–241, 326n6 Llano Chico, Pichincha Province, 218, 220, 222 lliglla: and colonial women’s costume, 105, 107; defined, 334; and Inca women’s costume, 86–87; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 170, 172, 179, 183, Pl. 2b; and Saraguro women’s costume, 311, 329n2 Llinllín, Chimborazo Province, 258 loincloths: and Bahía culture, 31, 33; and Capulí culture, 37, 42, 43; and colonial men’s costume, 109; and Cuasmal/Tuza culture, 45; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 95; and Formative Period figurines, 28, 29; and Guangala culture, 29, 30; and Inca men’s costume, 5; and Jama-Coaque figurines, 37; and Manteño figurines, 47; and Pasto people, 122; and pre-Inca Ecuadorian costume, 22, 24; Spanish objection to, 309; and Tolita figurines, 40, 41; and Valdivia figurines, 24, 26 Loja, Loja Province, 104, 283, 286 Loja Province, Ecuador: and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 94–95; and Late Formative villages, 14–15; map of, xxiv; population centers of, 12; and pre-Inca textiles, 68–69. See also specific towns looms: backstrap, 6–7, 9–10, 61, 84, 108, 140–141, 193, 203, 207, 215, 225–226, 247, 258, 260, 264–266, 268, 293, 302– 303, 303, 306, 308, 310, 323n6, 331; defined, 334; four-stake, 84; treadle,
6, 10, 91, 129, 132, 139, 154, 195, 203, 208, 218, 220–221, 233, 236–237, 239, 241–242, 247, 265–266, 293, 302–303, 306, 308, 310, 314, 335; vertical, 9, 60, 60, 84, 128, 128 looping, 62, 68, 334 macanas, 334. See also paños Machalilla culture, figurines, 26 Majipamba, Chimborazo Province, 246, 246, 248, 252, 257–258, 259, 260 Malaspina, Alejandro, drawings from expedition, 178, 180, 181, 183, 187, 189, 313 Mallorca, 191 mama chumbi, 92, 137, 140–141, 219, 220, 244, 246, 258, 325n24, 334, Pl. 4 Manabí Province, 14, 61 Manco Inca, 81 Manteño culture, 20, 46, 47, 48–49, 48, 52 mantles: and Capulí figurines, 42, 43, 44; and colonial men’s costume, 105, 106, 108; and Cuasmal/Tuza culture, 45; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 93, 95; and Inca men’s costume, 5, 87; and Inca women’s costume, 85; and Panzaleo figurines, 42, 43; and Pasto people, 122; ponchos replacing, 7; and pre-Inca costume, 92; uses of, 49 Mapuche ponchos, 171, 314 Martínez Compañón, D. Baltasar Jaime, 177, 181 McDougall, Elsie, 134, 322n2 Meisch, Lynn, 2–3, 118, 179, 221, 231, 243, 258, 268, 282, 293, 326n33, 328n4, 328n5, 330n6 men, as weavers, 9, 10, 299, 323n6 men’s costume. See specific places and types of clothing mestizos: and Azuay men’s costume, 279; and Azuay Province, 271, 273–274, 276; and Azuay women’s costume, 280; and colonial Quito society, 170; defined, 334; and ethnic identity, 2–3; Quito men’s costume, 178, 187, 199, 216; Quito women’s costume, 171, 173, 175–176, 181, 184–185, 193–195, 194 Mexico, rebozos of, 6, 173–175, 181, 190– 191, 284, 313–314, 323n5
Index 377
