Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands

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by Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez

112 pages, Copyright 2007, Center for Traditional Textiles

This is a beautiful book. And I don't mean the pictures, as lovely as they are. It is a book of weavers, their stories and culture, told by one of their own. It is filled with the heart and soul of these artists.

The author is a woman from a rural village who, after making her way to university and later teaching at places as reknowned as the Smithsonian, returned home to help establish cultural centers to preserve and celebrate traditional weaving techniques.

This is not a how-to book, though the tools and techniques are touched on briefly. Reading it is like wandering through a series of Peruvian villages, in the company of a native guide, pausing to look over the shoulders of the weavers, and chat with them about their work. It is filled with anecdotes, quotes, songs, and even a couple of bawdy jokes.

I picked up this book with little interest in Peruvian weaving, but soon became enthralled by the words of the weavers and the gorgeous photographs of their work. I was especially touched by the intergenerational nature of the book, which encompasses the role weaving plays in the lives of people in the Peruvian highlands: from newborn infants to ninety-year-old artists. Travelers, anthropology enthusiasts, lovers of good stories, and folks who like to sit and visit with other weavers will find much to enjoy in this book.