Lliclla. Bolivia. Circa 1970.

Delicate handcrafted garment, in sheep's wool, woven on a stake or floor loom, warp-faced, and with complementary warp work. The piece was formed with two fields joined by a decorative seam. Measurements: 105 x 92 cm / 41.33 x 36.22 in.

We are before a lliclla, identifiable as chayantaka because it presents “pallay” (ornamental work) in the center and lists of different colors on its sides, added to a rhombus design with waves or loops called “Aywirakancha” (1) and representations of condors and horse interrupting the guard, and enclosed in "tocapos" (cells or boxes delimited by separation lines and by the difference in background color). This particular piece fulfilled a cultural mandate, as the red ones were used -as a protective symbol- to cover the harvest products and to cover the "pillu", the hat that collected gifts in money or in skeins of wool in the marriage festivities.

Its original functionality makes the lliclla a feminine garment. The Spanish Jesuit priest Bernabé Cobo (1582 - 1657) explained it well in his chronicles: “they put it on their shoulders and put the edges together on your chest, pin them on”. They are used both to wrap and carry a child, as a luggage and merchandise transport suitcase.

The Chayanta ethnic group, of pre-Inca origin, is located north of the department of Potosí and is made up of a large number of ayllus (2) that cross the entire Potosí territory from east to west, that is, from the border with Cochabamba to the border with Oruro. Chayantaka is one of the major ayllus: The members of the Chayantaka ayllu make up a distinct ethnic group: they feel and are different from the inhabitants of other ayllus in the Bustillos province, and they express it in different ways. A first expression is their self-denomination: they are Chayantakas, and they live the difference by practicing patterns of behavior, solidarity, reciprocity and defense of the territory (...) These ethnic differences are expressed externally in the dress: they weave their garments with colors and designs that highlight their differences with "the others." (2)

Notes:

1. Jaime López, Willer Flores, Catherine Letorneux: Lliqllas Chayantakas. Ed. PAC-POTOSÍ / RURALTER, La Paz. Bolivia, 1992, p. 120.

2. From the Quechua ayllu, 'family', 'lineage', 'partiality'. Bol. And Peru. Each one of the groups into which an indigenous community is divided, whose components are generally of a lineage. RAE Dictionary. Tricentennial Edition. Update 2019. 3. Jaime López, Willer Flores, Catherine Letorneux: Ob. cit., pp. 15-16.