ANTIQUE COCA POUCH JEWEL Rare Yura Indian Woman´s Chuspa Andes, Bolivia TM12902

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ANTIQUE COCA POUCH JEWEL Rare Yura Indian Woman´s Chuspa Andes, Bolivia TM12902:
$59.00

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We believe the world can be a better place. We believe that humanity has a higher, aspiring destination. We know that through mutual respect conflicts will subside. We know that by understanding our differences we can help one another. We believe that our Mother Earth and our Universe can provide unlimited resources for every man, woman and child to live in peace, happiness and love. As stewards of the human race we have an intrinsic responsibility to do what we can to improve our world as much as possible.

The majority of human existence has been dominated by so-called “Native” groups, also known as tribal folk, original residents, indigenous people, aboriginals, First Nations, traditional ethnicities, autochthonous societies, autochthonal cultures, et. al. At some point of course our ancestors were the same… regardless of current culture, creed or color. Regrettably, in the past half a millennium, thousands of unique tribal groups have disappeared due to misunderstanding, impudence and ethnocentrism. Aspects of colonialism, capitalism, racism and politicization have directly and circuitously destroyed myriad native cultures, each a once-valuable resource to our planet. Of the nearly 7000 languages currently spoken on our planet, over 6000 are in immediate danger of becoming extinct. The vast majority of those are ethnic indigenous. We believe the very few “Native” groups that remain on earth should be cherished and carefully supported. Unfortunately, we are on the brink of losing our connection with indigenous spirit, wisdom and traditional knowledge. For those whose customs have vanished, our window into their worlds is only available through literature, paintings, photographs, a few recordings and material culture, or the objects they created.

For more than a quarter century those of us behind AKATAKSA/ANDESAMAZON have dedicated our professional interests to documenting “traditional” South American indigenous cultures, especially through their material culture. Our field studies have led us to some of the remotest living people on the continent. We have witnessed Native Americans existing exactly as their ancestors did in prehistoric times… and others who have jumped from 18th century existence to 21st century reality in the blink of an eye. Our ethnographic investigations have resulted in valuable data related to linguistics, cultural history, ethno-Environmental relationships, socio-cultural organization, cosmology, mythology, spirituality and of course, material culture. We have a detailed proposal for a magnificent cultural center aimed at stimulating interest in past and present indigenous cultures. Our unique idea is not just to show beautiful objects on display. Ours is to share the entire background of a piece, not only from a scientific or scholarly point of view but also from a cultural and spiritual perspective as well. This holistic approach to understanding indigenous material culture shall include accompanying photographs, films, recorded testimonials, music, related specimens and even field notes. We want to inspire our visitors to continue their own investigations into realms of mysterious phenomena that we really know very little about.

Apart from receiving monies for researching indigenous material culture, our sales contribute toward expanding interest in past cultures and ways of life. Not only can ones´ personal Environment be enhanced with beautiful and interesting objects but the benefits of knowing about different ideologies, unique ways of life and past or nearly-extinct traditions are utterly invaluable. We encourage every buyer to intimately study each piece and learn as much as possible about its origin, function, importance and spiritual history. We hope that whatever understanding, knowledge and insights are obtained from our objects will be shared with companions, friends and especially children. In this small way we feel inspired in preserving something of native cultures and making the world a better place. Thank you for working with us.

A FINE ANDEAN INDIAN WOMAN´S CH´USPA
FROM THE YURA REGION OF BOLIVIA

Inventory Number: TM12902

Provenance: Field-collected at Chaquilla Village, Yura Municipal (formerly Cantón), elevation about 11,300 feet, inter-Andean valleys of the Eastern Andean Cordillera, Antonio Quijarro Province, Department of Potosí, Bolivia, South America.

Background and Description:

This lot includes a small Yura Indian ch´uspa, often called “coca bag.” Popular belief, based on limited-researched publications and tourist Websites, holds that ch´uspa are small decorated flat bags used by Andean men for holding sacred coca leaves. Although this is true, or partly true, in some regions of the Andes, it is not unanimously correct.

The word ch´uspa (also chuspa and chhuspa) is of Quechua (Kichwa) origin and was used by the Inka (Inca) to describe small ceremonial pouches, frequently worn around the neck for carrying small amounts of sacred coca leaves. Throughout much of the Bolivian Andes, the name wallq´ipu was historically used for similar pouches. ICB investigators have documented the historic use of the word wallq´ipu in the provinces of Ingavi and Camacho in the Department of La Paz, the western sections of the Department of Cochabamba, the Eastern and southern parts of the Department of Oruru and all of the northern Department of Potosí. The term was definitely used by numerous Uruqilla-speaking groups, however, it may have originally been a Pukina word, which was a language undoubtedly spoken at Tiwanaku before A.D. 1200. Like Aymara and Quechua, numerous words in Pukina and Uruqilla were common between the two prehistoric tongues. The original Aymara word for the same kind of pouch is wist´alla. One finds this nomenclature in the provinces of Pacajes and western Aroma in the Department of La Paz as well as the western part of the Department of Oruro.

Ch´uspa were often suspended around the neck and worn “over the heart,” however, this is more a regional preference than a standard practice. Other examples were worn bandoleer style, hung from the waist or wrapped around the wrists. Is some areas pouches lacked suspension straps and were simply held or folded and carried in a waist sash, such as was the case with this piece. In several regions these pouches were used by both men and women. In fact, this ch´uspa was woven for and carried by a woman for holding coins, mostly while attending ceremonial events.

