Costume and History in Highland Ecuador

Glossary (Ann Pollard Rowe)

(Q ) = Quichua; (S) = Spanish; (T) = Taíno acrylic. Synthetic fiber that mimics the appearance of wool, although it is often more brightly colored. Agave. Plant genus originating in Mexico. The species Agave americana was introduced into Ecuador during the colonial period. It has long, fleshy leaves from which fibers are extracted. See also Miller et al. 2005. aksu (Q , Spanish spelling acso). Inca-style woman’s wrapped dress. Term used in the southern part of the Inca Empire in place of anaku. alforja (S, from Arabic). Double bag, made by folding each end of a rectangle toward the center. Introduced by the Spanish during the colonial period but often backstrap-loom woven. See also backstrap loom. alpargata (S, also spelled alpargate). Espadrilles introduced from Spain. In Ecuador, they are usually made with braided chawar or rubber soles and cloth toe covers, plus heel strap and tie. See also chawar. alternating float weave. Simple weave derived from plain weave in which alternate yarns are interlaced 3/1 in alternating alignment, forming 3-span warp floats on one face and 3-span weft floats on the opposite face (Emery 1980: 114–115). In Ecuador , fabrics woven in this structure are usually warp-predominant, so the warp-float face is used as the front. anaku (Q , Spanish spelling anaco). Originally the Inca-style woman’s full-length rectangular wrapped dress, pinned at the shoulders and belted, in the northern part of the Inca Empire, including Ecuador. It continued to be worn in several areas of Ecuador until recent memory. In the twentieth century, it usually refers to a wrapped skirt (half length) made of a rectangle and secured with a belt. There may be few or many tucks taken at the waist, and its length is variable. In Saraguro, the term refers to a skirt with pressed pleats sewn into a waistband. backstrap loom. Indigenous loom in which tension is maintained by a strap passing around the weaver’s back or hips. bayeta (S). Coarse treadle-loom woven wool fabric. The equivalent English fabric Glossary ann pollard rowe 332 Costume and History in Highland Ecuador name is baize. The same term is sometimes used for an indigenous woman’s shawl in Ecuador. See also treadle loom. bolsicón (S). A European-style gathered skirt, worn by women of intermediate social status in Azuay over a pollera. Twentieth-century examples are blue or green and have a series of horizontal tucks near the lower edge. See also pollera. bolsicona (S). Woman of intermediate social status, equivalent to chola. Term used in nineteenth-century Quito and in the first half of the twentieth century in Imbabura Province. See also cholo. bound-warp resist-dyed. A technique in which groups of selected warp yarns have been partially wrapped and bound, and then dyed before weaving to create designs in the finished fabric. See also warp and A. Rowe ed. 2007: chaps. 2–3. cabuya (T). Fiber from the leaves of either Furcraea or Agave. calzón (S). Spanish-style men’s pants. camelid. A member of the camel family. There are four Andean camelids, the domesticated alpaca and llama, and the wild vicuña and guanaco. They are so closely related that it can be hard to distinguish them in the archaeological record, but llamas seem to predominate in Ecuador. The undercoat hair of all these animals can be used for spinning and weaving. camisa (S). Spanish-style woman’s blouse or chemise or a man’s shirt. See also chemise . changalli (Q , leg or thigh wrapping). An apron-like rectangular panel worn in Central Chimborazo Province over the front of a wrapped dress or skirt. chawar (Q , classic Inca ch’awar). Fiber from the leaves of Furcraea andina, a plant indigenous to the Andean area. The fiber, which is similar to maguey, is used for binding resist for dyeing, woven food sacks, rope, braided sandal soles, looped bags, etc. See also Miller et al. 2005. chemise. The European prototype was a woman’s undergarment in fashionable dress, with short sleeves and a knee-length slightly flared lower portion. In rural dress, the upper part was often decorated and designed to be seen, though usually worn with some type of vest or jacket over it. In Ecuadorian costume, it was worn with a skirt and shawl. The length of the chemise varied depending on the length of the skirt. cholo (S). Term used in Cañar and Azuay for a group of people with a distinctive...