Milagro-Quevedo peoples, 20–21 Miller, Laura, 231, 242, 257, 265–266, 282, 290 mita (labor obligation), 99–101, 112–113, 273–275 mitima, 79, 92, 247, 297 Muellamués, Nariño Department, traditional costumes, 126–127, 127 Nabón, Azuay Province, 271 Nariño Department, Colombia: and Inca conquest, 120; indigenous identity in, 119–121; Integration Period, 21, 45; and pre-Inca textiles, 63–66, 64; Regional Development Period, 16–17; textile production in, 127–129; traditional costume in, 123–127, 124, 125, 127 Natabuela, Imbabura Province: men’s costume of, 161–164, 161, 162, 163, 323n12; as substyle of Otavalo costume, 156, 158; women’s costume of, 158, 159, 160 National Geographic photographs, 137– 138, 150, 248, 260 Nayón, Pichincha Province, 202, 208, 217–223, 310 neo-Inca revivals, 109 New Granada, 97 Nizag, Chimborazo Province, 265 obrajes (textile factories), 99–103, 105, 108, 131–132, 154, 224, 273, 314, 334 Orive, Domingo de, 93, 104 Osculati, Gaetano, 188, 199, 200, 204, 208–210, 244, 245, 257, Pl. 3 Otavalo, Imbabura Province: and belts, 92; and bolsiconas, 3; and colonial costume, 106–107; and colonial rule, 100; and economic self-sufficiency of indigenous people, 117; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 92, 93; and encomiendas, 131; fieldwork in, 321–322n1; hat making in, 145; and jewelry, 136; as market and commercial center, 130, 133; men’s costume, 124, 137, 145, 148–155, 148, 151, 152, 153, 209, 239, 258, 264, 308, 310, 313, 322n3, 322n5, 322n2, Pl. 1; and Pasto people, 120; and pre-Inca Ecuadorian costume, 42; textile production in,
101, 131–132; women’s costume, 133– 147, 135, 136, 137, 139, 140, 142, 143, 145, 208–209, 309, 310, 313, 322n3, 322n2 Otavalo ethnic group, 130–133 Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (founder of Inca Empire), 71–72, 75, 319n3 Paltacaló, Loja Province, and pre-Inca textiles, 66–68, 67, 318n27 Palta language, 79 Palta people, 95 Panama, 172–173 Panama hats, 6, 113, 118, 125, 270, 276– 277, 281, 294, 300 Pan-American Highway, 277 paño azul, 103, 108 paño cachemira, 290, 291, 329n11 paños: from Azuay Valley, 283, 285, 288, 289, 290–291, 290, 291; and colonial men’s costume, 105; defined, 334; as Ecuadorian term, 6; and Natabuela area women’s costume, 158, 160; and Natabuela men’s costume, 162, 163– 164. See also rebozos; shawls paños pacotillos, 282–283, 284 paño zhiru, 283–284, 287, 329n11 pants: adoption of, 6; and Azuay cholo men’s costume, 281, 294; and Azuay indigenous men’s costume, 280, 281; and Azuay Spanish men’s costume, 279; and Bolívar men’s costume, 241, 241; and Cañar men’s costume, 268, 269; and Chimborazo men’s costume, 243, 245, 257–258, 259, 264, 266; and colonial men’s costume, 109; and Cotacachi area men’s costume, 156; and Cotopaxi men’s costume, 224, 225; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha men’s costume, 168; and Natabuela men’s costume, 161, 162, 163; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous men’s costume, 222–223, 222; and Otavalo area men’s costume, 148–150, 148, 154–155, 209; and Quito area indigenous men’s costume, 207, 208, 210, 210, 215, 216, 217; and Quito indigenous men’s costume, 171, 176–179, 185, 189, 195, 196, 199, 207, Pl. 2a, Pl. 3; and Quito mestizo men’s costume, 187, 199; and Saraguro men’s
378 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
