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Textiles in Rural Bolivia: Where Does the Art of Traditional Textile Making Fit Into Today's World?

Simmons, Kathryn Elizabeth
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1418306303

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Arts, University of Akron, Clothing, Textiles and Interiors.
ABSTRACT This thesis investigated the role of traditional textiles within the Bolivian culture in the early twenty-first century. Creating traditional textiles is an important aspect of Bolivian life. Women are able to spin, dye, and weave to create a textile. These textiles can be sold and have been an assurance that women would always be able to make money. An ethnographic study was conducted in Independencia, Bolivia, in order to observe and research the steps in the making of a textile within the context of the culture. The steps included shearing the sheep, cleaning the fleece, spinning the fleece on a drop spindle, dyeing the yarn with natural dyes, weaving the yarn, and sewing the woven fabric into an end product. These labor-intensive steps were learned by initially observing and then actively participating. Since February, 2010, there have been quite a few changes due to outside influences. These changes mean that textile traditions are not being passed down. Today the mothers are not teaching their daughters these steps because the daughters are away at school. Within the community, the traditional dynamic has been altered. Men are forced to travel for work; the children are away at school; and the women are in the home juggling many roles, including maintaining the home, taking care of the animals, and weaving in order to acquire physical money to pay for school supplies.
Teena Jennings-Rentenaar, Dr. (Advisor)
Virginia Gunn, Dr. (Committee Member)
Sandra Buckland, Dr. (Committee Member)
113 p.
Cultural Anthropology; Families and Family Life; Fine Arts; Textile Research
Bolivia; Textiles; Weaving; Spinning; Natural Dyeing; Independencia; Culture; Ethnographic Study; Fabric; Fiber; Sheep; Women Empowerment;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Simmons, K. E. (2014). Textiles in Rural Bolivia: Where Does the Art of Traditional Textile Making Fit Into Today's World? [Master's thesis, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1418306303

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Simmons, Kathryn. Textiles in Rural Bolivia: Where Does the Art of Traditional Textile Making Fit Into Today's World? 2014. University of Akron, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1418306303.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Simmons, Kathryn. "Textiles in Rural Bolivia: Where Does the Art of Traditional Textile Making Fit Into Today's World?" Master's thesis, University of Akron, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1418306303

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

akron1418306303
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This open access ETD is published by University of Akron and OhioLINK.