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Cloth and Weaving in the Inca EmpirePolitics, Identity and Textiles in Tiwantinsusyu
In Tiwantinsuyu, the empire of the Incas, spindles and looms were just as important as spears and shields.
Cloth pervaded every aspect of Inca society, from adolescent rites of passage to major political alliances. The production and exchange of cloth held the Inca realm together just as effectively as the power of the Inca armies. In the Andean highlands that formed the heart of Tiwantinsuyu, herders sheared wool from llamas and alpacas, animals ideally suited to the mountainous terrain and cold temperatures. For the finest cloth, hunting parties captured wild vicuñas, smaller cousins of alpacas. Dyes made from plants provided a variety of bright colors, or the cloth could be left in its natural hue of brown, grey or white. Cloth and Women’s LivesAlthough men participated in llama herding and even wove in some areas, cloth had an especially key role in the lives of women. Girls or women spun the sheared wool into thread using a handheld spindle and whorl, often at the same time as they tended their herds. Even Inca noblewomen often spun thread in this manner while going about their other activities. Using a handheld loom tied around the waist and to a tree or post to provide tension, women wove the threads into textiles. This style of weaving is still common in the Andes today. Inca officials selected the most beautiful girls from among the conquered peoples and sent them to special centers to learn and practice weaving. These acllyaconas, or Chosen Women, were obliged to leave their homes around the age of ten and spend the rest of their lives separated from their families. Nonetheless, because they produced valuable cloth, they achieved a fairly high social status in Tiwantinsuyu. Cloth and GovernmentCloth enabled the Incas to control far-flung territories. The Incas actually paid their soldiers in cloth. When they subjugated another polity, they presented its rulers with gifts of their finest cloth, known as cumbi. By accepting the cumbi cloth, the defeated rulers also acknowledged the suzerainty of the Incas. Furthermore, the Inca government often relocated the most adept weavers to Cuzco or other centers of production. Entire villages were established with the sole purpose of producing cloth. Cloth identified people, both by locality and social rank. Each area in the Andes produced a distinct type of clothing, and the Incas insisted people wear their local native dress – or risk severe punishment. The Incas needed to identify people from diverse ethnic groups, since whole populations were often transplanted to different parts of the empire to discourage rebellion. Additionally, subject peoples often had to travel great distances to work on public projects, such as roads and bridges. Cloth allowed the Incas to control their realm in another way as well. Even though the Incas did not use a system of hieroglyphics in the style of Mesoamerican cultures, they developed the quipu, a sophisticated recordkeeping tool. Not surprisingly, quipus were made of cloth. From one central cord hung several smaller threads, each representing different categories, such as goods or people. Different types of knots along the threads stood for numbers. Using quipus, the Incas kept meticulous track of the economic activities of a population of roughly ten million people in diverse geographic zones. Source: Malpass, Michael. Daily Life in the Inca Empire. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1996.
The copyright of the article Cloth and Weaving in the Inca Empire in Inca History is owned by Colin Forsyth. Permission to republish Cloth and Weaving in the Inca Empire in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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