costume, 298–300, 306, 311; and Tungurahua men’s costume, 231–232, 234, 237, 240–241, 240 Panzaleo culture, 42, 43, 316n12 Panzaleo language, 79 Parsons, Elsie Clews, 132, 145–146, 155, 168 Pasto, Nariño Department, poncho, 124 Pasto language, 79, 119, 120 Pasto people, 74–75, 92, 119–123, 321n6 Pasto Province, Gran Colombia, 119, 121–123, 320n1 Paute, Azuay Province, 296 Paz Ponce de León, Sancho de, 105, 130 Peguche, Imbabura Province, 131–132, 142, 143–144, 144, 154, 322n9 Pelileo, Tungurahua Province, 231 Penley, Dennis, 252, 282, 290, 329n10 Peru: Ecuadorian interaction with, 16; and Inca civil war, 80; pre-Inca Ecuadorian costume compared to, 22; and pre-Inca textiles, 51, 317n16; rebellion in, 110; trade with, 18–19, 22, 42, 274, 275, 283, 317n17; woven patterning in textiles, 310 Pichincha Province, Ecuador: and anaku, 309; and Inca administration, 78; and Inca textiles, 85; maps of, xix, xx; NE province men’s costume, 167–168; NE province women’s costume, 164–167; ponchos of, 7; rebozo of, 6. See also specific towns Pilahuín, Tungurahua Province, 236 pillo ( pillu), 88, 93–94, 104, 105 Pintag, Imbabura Province, shawls, 134, 135 Pinto, Joaquín, 136–137, 149, 211, 213–214, 216–217, 225 Pirincay, Azuay Province, 16, 28, 51 Pizarro, Francisco, 80–83, 96, 319–320n4 Pizarro, Gonzalo, 97 plying, 55, 335 polleras: and Azuay cholo women’s costume, 291, 292, 293, 329n11; and Azuay indigenous women’s costume, 281, 291; and Azuay mestizo women’s costume, 280; and Cañar women’s costume, 266, 267, 309, 311; and Chimborazo women’s costume, 265; Cuenca market prohibitions, 278–
279; defined, 335; as gathered skirt, 5, 312; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous women’s costume, 220; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 212; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 170, 172–173, 179, 180, 185, 188, 190, 311, Pl. 2b; and Quito traveling costume, 199; and Saraguro women’s costume, 302, 309, 310. See also skirts ponchos: and Azuay cholo men’s costume, 281, 282, 293–294, 295, 296, 296, 314; and Azuay indigenous men’s costume, 280–281; and Azuay Spanish men’s costume, 279; and backstrap loom, 6–7; and Bolívar men’s costume, 241–242, 241, 314; and Cañar men’s costume, 37, 89, 89, 266, 267, 268–269, 314, Pl. 8; of Carchi and Nariño, 124, 124; and Chimborazo men’s costume, 245, 256, 257–258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263–264, 263, 264, 266, 314, 327n6, 327n7, Pl. 7; and Cotacachi men’s costume, 156; and Cotopaxi men’s costume, 224–226, 225, 226, 227, 314; defined, 335; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha men’s costume, 167, 168; and Natabuela men’s costume, 162, 163, 164; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous men’s costume, 222–223, 222, 223; origin of, 177, 314; and Otavalo area men’s costume, 124, 145, 148– 150, 151, 152, 152, 153, 154, 209, 239, 264, 308, 322n2, Pl. 1; and Quito area indigenous men’s costume, 124, 215, 216, 314; and Quito indigenous men’s costume, 186, 195, 196, 198, 198, Pl. 3; and Quito mestizo men’s costume, 194, 199; and Quito traveling clothes, 199, 201, 201; and Saraguro men’s costume, 298–300, 301, 306, 307, 308; and Tungurahua men’s costume, 232, 233, 236–237, 240, 241, 314 pre-Hispanic cultures: Formative Period, 14–16; Integration Period, 20–22; population growth, 13–14; Regional Development Period, 16–20; and textile technology, 7–8 pre-Inca costume and textiles: in archaeological contexts, 49–50; and
Index 379
