230 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



through the loops of the dripping warp, which 

 still is tied together, and the whole thing is draped 

 over a clothesline to dry. 



LOOM 



The belt loom alone is found in Taj in. It is 

 called simply palos (sticks) and the usual Spanish 

 term, telar, seems unknown. 





Figure 56. — Loom. See text (p. 230) for details. 



A sketch of the loom is shown in figure 56. The 

 equipment is simple and is made by any handy 

 man, not necessarily by a carpenter. For the 

 knobbed end sticks, sapote chico or escolin (Nos. 

 191, 338) generally is used; for the shed and bat- 

 ten, alzaprima (No. 206). The sticks vary in 

 length and weight, and a weaver may have two or 

 three sets, from among which she selects that 

 which best fits the textile she plans to make. 



Every loom consists of two end bars (tulunu) 

 (fig. 56), which are knobbed. A rope is tied to a 

 post or other convenient upright, and each end 

 then is attached to a knob of the bar at the far end 

 of the loom. The bar nearest the weaver rests 

 against her abdomen. A rag or old tumpline 

 passes about her waist, at the rear, and is tied to 

 the knobs of the near end bar (pi. 28, d) . Weav- 

 ing is done closer to the horizontal than the verti- 

 cal. 



The batten and shed are of the same shape (fig. 

 56) , both sharpened to a blade along one edge, and 

 both known by the same name {machete, makcana 

 [sic]). Every loom includes either an additional 

 end bar (fig. 56) or an extra machete, whose func- 



tion is to facilitate rolling the completed fabric 

 and bringing the new work area closer to the 

 weaver. The extra stick is laid on top of the tex- 

 tile, against the end bar which rests on the lap. 

 Both are turned away from the weaver so that the 

 fabric is rolled on them (pi. 28, e), and the belt 

 strap is adjusted to the new length. 



The heddle (pasikna) is a light-weight wooden 

 rod, about the same length as the other sticks. A 

 width regulator (stampistukumu) is similar, but 

 shorter. It does not appear in figure 56, for it is 

 attached to the fabric, beneath the work surface. 

 The ends are perforated to receive the tip of a 

 long thorn, which is thrust through the selvage at 

 either side and into the perforation of the bar. 

 The latter is moved constantly forward, as the 

 work progresses, and seldom is more than 2 cm. 

 behind the current weft. In this way, the textile 

 maintains uniform width. 



Another light-weight wooden bar completes the 

 equipment. It is the shuttle (n kwat) , on which 

 the weft is wound. If a decorated mantel, with 

 pile ornament, is being made, two shuttles are 

 used, one for the light-weight weft, the other for 

 the heavy decorative cord. 



SETTING UP THE LOOM 



As described above, the knobbed end bars are 

 thrust through the warp; that at the far end is 

 attached to a post or tree, and the near bar is 

 affixed to the weaver's body, by a cloth or strap 

 which passes across the back of her waist. My 

 impression is that the smaller part of the figure-8 

 which results from the warping is adjacent to the 

 body of the worker, but notes are not specific. 



The batten is slipped into place, to separate the 

 warps more definitely into an upper and lower 

 shed, following which each warp of the upper 

 shed is attached to the heddle : 



We watched Carmen Perez Reyes perform this opera- 

 tion. She inserts a loose thread — embroidery cotton, 

 commercial string, or any soft, but strong cordage — 

 between the two sheds. It enters from the right and 

 is carried through to the left, where it is tied to the last 

 warp. The ball of reserve thread, to which the strand 

 is atached, remains on the ground at her right. 



Wrapping the heddle starts at the left. A loop of 

 the thread is lifted with the fingers of the right hand 

 and is pulled to the surface; it is passed over the tip 

 of the heddle and, at the same time, catches one of the 

 warps of the upper shed to it. Looping alternates; for 

 one warp, the thread passes over the heddle toward the 



