Handwoven Peruvian Wool Tapestry (Ayacucho Region)

So-called tapestries from San Pedro de Cajas are widely marketed, but Ayacucho in Perus central highlands is the center of tapestry weaving. Men weave most Ayacucho tapestries, though more women are learning tapestry weaving. Most weavers live in the Santa Ana district. Weavers speak Quechua (Inca) as a first language, and Spanish. Tapestry weaving is an outlet for artistic expression, a source of income, and a way to connect to pre-Conquest traditions. Rural Andean peasants do not use wall hangings, runners, or carpets, so tapestries are created for the market.

The Maoist guerrilla organization Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) formed in Ayacucho, which was a center of operations and conflict. Sendero forcibly recruited peasants and killed community leaders. Government and right-wing paramilitary targeted Sendero, but also the areas mostly indigenous peasants, in a scorched earth policy. About 75,000 people died or disappeared between 1980 and 2000; some 40% were from Ayacucho. Hundreds of thousands were refugees; thousands of children were orphaned. One third of Ayacuchos people fled. Most refugees went to Lima; some settled in the U.S. or Europe. A revival of tapestry and other crafts is a testimony to Ayacuchanos persistence, and the power of creativity to combat violence.

Tapestry Dimensions: 570 W x 1520 H

Signed by weaver