body painting, 23, 49; coastal developments, 51–55, 69; early evidence of, 24–28, 50–51; Integration Period, 44–49; and La Compañía burial, 55–61; and northern highlands, 61–66; and nudity, 22–24, 27, 29, 42, 45, 49; Peru compared to, 22, 23; Regional Development Period, 28–44; and southern highlands, 66–69; spindle whorls, 52, 53, 62–63; survival of, 311; and textile technology, 49 Pualó, Cotopaxi Province, backstrap loom, 61 Pulucate, Chimborazo Province, 253, 259, 260 Punyaro, Imbabura Province, 138, 322n4 Puruhá people, 272 Puruhuay language, 79, 243 Quichua, 4, 119–120, 209, 270, 276 Quijos, Pichincha Province, 209, 210 Quillacinga people, 45, 75, 121, 124 Quinchuquí, Imbabura Province, 132, 134, 145 Quiroga, Imbabura Province, 134, 322n4 Quito, Pichincha Province: and Albán’s paintings, 178–179, 181; and bolsicona, 3; cholo class in, 188, 189, 191, 193–195, 199, 223; and colonial men’s costume, 105, 110; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 93; European settlement of, 98; and Inca administration, 76, 77, 79, 80; and Inca conquest, 73, 75, 318n2; and indigenous men’s costume, 171, 176, 177– 178, 182, 182, 185–187, 189, 195, 196, 197–199, 197, 198, 207–208, 215–217, 222–223; indigenous population of, 103; and indigenous women’s costume, 170, 171, 172–175, 182–185, 182, 184, 189–195, 196, 202–205, 202, 207, 212–215, 217–221, 324n17; Late Formative villages near, 14; mestizo men’s costume, 178, 187, 199, 216; mestizo women’s costume, 171, 173, 175–176, 181, 184–185, 193–195, 194; and Quito area indigenous men’s costume, 124, 202, 207–210, 208, 210, 213, 215–217, 216, 310, 314; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 164, 202–204,
202, 205, 206, 207, 212–215, 213, 215, 217–218, 309; Regional Development sites near, 19; and Spanish conquest, 81–83, 96–97; and traveling clothes, 185, 187, 199, 200, 201, 201, 208–211, 210; white men’s costume, 178, 187; white women’s costume, 171, 173, 175–176, 181 Quizquiz (Inca commander), 80, 81, 83, 96 railroads, 114, 115 Real Alto site, Chanduy Valley, 50–51 rebozos: and Chimborazo women’s costume, 265; and Colombia, 323n4; defined, 335; as innovative hybrid, 6; of Mexico, 6, 173–175, 181, 190– 191, 313–314, 323n5; and Natabuela area women’s costume, 158, 160; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous women’s costume, 220, Pl. 4; and Otavalo area women’s costume, 144, 313; and Otavalo women’s costume, 133, 138, 144; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 171, 173, 175–176, 190, 313; and Quito mestizo women’s costume, 181; and Tungurahua women’s costume, 236, Pl. 5. See also shawls Regional Development Period, 16–20, 28–44, 51–52 resguardos, 120, 121, 126, 321n3 resist dyed, 335. See also warp-resist dyed Rinconada, Imbabura Province, 165, 167, 168 Riobamba, Chimborazo Province: and colonial textile production, 101; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 94; and Inca hoods, 91–92; Late Formative villages near, 14; market, 243, 254, 255–256, 255; and men’s costume, 216–217, 266; and pre-Inca textiles, 66, 318n26; and Spanish conquest, 82, 83, 96, 97; and women’s costume, 244, 245, 248, 251, 326n6 Robinson, Carol Ann, 231, 236, 246, 248, 252, 253, 257–258 rosarios (rosaries), 140, 146, 252, 254, 299, 303, 305 ruanas, 124, 126–128, 126, 321n12, 335
380 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
