The Geographic Setting

Ecuador, a country the size of Oregon or Colorado, has ecological zones ranging from mangrove swamps and dense tropical rain forests to temperate valleys and snow-capped mountains. There are three main geographic divisions (see Map 1): the Pacific coastal lowlands; the Andes mountains, forming a north-south spine through the country; and the lowland Amazon basin rain forests to the east, usually referred to in Ecuador as the Oriente (East). The coastal lowlands are broader and the Andean highlands narrower than in Peru, Ecuador's southern neighbor.

The Coast

The coastal zone of Ecuador also forms a marked ecological contrast with that of Peru. The Peruvian coast is one of the driest deserts in the world, which is the chief factor in the preservation of so many archaeological textiles in that area. Off the coast of Ecuador, however, the cold Humboldt Current, which flows northward along the Peruvian coast, turns out to sea, and warm waters flow southward from Central America, causing a wetter climate. There is a rainy season from mid-December to mid-May, though with regional variations.

On the peninsula between Guayaquil and Manta (northwest of Portoviejo), rainfall is unreliable, and people subsist on fishing and raising cattle. To the north and east it is much wetter, supporting tropical-forest vegetation and tropical crops such as cotton, papaya, pineapples, and, by the 1980s, sugarcane, coffee, bananas, and bamboo. The most heavily populated region is the Guayas basin, lying inland from the drier coastal area. The western slopes of the Andes, covered with tropical vegetation, rise precipitously.

The Highlands

The Andes mountains form two parallel chains, referred to as the western and eastern cordilleras, with a fertile valley between them where most people live and which in Ecuador ranges from 2,200 to 2,800 meters (6,750-9,000 feet) in elevation. The mountain chains include a series of spectacular snow-covered active volcanoes, and the area is also prone to earthquakes. The central valley is further divided, like a ladder, by other mountainous or desert areas into smaller basins, which also tend to coincide with indigenous ethnic divisions. There are ten basins of sufficient importance to be represented in our work. Rain is frequent in this area, ranging between 1 and 2 meters annually (39-79 inches), though it is drier between June and October. Annual average temperatures range from twelve to eighteen degrees Celsius (fifty-four - sixty-six degrees Fahrenheit) on the valley floor. The different basins vary in fertility and climate, but, in general, the weather is pleasant due to proximity to the equator, which is only 13 kilometers (8 miles) north of Quito.

In early pre-Hispanic times, the lower elevations of the central valley were forested, up to an elevation between 3,000 and 3,500 meters (9,840-11,480 feet), but the land is now used for either agriculture or grazing. Above this altitude there is an area of colder grasslands, called the páramo, which is frequently overcast and rainy.

There is a narrowing of the high valley near the southern border with Peru, causing a natural geographic break. The extent of the cultural distinctions is unclear archaeologically, but in modern times the type of loom changes at about the same latitude. Other features, such as spinning methods (see Meisch, Miller, and Rowe 2005), continue across the border, and trading has certainly occurred.

The border with modern Colombia has a less-pronounced geographic break, and differentiation has depended primarily on politics. The border area was culturally unified in the pre-Inca and Spanish colonial periods, but the northern border of the Inca empire was in the same place as that between the modern republics. The loom style changes again in Carchi, the northernmost province of Ecuador (not at the border), although certain other cultural features continue into the southern part of Colombia. For example, animal fibers are found in southern Colombia, though, farther north, only cotton is used. While this feature appears to predate the Inca conquest, it is likely that some elements of costume and the supplementary-warp belt-weaving technique spread northward during the period of Spanish domination (Cardale Schrimpff 1977: 46).

In the central valley, maize is the most important indigenous crop at lower elevations, often intercropped with beans, lupine, or quinoa. At higher elevations, crops include barley and fava (broad) beans, introduced by the Spanish, as well as a variety of indigenous tubers. Sometimes, the lower elevations of the páramo may also be cultivated, while the higher elevations are used mainly for grazing. We saw mostly sheep and cattle, though there were a few llamas in the central provinces. Many indigenous households raise guinea pigs, an Andean domesticate, for festival feasts, and some also raise chickens or rabbits.

