Ancient Inca Clothing
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The huge Inca Empire covered all of Peru, stretching from beyond Lake Titicaca in the south to Colombia in north.
Within the Inca society of Peru, ancient Inca clothing was a very important and integral part of their culture.
Ancient Inca Clothing of Peru- Its Place in the Inca Culture
In the Incan culture, the way a person was dressed said a lot about them and it dictated how society as a whole perceived them.
Inca clothing was strictly controlled by the Inca government.
A person was given two sets of clothes, one for formal occasions and a set for day-to-day informal wear.
Clothes allotted to a person were not replaced until that person had completely worn out the original sets.
|
The finest clothing made is a person's skin, but, of course, society
demands something more than this. ~Mark Twain |
To this day, traditional Peruvian clothing reflects Inca clothes of the past.
In the very beginning of the Inca people of Peru, the ancient Inca clothing or attire was simple and functional and not at all flashy.
However, in the Imperial days of their culture,
they managed to completely excel at the art of creating very glamorous Inca clothes (see Peru Museums).
Interestingly, during their Imperial days in Peru, the Incas
imposed their Inca clothing styles on every population that they managed to conquer.
For this reason, the influence of ancient Inca clothing is seen now in
traditional Peruvian clothing even beyond the Andes regions.
Of course, the Incas wore
warmer clothing and even layered their clothing
in the cooler temperatures of the Highlands weather,
but
Inca clothes of the more coastal areas
consisted of much lighter material.
They had wool for the cooler highlands and cotton fabric for the coastal areas.
Tupa Inca Tunic - ca. 1550One of the most interesting aspects of Inca clothing is that irrespective of whether the fabric were woven or knitted, these Inca clothes were worn in their entirety with no alterations.
All of the clothing in the earliest days was held together by very large metal pins.
Of the different types of textile fibers, the roughest materials were
relegated to the Inca clothes of the more common people.
Inca Clothes - Three Distinct Uses
Among the reasons that
the government restricted all use of Inca clothing was the
not only the level of
society in which it placed an Inca but the part played by
clothing in the Inca economy
and religion.
The Incas learned very
early on that they could trade the materials
with each other as well as with other cultures.
This was an important
factor in trade and was
the second reason that clothing was strictly
regulated; again with the
resulting prevalence of Inca styles throughout traditional Peruvian
clothing.
The third area of
regulation was the material and clothing dedicated only
for use by the priests and for religious articles and ceremonies.
Ancient Inca Clothing of the Inca Emperor in Peru
The Inca Emperor (Sapa Inca) only wore his clothes once. After he wore them, they were ceremoniously burnt.
There were a few chosen
women who were honored with the responsibility of preparing the Inca
clothes for the Emperor and they kept very busy getting new Inca
clothing for him every day.
The head wraps of the
Inca Emperor always contained special feathers and gold fringe.
The very rare and somewhat curious Coraquenque bird's feathers adorned his head piece to distinguish an air of royalty.
Among his Inca clothes, he owned a coat which was decorated with several assorted jewels and pieces of turquoise.
Sapa (King) Inca wore several pieces of jewelry on various parts of his body that consisted of heavy gold plates on his shoulders, gold bracelets with gold earrings.
In time, the heavy golden earrings weighed his ear lobes
down long
enough to rest on his gold shoulder pads.
His shoes were especially
made for him from both fur and leather.
From the feathers of
Hummingbirds
there was an outline made for his royal badge, which was then encircled
in
gold.
He also wore an adorned shield on his chest which was engraved in
the likeness of the Sun God that the community worshiped.
Ancient Inca Clothing of the Inca Nobles in Peru
Inca nobles wore were rich costumes, but not quite as rich as the Emperors.
The Inca clothing of this nobility class was made from wool, which was
very richly dyed and to which ornaments of precious stones and gold
were added.
The nobles also wore head
wraps adorned with tasseled fringe. Inca sandals were made
from llama hide.
Ancient Inca Clothing of the Inca Women in Peru
Women usually wore a one piece dress that draped to their ankles with a jeweled sash at the waist.
Their Inca clothes were held together with large ornamental pins.
They used the pins as knives in
their daily
tasks.
The women used sandals
like the men's and they wore a head dress.
Their hair was
not cut
unless they were in mourning.
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