Rubio Orbe, Gonzalo, 138, 141, 150 Rumicucho, Pichincha Province, 62–63 Rumi Ñahui (Inca commander), 81–82, 84, 96 Salas, Antonio, 188 Salas, Ramón, 188, 203, 215 Salasaca, Tungurahua Province: identity of Salasacas, 230–231; men’s costume, 231–233, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 257, 310, 312; women’s costume, 231, 233, 236, 239, Pl. 5; Wuth’s photographs of, 326n4 Salazar, Rodrigo de, 105–106, 131 Salcedo, Cotopaxi Province, 226, 227, 242, 326n2 San Antonio, Imbabura Province, 143 sandals: and Cañar men’s costume, 267, 268; and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 95; and Inca men’s costume, 5; and Inca women’s costume, 87; and Saraguro men’s costume, 299, 308. See also alpargatas San Francisco de Quito. See Quito Sangolquí, Pichincha Province, 205, 206, 207 San Isidro, Guaitarilla, 63 San Juan, Chimborazo Province, 243, 244 San Juan, Imbabura Province, 134 San Miguel, Chimborazo Province, 244, 327n1 San Rafael, Imbabura Province, 140, 143–144 Santa Elena Peninsula, 13, 14, 52, 54–55, 55 Santiago de Quito, Chimborazo Province, 258, 259 Saquisilí, Cotopaxi Province, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228 Saraguro, Loja Province, 297 Saraguro people: history of, 297–298; men’s costume, 298–300, 300, 301, 305–306, 310, 311, 329n3, 330n6; representation of costume, 298–299; weaving of, 69; women’s costume, 298, 300, 301, 302–303, 303, 305, 305, 309–310, 329n2, 330n6 selvedges: defined, 335; and Inca textiles, 84; and pre-Inca textiles, 56, 58, 58, 59, 60–61, 66, 69
shawls: and Azuay cholo women’s costume, 281–282, 282, 283, 293, 329n11; and Azuay indigenous women’s costume, 281; and Azuay Spanish women’s costume, 279; from Azuay Valley, 283–284, 283, 285, 287, 288, 289–291, 289, 290, 291, 329n9; and Bolívar women’s costume, 242, 242; and Chimborazo women’s costume, 244–245, 247–248, 248, 256, 264, 265, Pl. 6; and colonial women’s costume, 105; from Cotacachi, 133–134, 134; and Cotopaxi women’s costume, 226, 227, 228; dyeing of, 127–128; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha women’s costume, 165; and Inca women’s costume, 5, 86–87, 89; and intermediate social status, 134, 136; and Natabuela area women’s costume, 158, 160; and National Geographic photograph, 137–138; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous women’s costume, 220; from Otavalo area, 134, 135, 136, 136, 139, 143, 322n2; Peruvian-style, 282–284, 284, 286; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 203, 205, 205, 206, 207, 212, 213, 215, 215, 217–218; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 183, 190; and Quito mestizo women’s costume, 193, 194; and Quito traveling costume, 200, 208–209, Pl. 3; terminology for, 6; and Tungurahua women’s costume, 236, 238, 239–240, 240. See also paños; rebozos shirts: adoption of, 6; and Azuay indigenous men’s costume, 280; and Chimborazo men’s costume, 257, 258, 264, 266; and Cotacachi area men’s costume, 156; and Cotopaxi men’s costume, 224, 225, 225, 226; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha men’s costume, 168; and Natabuela men’s costume, 162–163, 323n12; and Nayón to Calderón area indigenous men’s costume, 222–223; and Otavalo area men’s costume, 149, 154–155, 313; and Quito area indigenous men’s costume, 215; and Quito indigenous men’s costume, 154, 179, 186, 195, 196, 198, 313, Pl. 3; and Saraguro men’s costume,
