The People of the Clouds

The Chachapoya people were the subjects of the first programme about Lost Kingdoms on BBC that I wrote about last week. What an amazing civilisation and if you follow this link, you will see a wonderful artefact from these people who lived high up in the mountains. Link

This "Quipu" is made of twine and the colours, knots and lengths of the twine tell an experienced decoder a tale. It is an incredible piece of craft, and I love the idea that it is storytelling in three dimensions, as related in the documentary.

In the film, there is also something about the textiles of the region. One of the woven pieces shown is simply beautiful; weaving at its most skilled and fine. If you would like to see it, click on this link which takes you to Amazon and a book about the Chachapoya. If you click on the cover, the book opens and you will be able to click through some of the pages, one of which has a photograph of this textile.

If anyone knows any more about these people or has any information about the textiles of South America, please get in touch. I will pass on any news that comes in.