INSIDE NMAI
........................
INKA LINES OF COMMUNICATION
BY CLAU DIA LIMA T
extiles from the Inka civilization are considered to be of major sig- nificance for Andean culture. Their fabrications were inspired in indi- vidual and personal experiences
and reflected social position. Including scenes of people and animals illustrated in a Spanish style, the textiles were also grouped with to- capu motifs that were typical of the Inka style. Tocapu is an abstract pattern used on
Inka textiles, mostly composed of geometric figures organized within a square creating horizontal or vertical lines. The designs were clearly distinguishable. The Inka textiles pat- terns changed dramatically after Spanish inva- sion, yet the Andean people preserved much of their traditional technology and designs. Long before the Spanish conquest, Inka
culture had no written language. As a result, Andean textiles were also used as a form of communication. The Spanish influence reformed the
regulation of uses and meaning of the tocapu treatments. Their patterns emphasize the use of four colors, yellow, red, black and beige. However, the meaning behind their unique uses of colors is yet to be discovered. This Colonial Inka woman’s manta (shawl)
was purchased by the Museum of the Ameri- can Indian (our predecessor) from Louis Chable in 1916 using funds donated by MAI trustee James B. Ford (1844–1928). The manta will be on display during our
upcoming exhibition The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire, opening June 26, 2015 and running through June 2017 at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. X
Claudia Lima is an intern in the Museum’s Office of Public Affairs.
52 AMERICAN INDIAN SPRING 2015
Colonial Inka woman’s manta (shawl), 1780–1800. Temple of the Sun, Isla de la Luna, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia. Cotton yarn, camelid wool yarn, dye, 47.2" x 43.5". NMAI 5/3773
PHOTO BY ERNEST AMOROSO
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