Shipibo - Peru Textiles Process

In the Peruvian Amazon live the indigenous Shipibo people. They dwell in small villages located north and south of the city Pucallpa. They are determinedly independent and until recently have survived on fishing, hunting, and agriculture. Even today, with increased contact from Western populations, they maintain a strong tribal identity and retain many of their ancient traditions and beliefs.

The Shipibo & Yine people are the only two of twelve indigenous groups in Eastern Peru that still practice the traditional craft of painting on fabric with vegetable dyes. Their ancient artform is well known for its distinctive use of broad and thin angular geometric designs. For the Shipibo, these designs describe the lives of their families and communities in the forest, and are said to be the ancient visions of the mystical Shipibo shamans who could see the patterns of life that run through nature.

This art is performed by women in the community working in close-knit groups. They come together to work primarily in their houses and yards, but some groups do have community centers where they can congregate. Dyeing, painting, bathing the cloths in mud, fixing the dyes, and drying the cloths between each step is a very difficult process that has been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. Although they may work on many items at one time, it takes approximately 1 full day just to make one placemat. A large embroidered piece will often take several months to make.

This particular project works with a small cooperative of 30 Shipibo Indian women artists called Isayaca. These women battle poverty every day, but by selling their work in Australia, they are building a sustainable future for themselves and their community.

By buying their precious artwork, your money will not only help a woman feed her children, it will also help with projects such as awarding scholarships to Shipibo youth, building new workstations and giving them access to better healthcare. But most of all, it encourages Shipibo communities to value their traditions and means women will not have to leave their families for long periods seeking work.

Los Andes proudly supports the Shipibo to maintain their distinct way of life and fight poverty.

The Process:

The Shipibo detailed style is a combination of broad and thin lines. The actual design or pattern will differ slightly with each handmade item. The most famous artworks are the chintoni kenewka (embroidered fabrics) and chopa kweaka (painted fabrics).

Painted on pure cotton muslin, plant dyes are used to make a brown tint. They apply the tint with a metal "pencil", which they make from a piece of scrap metal such as an umbrella stay. When the painted cloth is soaked in a special river mud the brown tint turns to black.

For the black on white designs, they paint onto natural undyed muslin with the brown plant-based dye, and then bathe the entire fabric in mud, thus turning the painted portions to black. For the black on rust designs, they dye the entire fabric with the plant-based brown tint, and then paint on it with mud, thus turning only those painted portions to black.