Our initial goal for the day was to walk to Sucre's Museo de Arte Indigena or Museum of Indigenous Art but, unfortunately, after walking a fair distance, we discovered it no longer existed even though Google maps had a location for it! That was a bummer for us as it would have been exactly the type of museum we enjoy. Oh well, there were beautiful blue skies and the sun shone for the first time in ages.
As we strolled through town, we noticed a number of buses from South (?) Korea.
Across the street was a government-run tourist center which we noticed also included a textile center and museum when we popped in.
Steven and I were amused by the sight of these bowls from the Nina Nina culture as our eldest child is also called Nina!
The figures used in the weavings are always according to their culture's beliefs, i.e. in God and evil. The figures were not of this world, he said, but rather from the underworld with three wings or two heads. When the piece was completed in three months, it would measure about three feet long and sell for 2,000 Bolivianos or about $300. He stressed each weaver needs exceptionally good light because the detailed work was so hard on their eyes. She didn't need to use any pattern as all the figures were in her mind and from her dreams. Darlene: You would have loved watching her weave, I am sure!
A Yampara man's traditional clothing would include a hat from the Spanish colonial period.
An altar is built for the celebration which contains all sorts of natural foods and drinks. Each year, half of a cow is placed on the altar which must be higher than the previous year's. The feast marks the beginning of harvest time and the participants ask Pachamama or Mother Earth for a good harvest. It is also a time when they remember an important battle in their culture when the Spaniards invaded and killed many of their people. However, the Yampara people won, using just sticks and stones against the Spaniards who had guns. The Yampara people became known as heart-eaters when they took the still beating hearts out of the Spaniards' chests as they were so angry!
When the Yampara people remember the battle during the festival, they dress in these very expensive outfits that cost up to a staggering $1,000 each. Women sell their handicrafts to earn that money. This was a woman's outfit.
Our guide said 'the pope' was given a man's Yampara suit like this with the pink covering to wear to parties, also estimated at $1,000. I wonder which pope he meant.
We were told that the Ayarichi dance is done in the rainy season on November 2nd, the Day of the Dead, to let the souls of the departed go. It was very powerful to learn that people first used the dance to say goodbye to the men who were forced by the Spaniards to leave Sucre and other parts of Bolivia to work in the silver mines in Potosí from the age of 16, knowing they would never return.
Elaborate textiles traditionally spun with naturally-colored cotton and dyed lamb's wool were the highlight of the Tarabuco culture. The old designs included abstract figures, zigzags, eyes, flowers, horses, birds, cows and other animals in the area that 'shared space with the Tarabuco people.' Newer designs are now used.
The following photos showed a typical home in the Tarabuco culture still used today even though the people now have gas.
The center's very informative and helpful employee also acted as our guide.
Jalq'a textiles are the most important expressions of their culture and are traditionally made from lamb's wool and/or alpaca wool tinted red and black. I just loved the exquisite designs.
Jalq'a music is very important to their people because their mostly wind instruments have been passed down from generation to generation and because musicians play an important role in the Andean world.
The Tarabuco culture's Pujllay dance is done during the rainy season in the summertime as its musical inspiration is related to water and divinities related to minerals. It also commemorates the Battle of Jumbati when the Tarabuco people defeated the Spaniards in March, 1816.
Not far away was the Inca Pallay Indigenous Art store that sold more gorgeous hand-woven textiles.
But, at $230 a pop, they were more than we were willing to pay and carry!
We had a far less tempting time at El Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore, known locally as Musef!
There was an interesting exhibition of retablos which are paintings or other images above and behind an altar in most South American churches. Retablos are also often small oil paintings on tin, wood or sometimes copper used in home altars to venerate Catholic saints.
This retablo of baby Jesus was made in the 20th century.
I found the museum's collection of Piedras Santos or Holy Stones to be of more than passing interest. The painted stones were a symbol of protection for families.
A holy stone with the Virgin of Guadalupe:
A couple of the museum's colorful courtyards:
A figure of a woman from Peru's Chancay culture from 1100-1450 AD:
During the Colonial Period from 1550-1825, the topos was associated with witchcraft to provoke illnesses, with indigenous cults to Pachamama and with the Andean agricultural cycle.
The big dimensional topos, mainly made out of gold, became symbols of status and power and were also used in festivities and religious parades. They continue to be part of the social competition among women to show their prosperity.