Index 381
306; and Tungurahua men’s costume, 231 shoes: adoption of, 6; and Carchi Province, 125; and Chimborazo Province, 266; and Imbabura Province, 155; and Loja Province, 308; and Pichincha Province, 172, 177–179, 186–187, 193, 198–199, 223. See also alpargatas; sandals Shuar (Jíbaro) peoples, 21–22, 33–35 Sígsig, Azuay Province, 271 silk, 104, 190, 191 Skinner, Joseph, 185, 187, 324n14 skirts: adoption of, 5; and Azuay indigenous women’s costume, 281, 309; and Azuay Spanish women’s costume, 279, 280; and Bahía figurines, 27, 31, 32, 37; and Cañar women’s costume, 46, 46, 266, 267; and Capulí figurines, 44, 44, 45; and Chimborazo women’s costume, 243, 265; and Chorrera figurines, 27, 29; and Cotopaxi women’s costume, 226; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha women’s costume, 165, 166; and Guangala figurines, 30, 31; and Jama-Coaque figurines, 37; and Manteño figurines, 46, 48; and Natabuela area women’s costume, 158; and pre-Inca Ecuadorian costume, 22; and Quillacinga people, 45; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 212, 214, 309; and Quito mestizo women’s costume, 171, 175–176, 194–195, 196; and Quito white women’s costume, 181; and Tolita figurines, 40, 41; and Valdivia figurines, 24. See also polleras social stratification: and Azuay Province, 271–273, 277–278, 328n1; and Bahía culture, 18; and cranial modification, 24; and indigenous people, 3, 5–6, 169, 170; intermediate social status, 3, 134, 136; and Pasto people, 122–123; and Quito area indigenous men’s costume, 216; and Quito area indigenous women’s costume, 212, 214; and Quito indigenous men’s costume, 177, 179, 186, 190, 198–199, Pl. 3; and Quito indigenous women’s costume, 171, 172, 179, 180, 183, 189–190, 190, 196, 202, 202; and Quito mestizo women’s cos-
tume, 193–194; and Quito traveling costume, 201; and Regional Development Period, 19; and Tolita-Tumaco peoples, 18; trickle-down effect of, 5–6, 169 Social Welfare Agency, 115, 117 Spain, women’s costume, 172–173, 311, 312 Spanish conquest, 80–84, 96, 109, 298. See also colonial Ecuador spindles, 7–9, 53–55, 63, 84, 124, 154, 159, 224, 335 spindle whorls, 52, 53, 62–63, 335 spinning, 9, 52–55, 54, 55, 127, 189, 189, 335 S-plied yarns, 84, 335 Spondylus, 16, 19–22, 42, 73, 77, 179 S-spun yarns, and pre-Inca textiles, 9, 50, 52, 53, 54–55, 54, 56, 62, 65, 66, 68, 69, 335 stamps, for body paint, 23, 27, 28 Stevenson, William Bennett, 131–132, 177, 182–187, 182, 195, 281, 325n26 Strombus, 20, 21 supplementary-warp patterning: belts, 125, 125, 158, 192–193, 193, 203, 204, 207, 221, 226, 228, 229, 233, 234, 235, 236, 246–247, 247, 265, 302, 304, 311; defined, 335; and pre-Inca textiles, 58, 59 supplementary-weft patterning, and preInca textiles, 57–58, 57, 58, 68 tabards: and Bahía culture, 31–32, 316n10; and Cuasmal/Tuza culture, 44–45, 45; function of, 49; and Jama-Coaque figurines, 34, 35, 37; and Manteño figurines, 46; and pre-Inca Ecuadorian costume, 22; and Shuar peoples, 33; and Tolita figurines, 41 Taino, 173 Tanicuchí, Cotopaxi Province, 224 tapestry weave, 132, 335 Tarqui, Azuay Province, 280–281 tattooing: and Berber people, 46; and Chorrera culture, 27, 28, 316n8; and Guangala culture, 29, 30; and Manteño figurines, 46, 47; and pre-Inca Ecuadorian costume, 23; and Valdivia figurines, 24, 25 textile production: in Azuay Province, 273–274; in Carchi and Nariño, 127–