The Oriente

The Oriente includes the eastern slopes of the Andes and gradually flattens out to the east. It has very heavy rainfall, with tropical-rainforest vegetation. Climatically and culturally, it is similar to the eastern tropical areas of Peru and Colombia. Ecuador's claim to Amazonian territory was reduced by half as a result of an invasion by Peru in 1941 and a settlement to define the border in which Peru was supported by the United States. This settlement was not fully accepted in Ecuador until a further treaty was negotiated in 1998.

Historical Background

At the time of the Inca conquest, the territory that is now Ecuador was divided into many small and often antagonistic political units, which were smaller than the known linguistic units. At least six languages were spoken in the highlands. From north to south, these languages were Pasto (in what is now Carchi province), Cayambi (Imbabura and northern Pichincha), Panzaleo or Lata (southern Pichincha, Cotopaxi, and Tungurahua), Puruhuay or Puruhá (Chimborazo and Bolívar), Cañar (Cañar and Azuay), and Palta (Loja) (J. Rowe Ms).

Cotton (Gossypium barbadense) is indigenous to the western coast of South America and was domesticated probably in the third millennium BC. It appears to have been extensively used in the highlands in pre-Hispanic times as well, although it had to be acquired from lowland areas by trade. Around the beginning of the Christian era, camelid hair, probably from llamas, became available in the southern highlands of Ecuador (Bruhns 1990), but it supplemented and did not replace the use of cotton fiber. Fiber from the leaves of an agave family plant, Furcraea andina, which grows in highland areas, was also used (see Miller et al. 2005). Spinning was done using a simple handheld spindle (see Meisch et al. 2005). The two possible directions of twist are described as either S or Z, corresponding to the slant of the central portions of these letters.

The Inca Empire

The Inca empire originated in Cuzco in what is now the southern highlands of Peru. It conquered the highlands of what is now Ecuador as far north as Quito in the late 1460s. The Inca army also campaigned in what are now Guayas and Manabí provinces on the coast, but it does not appear that this area was as thoroughly incorporated into the empire as was the highlands. In the early sixteenth century the Inca army marched as far north as the valley of Atres in what is now southern Colombia, but the territory actually incorporated into the empire ended at the current border between Ecuador and Colombia.

The Incas divided the territory of highland Ecuador into two provinces, one governed from Quito and the other from Tumi Pampa (modern Cuenca). The Incas introduced their language and ordered their subjects to learn it, and this process was well under way by the time the Spanish arrived. The Spanish found it convenient to continue this policy, with the result that the indigenous Ecuadorian languages all died out in the colonial period.

The Incas also had a regular policy of moving people from previously conquered areas to newly conquered ones, often on a large scale, as part of the pacification process. Many people were moved from one part of Ecuador to another as well as from Peru and even Bolivia into Ecuador. These resettled people were called mitma or mitmaq in the Inca language; the Spanish wrote this word as mitima.

Following the death of the Inca emperor Huayna Capac in 1528, there was a civil war between two of his sons: Huascar, who was Huayna Capac's choice in Cuzco; and Atau Huallpa (Atahualpa), who was the governor of Quito. The key event in terms of Ecuador was a battle at Ambato in 1531 in which Atau Huallpa defeated Huascar and subsequently massacred large numbers of Cañar men and boys for having fought on Huascar's side. Subsequently, Atau Huallpa succeeded in having Huascar and his family captured and killed.

The Spanish Empire

The Spanish under Francisco Pizarro arrived on the Ecuadorian coast in 1531, but first proceeded to Peru, where they captured Atau Huallpa in 1532 and put him to death the following year. A Spanish force under Sebastián de Benalcázar conquered Ecuador in 1534, with assistance from the Cañares, who were happy to fight against the supporters of Atau Huallpa.

The Spanish administration was very oppressive for Ecuador's indigenous people. Populations declined dramatically because of the introduction of European diseases. Spanish officials took much of the best land for themselves, relocating indigenous communities. Large tribute quotas were demanded in both labor and goods, including textiles. The Spanish forced some indigenous people to move long distances to provide labor for their mines or armies. Other people, hoping to avoid the tribute and labor demands, left their ancestral homes. Indeed, over half of the indigenous population was living on other than their original lands by the end of the seventeenth century (Alchon 1991: 82-85).

