Hello all.
I just spent some time today looking for pictures of Peruvian slings online, and didn't find any new ones. What I did find where a few outlets that import Peruvian textiles for sale into the USA. I wrote 3 of them inquiring if they could import slings for those of us interested here at
www.slinging.org. I just received a reply this evening from:
Daniel Samanez
Andean Art
http://www.andeanart.comWholesale Andean Handicrafts and Alpaca Products Directly From the Andes
He seemed very interested. He said that his father was raised in Peru and had been slinging his whole life. That he often had slings pass through his hands, though he wasn't really a collector. He also said that his father knew where to purchase wool slings directly from the Peruvian sling makers and that he would be able to obtain slings for us. He's going to get back to me on what the price would be and on the specifics as soon as he can find out. I'm trying in turn to express to him what type of interest there will be and what particularly we would be interested in. Maybe everything huh?!
I believe that given the fact that the Peruvian slings are high quality, for most of us price is the issue and I let him know this. I put about 20 hours of skilled labor into my last sling and I couldn't sell it for any type of price that would be low enough to generate interest here among even those most fanatical about slings. But the Peruvians are in a different situation I believe. I think that international business wouldn't be bad for them in the least. And their prices wouldn't be so high. AndeanArt.com is a wholesale importer, so I'm hoping their prices will be reasonable and not just reasonable but attractive.
Now to get you guys excited as I am, if you aren't already. I have great hopes that indeed the quality of the slings will be high, and that the prices will be attractive, and that accordingly we will be interested enough to make purchases. And then in turn, they will be interested enough in continued business to be able to keep a variety of designs and styles of slings in stock. Which will in turn generate more interest with us and turn some of us into bigger collectors. I have a dream. That someday Alpaca wool Peruvian slings will be easy to obtain, yeah even custom made! Ok maybe my dream is a bit far fetched but I hope that it comes true anyway.
Now for my rant about Peruvian slings. The nostalgia, the cultural heritage, the authenticity, the functionality. I'm interested myself though I can make them. Peruvian slings are the highest development of slings anywhere. The braids are so elaborate that it wasn't until the late 70's when we here in the USA discovered how to replicate even some of them, and that for non sling purposes. A few analytical souls learned directly through only partially willing natives.
I read in an old book about the Spanish conquest of Peru. There were reports as to how deadly the Peruvians were with their slings. One guy talked about a Peruvian sling stone shattering a sword blade, and that the locals bragged that they had a sling that could kill a horse. I've seen numerous pictures in Sling Braiding of The Andes, and some of the work is staggering. Their work surpasses my own by a long ways! It's a part of their culture. It's so entrenched that they even make nonfunctional dancing slings with nonfunctional pouches. In Quechua (The Peruvian language) they are called q'aqchawaraq'a waraq'a. The herding slings (stone slings) are called michina waraq'a. waraq'a means sling. To this day their culture uses them for herding and still in the festivals and dances.
There are several different styles of Peruvian slings. Distinctly I know of the Macusani style, and the Ilave style. Both have split cradles. The Macusani has one wider retention cord without a finger loop, and one narrower release cord. The Ilave, I think, is the most beautiful. It is the style I tried to emulate with my sling making. The Ilave uses the finger loop and on either side of the cradle is a complex and beautiful, often entrancing braid, done in sometimes up to 24 strands. Then they transistion into a more standard 16 strand braid of narrower diameter.
Anyway, I don't know exactly what Andean Art will be able to get for us but I'm hopeful. Let me know what type of interest we have here? I think that will factor in some to what happens on the other end. Of course none of us are promising any purchases but if we are interested I think that Andean Art will put more effort into getting us what we want.
Waraq'a! that was long!
Ben