Walking Through Markets of Old Peru – Asia InCH – Encyclopedia of Intangible Cultural Heritage

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We have to bear in mind that in Pre Incan time, numerous cultures were spaced throughout the territory, each with its own customs and traditions, working with whatever elements from nature they had at hand. These prevail to our time, making patterns and colours in jumpers and rugs distinguishable to different areas even now. The sierra is cold, thus using and extracting their base material, wool, from the “auquenidos” like the alpaca. (The auquenido is a camel-like animal, minus the humps) The coast-based cultures had no need for high cold resistant fabrics, using instead mostly cotton. Today, alpaca wool is still rich, warm and expensive; the animals pasture the high territory in the mountains and have their wool cut for the manufacture of chals, jumpers and chullos – a hat-like device that covers the head and ears. Baby alpaca wool is softer and even more demanded for its quality. Pima cotton is Peru’s best cotton, hand picked even today to avoid having the machinery tinting the white with yel...