256 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I33 



pottery, wooden containers, and modern ones. Formerly, according to 

 Cooper's sources, hill caves were used for storage also. The ruka are 

 orderly and clean; and so are adjoining yards. Brooms of grass or 

 vines were being used. 



The traditional clothing for men and boys was a sleeveless sweater, 

 a piece of cloth secured at the waist and drawn between the legs to 

 form pants, and a poncho. Women and girls wore a piece of cloth 

 fastened on one or both shoulders and tied about the waist with a 

 belt, and a shawl. 



Today, with few exceptions, men, both old and young, wear pants, 

 shirt, often a coat, and a poncho; married women more often wear 

 the traditional clothing with a long-sleeved waist added ; younger 

 women, the dress worn by Chileans. At work, men are usually bare- 

 foot ; shoes are worn by those who can afford them at fiestas, church 

 services, and when among Chileans in trading places. Women are 

 usually barefoot. Hats are worn by most men and many boys. Women 

 wear silver accessories on special occasions. 



A schoolboy today generally wears knee-length pants, shirt, and 

 poncho ; a schoolgirl, a dress of calico made in the Chilean style, and 

 a shawl. Rarely do boys or girls wear shoes. 



Clothes are washed in running water by being slapped with a 

 wooden implement on flat rocks or boards. Drying is done on bushes 

 and fences near the ruka. 



Domestic handicrafts. — Both men and women shear sheep. Several 

 days before shearing, women pour a decoction on each sheep while 

 men work the wool with the hands. Wool is stored by being hung 

 on fences. Preparatory to using it, boiling water is poured over it, 

 after which it is worked with the hands in swift running water, and 

 vigorously swished back and forth in it to free it of dirt and little 

 sticks. No soap or substitute is used. 



All women and girls and many boys spin wool into yarn; men 

 rarely do so. The spindle is a single piece of wood with a slight groove 

 near the upper end, and a whorl near the lower end. The spinner is 

 seated with the lower end of the spindle on the ground and the upper 

 end held loosely in the right hand. The wool is wound around the left 

 arm and twisted into the desired thickness between index finger and 

 thumb of right hand, and the spindle is rotated to spin the yarn. Two 

 strands of yarn are twirled when it is to be used in weaving ponchos. 



Yarn, not wool, is dyed. Dyes are obtained from native plants and 

 from earth, and are bought at Chilean stores. Certain bright colors can 

 be produced by boiling the yarn in a decoction of certain plants pre- 

 vious to dyeing, but most are obtained by the use of commercial dyes. 



