Traditional artisan owners of the Art that will last in Pewenche Ancestral Lands

The Association of Pewenche Artisans, Kintupi (the ones that search for) is an association of five small groups of female weavers from the communities of Pitril, Cauñicú, Malla Malla, Trapa Trapa and Butalelbún. Since years ago, they have been making a very important contribution to the conservation of the cultural heritage that has been transmitted through generations, in their diverse efforts, to give value to their textile art and what nature has given them. A central milestone in their work has been textile art. This work is characterised by the use of natural tinctures from materials they obtain from the forests (plants and rocks).

Kintupi also work with lawen or medicinal herbs, and with non-timber products from the forests such as the commercialization of wild hazelnut, pewen nuts, chestnut and walnuts. They also derive traditional products from wheat –toasted flour, locro and “coffee”- and from the wild hazelnut. The links and uses of the different attributes and functions of the forests in the territory of Alto Bio Bio has a great relevance not just in this commercial sense, but also in the traditional context, using just what is needed; to find food, remedies or lawen for unbalances in health, refuge, cattle breeding, water protection, fire wood from dead or deformed trees, trying always to avoid causing damage, and with a deep respect for the protective forces (gnen).

On the 11th of November 2006, in Pitril, fifteen women from the above mentioned communities, met and agreed to join forces to improve and strengthen the ways they have been revaluing and commercializing their art. Their efforts to commercialize their products led them to participate in several artisans markets at local, regional and international levels, all the while focusing on the preservation of their knowledge and improvement of their art. They have taken part in training, journeys to exchange ideas and experiences with other artisans, and keep monthly meetings that develop through wise conversations, sharing mate and tortillas, and the union of artisan women from the same territory with a common cultural root.

Kintupi artisans are linked with the Association Trekaleyin, playing a central role in complementing the ecotourism context that is being developed in Alto Bio Bio, strengthening their Pewenche identity through the inclusion of their traditional art. They dream to have an Exhibition and Management Centre in the community of Pitril, that also serves as a meeting place to gather together their ideas and creative strengths, to construct their future as representatives of the traditional art from Alto Bio Bio.

Sandra Vita V. y Liria Vita V. Kintupi Members. Community of Butalelbun. (Photo: Ximena Jaque J.)

Teresa Pavian Naupa. Kintupi Members. Community of Cauñicu. (Photo: Ximena Jaque J.)

Our essence as weavers…
Along the Queuco Valley it is possible to find the Kintupi Pewenche textile artisans, who are well known for their works in sheep wool, hand processed by them.

The weavers Isabel Vita, Clementina Vita, Laura Porteño, Teresa Pavián, María Luisa Vita, Elba Flores and Liria Vita, tell us about their beautiful craft.

“It all starts when we have to shear the sheeps wool, which is done when the warm weather is getting closer… around November. Then we wash the fleece, and from ancient times that´s done with the wautro (shrub) and then we leave it to dry under the sun. Once it´s dry we comb it, taking apart all the seeds and little branches that are stuck to the wool and stretch out the fibres so the fleece transform its compact texture to a more fluffy and uniform one. Now we do one of the more delicate, laborious and wise steps in the process of weaving… the dying. In order to do it, we go to the mawida (mountain) to look for the colors we need. We need to do that during Pewü (spring) time, because that´s when the sap from the trees is in the buds, and is the right moment to gather and find the widest diversity of tones”

Clementina Vita V. Kintupi member. Community Pitril. (Photo: Ximena Jaque J.)

“We get the black color from the radal or the maqui, the brown from the oak, the pewen nut skin or the soot, the purple from the fruit of the maqui, the blue from the lingue bark, from the peach leaves we get the intense green, as well as from the maqui and mint leaves, the orange color from the carrots, the yellow from the trüng trüng roots, for the grey we need to go to the menuko (spring)because there is where we can get the boro (a kind of mud), from the cypress tree root we can get the pink, from the notro bark a kind of red color. The dark green is obtained from the stone flower, and the pitra gives a dark yellow, and so on… so many plants and trees we can use to dye our works. Once the wool starts to boil, we must add “water from the agrio” (a special water from a local spring) or salt to make the color to stay on it. In the past, our grandmothers used their urine to fix the colors, and it worked really well too.”

Elba Flores F. Kintupi member. Community Trapa Trapa. (Photo: Ximena Jaque J.)

Laura Porteño Q. Kintupi member. Community of Cauñicu. (Photo: Ximena Jaque J.)

“You need to have good hands to take the bark from the trees and prevent them from dying. And always be careful not to damage the plant or tree, because we need to respect this life and this way we will be able to use them again next year”

“We don´t store the stuff to dye during the winter and autumn, because dry it doesn´t give the same colour as when it is alive, so the variety of colours changes the same as the seasons change, I mean, this work is associated to what nature give to us in each time of its cycle. In springs clear colours from the buds, and in winter and autumn darker colours”

“Once we dye our wool, we must start spinning it. We use the huso (drop spindle), so it´s very common to see us doing this at any time, even while we walk. From it we get the yarn that is our base to start weaving”

Isabel Vita V. Kintupi member. Community Pitril. (Photo: Ximena Jaque J.)

M Luisa Vita. Kintupi member. Comunity Malla Malla. (Photo: Ximena Jaque J.)

“Wool socks, horse gear, prensiones, bands, caps, scarves, carpets, ponchos, gloves, bags, jerseys, legging and other different things are what we produce, with different colours and ñimiñ (drawings).

“Come visit us, we will be waiting for you in each of our workshops located in the different communities of the Queuco Valley…”

Association of Pewenche Artisans
KINTUPI