The Spanish introduced widespread sheep raising and treadle-loom weaving (see Chapter 8) almost immediately and in very large numbers. The use of the European spinning wheel does not appear to have been significant, however, and it is now known only in the Otavalo area. A simple spindle wheel is used, large enough in size that the spinner works standing—backing away as the yarn lengthens and walking forward to wind the yarn on the spindle, hence the term walking wheel. The indigenous camelids were greatly reduced until only a few llamas were left at the highest altitudes. The Spanish also introduced a Mexican maguey, Agave americana, which supplemented but did not displace the similar binding Furcraea andina. The fiber from both plants is used for tying warp resist (Chapters 2 and 3) and for looped bags (Miller et al. 2005). There are many local terms for these fibers, but in our English text the Agave fiber will be referred to as maguey fiber and the Furcraea fiber as chawar, its Quichua (Inca) name.

Because Ecuador lacked any appreciable mineral wealth, the economy was centered on agriculture and on textile production in factories (obrajes S.) using Spanish equipment (see, e.g., Cushner 1982). The fabrics produced were plain-weave and twill-weave yardage of cotton and wool in various grades, which were mostly exported to other parts of the Spanish empire. Some obraje cloth also seems to have been used for indigenous-style garments.

Working conditions in these factories were notoriously bad, and the pay amounted to little or nothing. By the eighteenth century, Ecuadorian obrajes were suffering from competition from fabrics made in Peru and Europe, and the economy stagnated (Tyrer 1976). Lowered obraje income caused the Spanish to raise tribute levels, sparking numerous localized armed rebellions (Moreno Yánez 1985).

The Republic of Ecuador

Spanish policies to raise money in the empire's South American lands also alienated the local elites of Spanish descent. They responded by initiating an independence movement, which succeeded in 1822. The modern state of Ecuador was founded in 1830. Nevertheless, the new republic continued to treat its indigenous population in much the same way as had the Spanish crown. The predominant (though not exclusive) pattern was that much of the agricultural land was owned by a small number of whites, who ruthlessly exploited indigenous labor to operate these estates (called haciendas).

It is only since about 1960 that this pattern has begun to break. Pressure from the Alliance for Progress of the Organization of American States and the fear of a Cuban-style Communist revolution spurred the 1964 agrarian reform law. In many cases, however, the land granted to indigenous families was still insufficient for economic survival, or rapidly became so due to population increases, and many people have migrated to the cities, coastal industries, or the Oriente to become wage laborers. Also, wealthy individuals still own large estates that include the best lands, so indigenous people have organized to pressure the government for further land reforms. Some improvements in the educational system have also been made, including increased access to it and more culturally sensitive books and teaching materials.

Modern Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador

Some 49 percent of the population lives in the coastal area and is a mixture of indigenous, Spanish, and African peoples. The indigenous population is, for the most part, not readily distinguishable as such. Nevertheless, remnants of indigenous weaving and metalworking traditions have been documented in some fishing villages on the coast (Klumpp 1983; Hagino and Stothert 1984; Stothert and Parker 1984; Álvarez 1987; Stothert 1997; Stothert and Freire 1997; Stothert 2005). The traditional loom in this area is vertical, with a continuously circling warp, and lacks the dovetailed join found in highland looms.

In addition, there are two small indigenous groups living in the northern tropical-forest areas near the western slopes of the Andes who have maintained a significant amount of their traditional culture. The Chachis (called Cayapa in the earlier literature), in the northern province of Esmeraldas, and the Tsachila (called Colorado [Red] in the earlier literature, because of their extensive use of red body paint), in the vicinity of Santo Domingo in Pichincha province, have a tradition of vertical looms similar to those of the coastal fishing villages. While Barrett (1925) carefully documented Chachis textile technology, there is an urgent need to do the same for the Tsachila before it is too late.