This is a beautiful little pouch in superb condition with a field consisting of three paired bands in different colors separated by five bands of fine design work and two lateral bands in simple patterns. The textile is very finely woven with about 86 warps per inch and 18 wefts per inch. There is extremely fine, complicated 3-color edge-tubing around the side and top edges. The lower fringe consists of tufts of fine alpaca wool in four colors. This particular alpaca fiber is known as “Toledo” wool, from its distribution from Toledo, Oruro. Toledo trade wool is almost always found on turn-of-the-19th century to early-20th century textiles, to which this example belongs. The pouch dates about 1930.

Approximate Age: Early-20th century, circa 1930. Please refer to the ANDES AMAZON \"DATING\" TERMS and Background and Description, above.

Materials: The warp consists of hand-spun, two-ply dyed sheep wool, two-ply fine, natural white llama wool and a minor amount of fine two-ply natural brown wild vicuña wool. The lower fringe consists of historic dyed alpaca fiber known as “Toledo” wool.

Approximate Size: The pouch measures 4 3/16 inches (including fringe) by 4 1/8 inches wide.

Condition: EXCELLENT, guarded condition.

There are neither worn spots nor damaged sections of any kind. The pouch is complete and was used without a suspension strap. Please refer to the photos and the ANDES AMAZON TEXTILE \"CONDITION\" TERMS.

ANDESAMAZON SHIPPING

All of our items are shipped directly from South America. The advantage is that selling costs are kept to a minimum. The disadvantage is that items will not arrive quickly. Most items arrive in two to three weeks from their date of shipping; however, some items have taken up to six weeks to arrive (especially to Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, greater Asia and the Middle East) due mostly to customs inspections and policies. Items to the United States of America have arrived in as few as ten days. Our offices are not in close proximity to international postal service. Most items are shipped within one to three working days of payment.

The cost for shipping this item is as follows:

$24.00 SHIPPING TO: ASIA, AUSTRALIA, INDIA and NEW ZEALAND

ANDESAMAZON

ANDESAMAZON is an sister site to AKATAKSA, which began in February, 1999. With transactions involving some 3000 clients AKATAKSA is noted with ABOVE STANDARD performance and 100% POSITIVE response. All AKATAKSA items are shipped from within the United States. All ANDESAMAZON items are shipped directly from South America. Our intention is to reach a larger number of clients by keeping worldwide shipping costs to a minimum. Unfortunately, WE CANNOT OFFER RETURNS – either in merchandise or money. We promise to continue providing detailed and accurate information related to age, origin, condition and descriptions as we have for the past 15 years. WE ALSO PROMISE TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO ASSURE THAT YOU ARE SATISFIED WITH YOUR PURCHASES.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RELATING TO ANDEAN CULTURE, ARTS AND HISTORY,
THIS NEW ANDES AND AMAZON WEBSITE MAY BE USEFUL.

ANDES AMAZON \"DATING\" TERMS:

PREHISTORIC, PRE-COLUMBIAN, ANCIENT = Before around A.D. 1500.
18TH CENTURY = A.D. 1700 to 1799.
19th CENTURY = 1800 to 1899.
TURN OF THE 19TH CENTURY = 1890 to 1910.
EARLY-20TH CENTURY = 1900 to 1933.
MID-20TH CENTURY = 1934 to 1966.
LATE-20TH CENTURY = 1967 to 1999.
TURN OF THE 20TH CENTURY = 1995 to 2005.
EARLY-21ST CENTURY = 2000 to Present.
COLONIAL = A.D. 1532 to 1825.
ANTIQUE = Over 50 years old.
VINTAGE = Over 30 years old.
CONTEMPORARY = Made in the last 5 years.
CIRCA = \"Approximately/around/within a few years of.\"

ANDES AMAZON TEXTILE “CONDITION” TERMS:

Terms used to describe the physical condition of textiles can be subjective and vary greatly from one observer to another. What some others call “mint” condition, we call “good”; what others call “excellent” condition, we call “fair.” Following are explanations of the terms we use.

MINT = Like new. Unused -- as if recently removed from the loom. No wear or patina of any kind. These textiles may have “nubs” or even loose, uncut threads from the weaving process.
EXCELLENT = Usually only lightly used, often guarded or stored for many years. There may be extremely light wear, patina and sheen from use. There may also be nearly undetectable light staining or soiling from use. The colors may have muted ever so slightly due to age or exposure, often improving the beauty of a textile.
VERY GOOD = Usually lightly or only periodically used. The surface may be very lightly but evenly worn. There are no tears or distracting holes. There may be minimal surface discoloration. Vintage textiles may have lightly darkened yarn from use and age (staining and soiling). Overall, the textile will be in outstanding condition and at a displayable distance will appear perfect.
GOOD = Usually moderately to well-used. There may be light to medium staining, isolated or throughout. Some parts of the textile may be worn or have very small holes, occasionally exposing hidden thread yarns. Edges may be lightly frayed. Surface discoloration due to age and exposure is common but often improving the appearance of a textile. There may be minor, light or isolated, dye “run.” Damage will not distract significantly from the textile when displayed.
FAIR = Either well-used or moderately abused. Extensive wear is common as is some “bleeding” or dye “run.” In most 20th century cases, the colors have considerably faded. Sections of fringe or tassels may be missing. Textiles may be in otherwise excellent condition but with a single isolated sector of damage, that greatly reduces its aesthetic appeal. Most vintage tribal textiles on the market are in FAIR TO GOOD condition.
POOR = Showing evidence of extreme usage and damage. These textiles do not display well and are primarily useful as study specimens or examples of sometimes very rare textiles.

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