Textiles as a weapon of resistance

In Bolivia, the tradition of weaving and wearing ceremonial garments is under great pressure. Indigenous people express their cultural identity through their clothing. The exhibition The Resistance of Textiles is the result of interdisciplinary research into the meaning of this clothing. It is based on the PhD of Bolivian VUB student Maria Isabel Rojas. She explains, alongside Gerrit Loots, professor emeritus at VUB, and researcher Laura Vandewynckel.

What is the story behind the traditional textile industry in Bolivia?

Maria Isabel: “The tradition is centuries old. For the indigenous peoples, this clothing, with very specific colours and its own iconography, has a meaning. For example, it is a way of spreading messages from the gods. When the colonisers in the 16th century realised this, they imposed all kinds of bans. But the indigenous peoples have ignored them to this day, hence the title The Resistance of Textiles. For indigenous peoples, sticking to this tradition is a form of resistance, a way of standing up for their culture and their rights. While the colours, iconography and materials have changed a bit since Inca times – for instance, chemical dyes are used today – the meaning of these garments has always remained the same.”

Why is it that after centuries of resistance, the tradition of weaving and wearing ceremonial garments in Bolivia is under pressure today?

Gerrit: “Because of those bans, it has always been under pressure. But additionally, many young people from remote villages are leaving their communities and the traditions are no longer handed down. Those young people move to the cities and dream of going to the US or Europe, because in their eyes that is where real life takes place. That idea, too, is a consequence of centuries of colonisation. Peoples who are colonised are supposedly ‘underdeveloped’. Colonisation was supposed to trigger modernisation for them. Everything to do with their tradition belongs to a low, inferior culture.”

How do we look at that tradition from the West?

Gerrit: “Many people think a poncho is primarily something exotic or folkloric. Although a counter movement is quietly emerging. Globalisation has caused a lot of destruction, including of the climate. More and more people realise that there is something to be learned from the holistic vision of indigenous peoples. In that vision, everything is interconnected, we as humans are only a small part of a larger whole and there is a much greater awe of the earth and nature. An interest in those ways of thinking is closely linked to respect for textiles, which is an expression of this.”

Is this shift in thinking also happening in Bolivia?

Maria Isabel: “There have long been organisations fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples. What’s hopeful is that the country made a constitutional amendment in 2009 to recognise the rights of indigenous peoples. That set all sorts of things in motion. An application is also currently pending with Unesco to have the textile industry recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage. People are proud of their origins again. Even in parliament, you sometimes see politicians wearing ceremonial attire. But there is still a lot of room for improvement. For instance, there is no budget to teach these weaving skills in schools.”

Many tourists buy handmade textiles as souvenirs. Is that OK? After all, for a tourist, such a garment has a completely different meaning.

Laura: “It’s a fine line. Those communities live off sales. So they welcome the interest. At the same time, this economic dependence makes them inclined to make adjustments according to tourists’ tastes. It is not always easy for them to resist that. I think as a tourist, you have to respect the colours and iconography they use. Besides, sometimes organisations pop up that buy up the textiles at very low prices but resell them at a high profit. That is another difficulty the weavers have to deal with. However, that commercial aspect is separate from customs like the ponchos worn for carnival, for instance. These are sacred pieces that mothers weave for their sons and are part of a cultural identity. You cannot express that in money. You can't sell that.”

What message do you hope will stick with visitors to the exhibition?

Laura: “In Belgium, we no longer have a textile tradition. In Bolivia, however, it still exists. For me, this exhibition is a wake-up call: we have to cherish what we have. Otherwise we risk it disappearing.”

Maria Isabel: “Above all, I want to raise awareness. For Bolivia’s indigenous peoples, textiles are a way of experiencing their culture and shaping their identity. We have to respect this.”

Gerrit: “I hope that visitors will see that there is a way of thinking behind textile craft and that this will make people realise that our Western way of thinking is just one of many ways of thinking. Perhaps it will make them curious about what we can learn from the indigenous peoples of Bolivia. It also makes me think: how tolerant are we here to outward signs of another culture? We ban headscarves, when we could also see them as a bearer of cultural richness.”

Finally, your research is not only an interdisciplinary collaboration between the law school, the sociology department and RITCS. Local communities in Bolivia were also involved. What is the importance of transdisciplinary community-based research?

Gerrit: “In traditional research, you go to a community, collect data and return to the university to analyse and publish that data. Basically, you then instrumentalise your research topic. We wanted to start from the needs of the local community itself. What is the change they want? What is the meaning of progress for them? So we work in a very horizontal structure. We are doing research with them, not about them. This is not a project written at a desk in Brussels.”

Maria Isabel: “And that makes it particularly time-intensive. You can’t go to a community for two days. You have to gain their trust.”