The techniques used for Matsigenka textiles are reserved for women only and are transmitted from one generation to the other within the same family.
The Matsigenka use native cotton from their territory to produce traditional cushmas and other woven products such as the tsagi; a small cotton handbag with intricate geometric motifs. For pieces like these, small wooden hand looms are used.
Dimensions (approximate): Large 25.5cm x 28cm, strap drop 57cm / Small 24cm x 21cm, strap drop 63
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The Matsigenka are one of numerous ethnic groups culturally alive in the Peruvian Amazon and as for millennia they are connected to nature through their rainforest home, producing numerous artifacts from locally sourced materials.
Jempos are a common element used among Matsigenka people to carry any kind of object or material. They are made from a vegetable fibre called cetico. The material is obtained from the bark of the tree with the same name, the cetico. This bark is softened in the water to extract from its finer fibres. Later, the fibres are twisted together to obtain the fine thread with which the jempos are woven by hand.
In their designs, they also create patterns by adding the colour purple, which they obtain by rubbing the yarn with sanipanga leaves.