The Colors of the Coya's Robes

Summary

Of the many surviving pre-Columbian Inka textiles, especially those made in tapestry and featuring tukapu (rectangular design blocks), only a few full-size garments are associated with females. There are, however, many miniature female garments. Inka textiles also tend to follow a limited number of color combinations, although some textiles show a more diverse, even exuberant mixture. Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, in his section on the coyas (queens), attributes a specific set of colors to each coya, naming the main color used in her mantle (lliklla), skirt (aksu), and sash (chumbi). He tells us, for example that Mama Ocllo had a yellow mantle and a dark blue skirt—colors not visible in his line drawings. In the colonial period the situation changes markedly, as many of the most spectacular surviving garments are women's mantles. While there is some literature on the colors associated with the Inkas (e.g., the red puma), the dyes in the textiles, and the colors that Murúa shows for female dress, overall the correlation of colors with people and garment types has not been explored in depth. This paper consider the question of color as closely correlated with high-status Inka female's garments.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Color, Structure and Meaning in Ancient Andean Fiber Arts

Keywords

Spatial Coverage