Some 48 percent of Ecuador's population lives in the highland valleys, and most are indigenous descendants of the pre-Hispanic peoples of the area. There is no census count of the indigenous highland population, but out of a total population of approximately 13,730,000 for the country in 2005, some 20 to 40 percent is indigenous; the vast majority live in the highlands. Their lifeways include a broad and varied mixture of pre-Inca, Inca, Spanish, and modern elements. For the most part, indigenous people are rural agriculturalists and/or artisans, but an increasing number are living in towns and cities, working as wage laborers or selling goods.

The Oriente is much more sparsely inhabited than either the highlands or the coast and, until the 1964 land reform and the discovery of oil in 1967, was of little interest to colonizing groups. The various indigenous peoples have thus preserved many of their pre-Hispanic cultural features. Although they make such items as baskets and hammocks, most of these peoples do not do much weaving, and their culture does not relate to highland traditions. The Shuar and Achuar (called Jívaro in earlier literature), living in the southern part of this area, while of predominantly tropical-forest culture, had a weaving tradition that seems to bear some relationship to that of adjacent highland areas (Bianchi 1982). Another group, the rainforest Quichua (called Canelos Quichua in earlier literature), has been heavily influenced by highland traditions, including language and costume.

Beginning in the 1960s, population pressures in the highlands have caused colonizing activity in the Oriente, deposits of oil have been found and exploited, and missionary activity has increased, causing depredation of both the natural environment and indigenous cultural traditions (see, e.g., Kane 1996).

Ethnicity in Ecuador is complex and subtle. There are differences between how people identify themselves and how they are identified by others, as well as differences in the categories used in different areas. In highland Ecuador, from the indigenous perspective, the fundamental distinction is between blancos (whites) and indígenas. The term mestizo (meaning mixed European and indigenous ancestry) is sometimes used by people to identify themselves or others and is sometimes hyphenated with the term blanco, as in blancos-mestizos (whites-mestizos), to indicate the nonindigenous population. The one exception to this dichotomy occurs in the Azuay valley, where there is a group of people referred to as cholos who wear a distinctive costume and consider themselves to be a class between indigenous and white.

There are many Ecuadorians of mixed descent, some of whom consider themselves white, others of whom consider themselves indigenous. These distinctions are not racial but social. Many people who call themselves blancos or mestizos have darker hair, skin, and eyes than do people who call themselves indígenas. The most important visible or public determinant of indigenous versus white identity in highland Ecuador today is the wearing of identifiably indigenous dress, although language (Quichua instead of or in addition to Spanish) is also a factor.

Among indigenous peoples living in the highlands, some identify with a particular ethnic group, composed of people living in several adjacent communities, while others identify only with their own community, although there may be other nearby culturally similar communities. People in Carchi province (Map 1), whose weaving is distinctive from that farther south, identify mainly with their communities.

Probably the best known ethnic group in Ecuador is the Otavalos, living in many villages around the town of Otavalo in Imbabura province (Map 2), as well as in the town itself. They are famous for their merchant activities, in particular making textiles for sale, which they have done since pre-Hispanic times. Natabuela and its vicinity, on the northern edge of the Otavalo area, have a distinctive costume and weaving substyle. East of Mount Imbabura and extending down into the northeastern part of Pichincha province (Map 2) is another group that wears a different costume. During the period of our fieldwork they did not use an ethnic group name, but since the late 1990s they have readopted their pre-Hispanic name of Cayambe (since the early 2000s also spelled Kayambi). Our weaving data for this group are from Paniquindra in eastern Imbabura province.

In Cotopaxi province, and in parts of Tungurahua province (Map 3), people simply identify with their community, but two distinctive ethnic groups also exist in Tungurahua province. One of these is the Salasacas, who live in dispersed settlements in and around the town of Salasaca, east of the provincial capital of Ambato. The other includes the Chibuleos, Pilahuins, and Angawanas, who live in several communities west of Ambato. The costumes of these latter groups are similar and they intermarry, despite the three ethnic group names. Our weaving data are from the community of San Luis, which is Chibuleo.

