Textiles and the Incas

On our way to Urubamba, we stopped at a weaving demonstration where we learned the art of weaving textiles from the beginning. The difference between baby alpaca and "maybe" alpaca was explained, we were shown how the alpaca wool is cleaned, and then we were shown the natural dying. Their dyes are very bright, mostly because they boil the wool for five hours or so to increase the intensity of the color. Then she gave us a demonstration using cochineal, which is a reddish, purple dye. This day, however, using a mordant of alum and adding salt, it turned a vibrant orange. They, too, use lichens and other natural plants, but they were surprised when I told them about using the tops of the carrots and onion skins. I wonder if they will try it! Finally, we moved to the station with the weavers. In the Larco museum is a sample of Inca weaving that is over 300 threads per inch - amazing and apparently a world record for hand weaving. The ladies who were weaving in the center did not weave that precisely, but their patterns showed creativity and skill, and they were reversible, which is not easy to do on a hand loom. The work was very fine and quite interesting to watch. One thing we were told made us chuckle - they have a natural soap that they use to clean the wool, and the women use it on their beautiful hair. The Incan's hair does not turn gray - which they attribute to the soap - though we would suggest genetics might have something to do with it!