36 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



VUTR 



Figure 6. — Spinning wheel and associated implements. «, Scales for weighing wool; the weight is a 1-pound 

 stone; length of the beam is 14 M; inches, b. Carders used to prepare wool for spinning, about 9 by 12 inches; 

 the wires are merely indicated schematically and actually are much more numerous, c, Home-made spin- 

 ning wheel; the wheel is turned with the right hand, the wool fed into the thread with the left hand; the 

 spinner stands to operate the apparatus. 



Weaving i.s done on a wooden European type 

 loom with heddle.s and treddle. A blanket is 

 always woven in two strips, and then sewed 

 together with an opening left in the center so 

 it may be worn as a poncho. Further details 

 are omitted pending a study of the handicraft 

 in a town specializing in weaving. 



Lace weaving. — It is probable that this tech- 

 nique is misnamed. In any case it is not prop- 

 erly a Cheran technique, the only weaver being 

 a woman fi'om Aranza. So far as is known, 

 only six or eight women in the latter village 

 know the technique. 



A broadloom frame is used, about 8 feet by 

 4 feet. It is warped with white cotton thread. 

 The weft, also of cotton thread, is placed with 

 the finger.s. Designs are set off by open work 

 and consist of human and animal figures. 

 A bedspread or tablecloth takes 2 months 

 or more to make and sells at $75.00 and 

 up (asking price). Often the design is 



arranged to be cut up in small pieces. A 2- 

 foot square piece in coarse thread (which 

 weaves faster than fine thread) with figures of 

 a man, a burro, and two deer, was purchased 

 for $2.00. 



Belt weaving. — Perhaps five or six women 

 in Cheran weave narrow belts for women. A 

 small belt loom is used. One end is tied to a 

 house post or tree, and the weaver kneels on a 

 mat. A circular warp slips freely about the 

 yarn beams. Two heddles, a spreader, two or 

 more shed dividers, and a batten are employed 

 (fig. 7). The belts always have a central de- 

 sign with plain border. The main warp is 

 cotton, but the central design area has a double 

 warp, one being of wool. Sheds for intricate 

 parts of the design are picked up with a small 

 stick, not with the heddle. There is no shuttle ; 

 the weft threads are wound in small balls or on 

 a piece of paper. No patterns are used for 

 designs. Belts take about 2 days of fairly in- 