382 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador
129; and colonial rule, 98, 101–104, 112; in Otavalo, 101, 131–132. See also obrajes (textile factories) theater groups, traditional costumes of, 126–127, 127 Tixán, Chimborazo Province, 264–265 tolas, 17, 21, 62 Tolita culture: and all-in-one garments, 39, 40, 41; and body piercing, 36, 37, 42; economy of, 17–18; figurines, 17, 30; and headdresses, 38, 41; and preInca textiles, 52; and skirts, 40 Troje, Chimborazo Province, 253, 260 trousers. See pants Tsáchila people, 11–12, 23, 60, 317–318n23 tumbaga, 17, 315n2 Tumi Pampa, 71, 71, 72–74, 76, 77, 80, 82, 96 Tuncarta, Loja Province, 298 Tungurahua Province, Ecuador: Chibuleo costume, 236–237, 239; Llangahua costume, 240–241, 326n6; map of, xxi; men’s costume, 231–233, 232, 233, 234, 236–237, 237, 239–241, 240; and Panzaleo culture, 42; Salasaca costume, 230–233, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 239, 257, 310, 312; women’s costume, 226, 231, 233, 233, 234, 235, 236, 238, 239–240, 239, 240, 309, 310, Pl. 5. See also specific towns tunics: and Ecuadorian costume under Inca Empire, 93–95; and Inca men’s costume, 5, 6, 87, 89, 309; and preInca Ecuadorian costume, 38. See also kushma Tupa Inca (Inca ruler), 71, 72, 73, 79, 297, 318n1 tupu: and Chimborazo women’s costume, 244–245, 247, 248, 265; defined, 336; and Otavalo women’s costume, 138, 140, 145–146; and Quito women’s costume, 170, 172, 183; and Saraguro women’s costume, 302, 303, 305 tupulina, 138, 139, 302, 336 turn-banded twill, 220, 226, 336 twill weave, 52, 62–64, 195, 336 United States, 278, 279 Urcuquí, Imbabura Province, 62 ushuta, 226, 268, 336. See also sandals
Valdivia peoples: ceramics of, 14; figurines, 24, 25, 26, 26; and hoods, 35; and La Plata Island, 18; and pre-Inca textile evidence, 50–51 Vásquez de Espinosa, Antonio, 90 Vest, George, 217–218, 219, 222, 223, 326n35 wanaku ponchos, 306, 307 warp-resist dyed, 9, 190, 191, 314 warp-resist patterning: and Azuay cholo women’s costume, 281–282, 282; defined, 336; and E Imbabura and NE Pichincha men’s costume, 168; and Natabuela men’s costume, 162, 163; and Otavalo area men’s costume, 150, 151, 152, 152, 153, Pl. 1; and pre-Inca textiles, 57–58, 59 water carrier, 195, 197, 325n20, Pl. 3 wawa chumbi, 141, 155, 219–220, 325n24, 336, Pl. 4 weaving, 9–10, 336 whites: and Azuay Province, 271, 276; and Azuay women’s costume, 279– 280; population of, 188; Quito men’s costume, 178, 187; Quito women’s costume, 171, 173, 175–176, 181 Whymper, Edward, 195, 241 women: marital status of, 138; and spinning, 53, 127, 189, 189; as weavers, 9, 10, 128–129, 323n6 women’s costume. See specific places and types of clothing Wuth, Bodo, 138, 322n5, 325–326n33, 326n4, 327n2 Yumbo people, 11, 178 Zámbiza, Pichincha Province: men’s costume, 207, 208, 217, 310, 325n25; women’s costume, 203–205, 205, 207, 214, 218 Záparo people, 210–211, 211 Z-plied yarns, 68, 336 Z-spun yarns, 50, 55, 84, 336 Zúlac, Chimborazo Province, 265 Zuleta, Imbabura Province, 165, 168 Zumbagua, Cotopaxi Province, 226