I am glad we made time to see the National Ethnography and Folklore Museum, housed in the former Banco Nacional building, as so many of the fascinating displays vividly illustrated Bolivia's great diversity of ethnic cultures.
Frequent readers of the blog know how much Steven and I love to wander through local markets when we travel. That was why we made a beeline to Sucre's Central Market next.
As always, it was a feast for all our senses.
We were tired and hot so a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice tasted like heaven!
Few structures in Sucre were of such importance as the San Francisco Monastery which was a minute's walk from the market. Apart from its artistic value, the church played significant roles during the city's colonial and independence periods when it was the headquarters for independence fighter Mariscal Sucre's troops and its bell rang for freedom. I read it was now the most well-attended church in the city.
Sucre certainly richly deserved its being declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.
At the supposed sight of the museum was a lovely church.
I watched with great interest as an indigenous woman from the Jalq'a culture wove a most intricate and beautiful tapestry. The center's sole employee kindly took us around the center/museum since we were the only visitors. He stated that people in her culture use red and black colors and, only rarely, dark green in their weavings.
The guide told us that people in the happier Yampara culture, one of 36 recognized cultures in Bolivia, generally tell stories in their weavings of weddings and celebrations. The somber colors used in the next weaving, however, he said, were done by a woman who was in mourning.
Clothes normally worn by Yampara women in the countryside:
During the Pujllay celebration which takes place the third Sunday in March (i.e. a week from today!), more elaborate clothes are worn. The word 'Pullay' was Quechua and meant 'dance' or 'game.'
The diorama represented a dance from the Jalq'a culture that we'd first heard about from the woman weaver.
Behind the tourist center which certainly seemed to fit the bill for the indigenous art museum we had set out to see, was an attractive courtyard.
This particularly attractive retablo of the Virgin of Copacabana and Six Saints was also from the same period. It was of special importance to Bolivians as the Virgin of Copacabana is their patron saint.
Several eye-catching crosses were included in the collection.
Something we had never seen before was a display on the parts of a topos, a kind of hairpin or brooch! Beginning in the Tiwanaku Period from 500-1100 AD, topos were simple metal pieces.
The designs became more advanced during the Inca Period which only lasted for one hundred years beginning in 1450 AD. The molding technique allowed for the creation of figures such as birds, monkeys and other complex geometrical shapes.
With the advent of the Contemporary Period from 1825 until the present, the topos were far more elaborate and detailed.
The main use of topos was to fasten women's clothes although they also serve as a decoration. It was fascinating to read that in La Paz and Sucre in the early 20th century, lawyers acknowledged the word 'topazo' as a judicial concept. It referred to a crime defined as death caused by one of the pins!
Another very unusual display were 'Alasitas' or miniatures, normally of llamas, sheep and cows, popular in the rural Andes. The museum's miniatures, though, told the story of La Paz city life through personal documents, newspapers, clothing styles, etc.
The small Plazuelta Santa Cruz across the street was a shoppers' paradise for anyone interested in local handicrafts! Steven sat patiently on a bench while I went from shop to shop and back again. I was ecstatic when I was able to buy one of the small Jalq'a red and black wall hangings we'd seen earlier. It certainly isn't of the same quality but still gives us pleasure.
We meandered back to our guesthouse as we needed a breather from all the museums and being on our feet for hours. What a lovely stroll back it was as you can appreciate from these photos.
Historical plaques and street names were all made out of tile.
I don't often include photos of our accommodations as they're rarely worth mentioning. However, we hit one out of the park when we chose to stay at Hostal CasArte Takubamba.
Perhaps you're thinking that a 'hostal' was simply the Spanish spelling for a hostel? Even though these two words look alike, they are used for a different type of lodging. When booking accommodations for our South America trip so long ago, we soon realized that a hostal was a completely new form of accommodation typical for Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, mainly Hispanic America. It was much closer to a guesthouse, rather than either a hostel or hotel.
The hostal's lovely patio was where we enjoyed a delicious made to order breakfast each morning and also where a local woman just happened to sell her handicrafts. Once she persuaded Steven to buy some bracelets our first morning, she greeted us daily with huge hugs and kisses!
Just outside our large room, we had a lovely balcony with stunning views of Sucre and its hills. Too bad we couldn't stay even longer as Sucre was such an easy town to fall in love with.
Next post: Only a few more hours still to enjoy Sucre.
Posted on March 11th, 2018, from sunny Littleton, Colorado.
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