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| A tunic from the Inca Empire. |
When you were very little children, did you believe that all American Natives wore clothing made of deer and buffalo hide before the European settlers came? Many of them did wear skin garments; but there were others, in both North and South America who made their clothing from well woven cloth.
Just left, you can see a picture of the beautiful cloth made by the Indigenous of ancient Peru. Those people were very fortunate in having at hand two of the most important cloth materials, cotton and wool.
Cotton was raised by the people who lived along the coast, in fields watered by streams brought down, in irrigation ditches, from the mountains. Each person was allowed just enough water for a successful crop; and when the crop was gathered, it was placed along with those of the whole country, in one great storehouse. Later, one third of it was given to the Temple of the Sun, one third to the great Inca and the other third was divided evenly among all the people. Two kinds of cotton were raised; one, a bright golden brown, the other, white.
Wool was obtained from the camel-like animals of the inland, the llama, alpaca and vicugna. Very coarse cloth, worn only by the common people, was made from llama wool. A finer cloth, worn by the nobles of the land, was made from alpaca wool. The finest cloth of all was made from vicugna wool; and all of it was reserved for the use of the great Incas. Llamas and alpacas were domestic animals, used for carrying burdens and for food as well as for their wool; and even when the Spanish entered Peru, they had been tame for so many centuries that no one knew their wild ancestor. The vicugna was, and still is, a wild animal. Once a year, the reigning Inca ordered a great vicugna hunt. Thousands of beaters started in an immense ring and drove the animals toward one central place. There they were captured in nets; were sheared of their wool; and turned loose. The wool was taken to the Temple of the Sun; given to the sacred weavers; spun by them into thread; and woven into royal garments.
In spinning thread from either cotton or wool, the Peruvians used a small stick with a little round weight made of wood or clay attached to it. It was called a spindle; the little weight, a spindle whorl. By twirling the spindle, the cotton or wool fibers were twisted into yarn; and the yarn was then dyed with colors made from plants. The favorite dyes were red, yellow and brown; and they were so well made that the cloth dyed with them has not faded even to this day.
Just left, you can see a picture of the beautiful cloth made by the Indigenous of ancient Peru. Those people were very fortunate in having at hand two of the most important cloth materials, cotton and wool.
Cotton was raised by the people who lived along the coast, in fields watered by streams brought down, in irrigation ditches, from the mountains. Each person was allowed just enough water for a successful crop; and when the crop was gathered, it was placed along with those of the whole country, in one great storehouse. Later, one third of it was given to the Temple of the Sun, one third to the great Inca and the other third was divided evenly among all the people. Two kinds of cotton were raised; one, a bright golden brown, the other, white.
Wool was obtained from the camel-like animals of the inland, the llama, alpaca and vicugna. Very coarse cloth, worn only by the common people, was made from llama wool. A finer cloth, worn by the nobles of the land, was made from alpaca wool. The finest cloth of all was made from vicugna wool; and all of it was reserved for the use of the great Incas. Llamas and alpacas were domestic animals, used for carrying burdens and for food as well as for their wool; and even when the Spanish entered Peru, they had been tame for so many centuries that no one knew their wild ancestor. The vicugna was, and still is, a wild animal. Once a year, the reigning Inca ordered a great vicugna hunt. Thousands of beaters started in an immense ring and drove the animals toward one central place. There they were captured in nets; were sheared of their wool; and turned loose. The wool was taken to the Temple of the Sun; given to the sacred weavers; spun by them into thread; and woven into royal garments.
In spinning thread from either cotton or wool, the Peruvians used a small stick with a little round weight made of wood or clay attached to it. It was called a spindle; the little weight, a spindle whorl. By twirling the spindle, the cotton or wool fibers were twisted into yarn; and the yarn was then dyed with colors made from plants. The favorite dyes were red, yellow and brown; and they were so well made that the cloth dyed with them has not faded even to this day.
Some Peruvian cloth was used for covering the mummies of their ancestors. Perhaps some of the mummies were, themselves, once weavers; for in their graves were found spindles, spindle whorls, thread and even work baskets. Just as some North American people wanted to take their bows and arrows with them to their happy hunting grounds; so these natives wanted their implements, necklaces, ear-rings, bronze knives and pins, stone club heads, clothing, dishes, food, and many other things, to accompany them to the next world. Their graves were made in the desert; and, as in ancient Egypt, the dry sand has preserved everything which it covered.
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