Mestana Cloths (Mastana), Villages of the Andes

Enjoy the variety of Mastana Cloths (sometimes spelled Mestana) from the Villages of the Andes.  We’ve received an amazing selection of rainbow textiles from the weavers of Chinchero, Peru. This village is known as the rainbow community because of its glorious, naturally dyed fabrics formed in celebration of Kuichi, the Quechuan term for rainbow. The rainbow was sacred to the Inka, as it spoke to the diversity and expression of their grand social, cultural, and political experiment.

The ladies of the Chinchero weaving community asked us to support their crafting of a number of these stunning pieces. Each unique fabric represents the woven rainbow signature of the weaver herself and of the Chinchero weaving community.

Whether used as your mastana, a companion mesa piece, or a decorative item in your home, you will certainly notice the exceptional quality of these weavings that have been dreamed into being and woven in the prayer of creation. By purchasing these special pieces you are supporting the most sophisticated expression of the weaving arts of the Andes and letting the weavers know that we value their work and its authentic beauty.

The Center for Traditional Textiles in Cuzco, is a co-op of weaving communities near Ausangate, in Peru. Your purchase of these Fair Trade textiles allows entire villages to maintain the life, culture and dignity in their ancestral homes. In our work these cloths are used to fold around the sacred items in our medicine bundles. Traditionally Mestanas are receiving blankets for the children, and also used as wraps around the women’s shoulders. The textiles are made of all natural Sheep’s wool and Alpaca fiber, and all natural dyes.