Chimborazo province is large and diverse, and most people there and in neighboring Bolívar province simply identify with their community (Map 4). We identified several different costume areas. In northern Chimborazo province, no distinctive costume is worn, but some weaving is still done, mostly on treadle looms using chawar. In central Chimborazo province, the indigenous costumes are similar with only subtle variations. We obtained weaving data from Nitiluisa in the San Juan area, which is north and west of the provincial capital of Riobamba, from several of the sixteen Cacha communities, which are not far south of Riobamba, and from towns in the Colta area, surrounding Lake Colta. There is a separate costume style area in eastern Chimborazo province and also in the southern part of the province, south of Guamote, where costume starts to look like that in Cañar province to the south.

The main ethnic group in Cañar province is the Cañaris (since the early 2000s also spelled Kañaris), living in many small communities centering on the town of Cañar (Map 5). In the southern part of the province, however, people have more cultural similarity to those in Azuay province. In Azuay, indigenous people identify mainly by community, as do the cholos. In the southernmost province of Loja, the main distinctive ethnic group is the Saraguros, who live in many small communities centered on the town of Saraguro in the northern part of the province (Map 6). Other indigenous people in the province identify mainly by community.

Indigenous Costume of Highland Ecuador

Indigenous costume in highland Ecuador combines elements from pre-Inca, Inca, Spanish colonial, and modern times. It varies regionally, but many elements occur in several areas. For a full discussion of the regional variations, see A. Rowe (ed.) 1998.

In most areas north of a line in southern Chimborazo, women wear a dark blue or black wrapped skirt based on pre-Hispanic antecedents. In the Otavalo area and in central Chimborazo, where the wrapped skirt occurs in a relatively long and narrow form, it has replaced a wrapped full-length dress, similar to Inca examples, commonly worn in Chimborazo as recently as the 1960s, but in Otavalo only in more remote communities and by older women. In other areas, the wrapped skirt is worn shorter and with tucks at the waist. In either case, it is usually called by an Inca term, anaku. Although sometimes woven on the indigenous style of loom, these skirts are more often of treadle-loom woven or increasingly of machine-made cloth.

The skirts are held in place by a patterned belt, usually called by its Inca name, chumbi, and woven on the indigenous style of loom. These belts boast the most elaborate patterning and hence the most complex weaving techniques in the Ecuadorian repertoire. Three decorative woven structures are used (see Chapters 4, 5, and 7). The belts are long and wrap multiple times around the woman's waist, with the ends usually secured by tucking them under other wrappings of the belt. Women's hair is often gathered at the nape of the neck and wrapped with a narrow woven band, sometimes decorated in a manner similar to belts. This indigenous hairstyle is not Inca.

In southern Ecuador and in the eastern Imbabura-northeast Pichincha area, women wear a Spanish-style skirt (usually called pollera or centro) tucked into a waistband. The tailored, embroidered blouses worn in many areas are also of Spanish origin (see Nason 2005 for a description of the techniques used). The fabrics used for these garments were formerly woven on Spanish style treadle looms, although by the 1980s they were usually machine made. A belt is not needed with this costume, but in some areas one is worn anyway.

Throughout highland Ecuador, many indigenous women wear a rectangular shawl without fringe that is of pre-Hispanic origin. The shawls are called by a variety of Quichua and Spanish names (e.g., lliglla, bayeta). They are sometimes woven on the indigenous style of loom but more often on the Spanish treadle loom, or, by the 1980s, were of machine-made material. The shawls are sometimes secured on the chest in the Inca fashion with a straight pin called by its Inca name, tupu, or a safety pin, but sometimes the ends are simply knotted together. In some areas, the shawl may be worn under one arm, but otherwise it is worn over both arms, as in the Inca style. In some areas, various styles of machine-made shawls may also be worn.

Another textile used as a carrying cloth in central Ecuador and as a shawl by cholos in Azuay has bound-warp-resist dyed decoration and a fringe at both ends (see Chapter 3). It is woven on the backstrap loom, but knotting the warp fringe is a European introduction. The origin of this hybrid form is unclear but seems to date to the colonial period.

