Technical competence in weaving as a means of distinction among young Macha women from Tumaykuri, Northern Potosí, Bolivia

In this chapter I focus on the value attributed by the Macha of Tumaykuri (Northern Potosí, Bolivia) to the acquisition by young women of technical competence in weaving. I propose a practice-orientated approach and argue that the symbolic is located in the making of objects, and that the analysis of textile designs cannot be divorced either from weaving technologies and techniques, or from the lives of weavers. I argue that technical competence in weaving is at the heart of the construction of a female-gendered aesthetic subject, is a motor of creativity and innovation, and is a means of distinction among marriageable young women.

AutoraCassandra Torrico
Año2014
TipoCapítulo de libro
PaísBolivia
EditorialHawansuyo, Poéticas indigenas y originarias
DescargaURL
DOINA
APATorrico, C. (2014). Technical competence in weaving as a means of distinction among young Macha women from Tomaycuri, Northern Potosí, Bolivia. En: Arnold, DY, Dransart, P. (eds.). Textiles, Technical Practice and Power in the Andes. London: Archetype Publications, 195–215.