Felt hats were worn only by indigenous men through the mid-nineteenth century, but since 1900 have been worn by both men and women. The felting method with which they are made is based on the properties of sheep's wool and was introduced early in the colonial period. Although machine-made felt hats have become increasingly common, some hand felting of hats was still done in the late 1980s, especially in the barrio of Pomatúg, near Pelileo in Tungurahua province (A. Rowe and Conterón 2005). Plaited hats (the misnamed "Panama" hats), made in Azuay and southern Cañar province, are worn in the south highlands (A. Rowe and Meisch 2005).

In men's costumes, tailored shirts and pants were a Spanish introduction, although pre-Hispanic style tunics (called kushma in Ecuador) were still worn in some areas at the time of our fieldwork. In northern Ecuador, the pants were normally made of cotton, while in southern Ecuador they were of wool. The tunics were usually woven on indigenous looms, but shirts and pants were made of treadle-loom woven cloth. By the 1980s machine-made garments were common except in a few of the more conservative areas. Men generally do not wear a handwoven belt except in Cañar province, where it holds an unseamed kushma in place.

The preeminent indigenous item in the man's wardrobe is the poncho, or ruana (S.), as it is often called in the Ecuadorian and Colombian Andes. In function, it takes the place of the man's mantle, not of the tunic. It clearly derives from native technologies, usually being woven on the backstrap loom and made of two uncut panels sewn together.

The poncho's development into its current form, however, and its widespread use, occurred in the colonial period. The earliest evidence for it is among the Mapuche (called Araucanians in earlier literature) of Chile in the early seventeenth century (Montell 1929: 239). Its use gradually spread northward during the following century. Since ponchos in several scattered areas, including parts of Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, have stepped-diamond designs in bound-warp resist dyeing, similar to Mapuche ponchos, it may be that the association of this technique with poncho weaving is also Mapuche in origin (A. Rowe 1977: 19-22). Ponchos with these designs are woven in Cacha (in Chimborazo province; see Chapter 3), and in Cañar. The pulled-warp chevron patterning found in some other places, such as Azuay, may have a different source (see Chapter 2).

Context of Textile Production

Some of these costume items are made by people for their own use or for someone in their family, while others are commissioned from specialists, a process referred to as pedido (S., request) or obra (S., work). If the item is to be woven, the person commissioning the work supplies the yarn and consequently specifies the colors to be used. The weaver may or may not also ply or dye the yarn for the customer. This is a common arrangement for weaving in the whole Andean area. A more Europeanized system, in which weaving is done on speculation for sale to unknown customers in the market, is also occasionally found, but more often for belts or treadle-loom woven fabrics than for larger backstrap-loom woven items.

Although some people weave full time, especially in the Otavalo area, many people make textiles in the interstices of the agricultural calendar or whenever nothing more pressing is going on. In these cases, weaving is a supplement to the household economy, not the sole means of support. This system lends itself well to weaving for domestic use, since one can spend as much time as one likes, with a correspondingly beautiful result, on a textile for someone known and loved. It can also work adequately with barter within a society where values are shared. It is, however, open to exploitation in situations where a small cash income is a supplement to subsistence living, when the cash remuneration is often not proportional to the amount of time that the work takes.

Hand textile processes are inherently slow, especially using indigenous methods, a fact that may be difficult for those of us removed from these processes to appreciate. But it is no accident that the Industrial Revolution in Europe began with spinning. Once cash income becomes the predominant goal, the amount of time spent on the process becomes critical, and technical and artistic compromises naturally follow. Although there are exceptions, the belts of Cañar and Salasaca, which are made mostly for domestic use, are generally finer than the belts in Otavalo and Chimborazo, which are made for sale.

Another level of compromise is involved when the textile is made for sale to someone outside the community, who usually has different tastes and needs and is unaccustomed to paying for the time it takes to produce a textile by hand. In Ecuador the textiles woven for whites, local or tourist, are often totally distinct, in technique, in design, and in function, from those made for local use (as, for example, in Otavalo). This process is entirely logical. Indeed, the Otavalos understand this better than do most development workers. Thus, this book focuses primarily on textiles made for indigenous use.