Worldwide, knitting is rarely associated with masculinity,
When people talk about it, they always think of gentle, attentive women, quietly knitting sweaters in the warm afternoon sun.
But if you say this to the men on the island of Takile, they will be shocked:
Isn't knitting a man's job?
Are men who can't knit still men?!
On the Peruvian island of Takile, a man's masculinity is measured not by his ability to fish or hunt, but by his knitting ability.
Located on Lake Titicaca, south America's largest freshwater lake, Takile is home to about 2,200 islanders who over the years have grown potatoes, raised sheep, fished, and knitting is an accidental interest.
in Takirai Island
500 years ago, when the Spaniards conquered the Inca Empire, they also brought knitting technology with them. The white knitted hats they wore on their heads impressed the Inca people, so they designed the Andean hat based on it.
In Peru, Andean hats were mostly made by women and hatmakers, but the craft changed a lot when it reached Takile.
(Villages in Takirai Island)
This remote, nearly isolated island gradually transformed the Andean hat into a native Chullo hat, which was woven by men and favored by women.
Every boy in Takile Learns to weave a hat from the age of 6 or 7, a technique that has been passed down from generation to generation, from grandfather to father and father to son.
The first hats the boys wore were white hats, without patterns, and the simplest.
(Little boy weaving a white hat)
After that, they had to learn to dye their own wool and spin yarn, and weave colorful hats with patterns. Most of these patterns have meanings, representing the family totem of the hat weaver, the season of hat weaving, the poultry raised at home, etc.
Motifs such as the six-petaled rose (a tribute to the island's six communities), bald eagles, cow herons, and sheep are common, and signs of plants and flowers often appear on hats, as islanders rely on plants to determine when it is time to sow.
The thread of the hat also has different meanings, the red wool thread represents the blood of the ancestors, and the blue thread is a tribute to Lake Titicaca.
On the island, it doesn't matter whether a man looks good or not, it doesn't matter if the hat looks good or not.
What attracts the most attention of women is that men use extremely fine knitting needles to weave hats, and the finer the needles, the more skilled they are.
(With the thinnest needle, weave the most beautiful hat)
Alejandro Huatta, a 67-year-old islander, said that when his father died, his brother and grandfather taught him to knit hats with cactus needles.
"Now there are also young boys who use bicycle spokes to weave hats, because the spokes are very thin, not easy to break, and very popular with girls."
(Knitting Master Alexandra Huata)
The tightness of the hat is also very important, and it is a good hat to be able to fill it with water without leaking, which is often tested by the woman's father during blind dates.
Alexandra, one of the island's seven recognized knitting masters, was able to fill up 30 meters with his hat filled with water without missing a drop, which aroused the interest of his wife, Teodosia Willy, 44 years ago.
(Alexandra and his wife Diodosia)
"Girls are looking for the best hat, and if you wear a good hat, you have a chance to find a girlfriend sooner and faster." She was fascinated by my hat-weaving ability, and I once knitted a very good hat to prove myself. ”
"The father-in-law also checks the quality of the son-in-law's hat, and when he pours water into the hat, the son-in-law must show everyone present the water inside, and if the hat leaks too quickly, the marriage may blow."
(Live to old, weave to old)
In addition to attracting the opposite sex, the Chullo hat also has a great role in expressing social identity.
On Takirai Island, unmarried men wear "red and white hats", which means that the bottom is red and the crown is white. Married men wear a "wedding hat" given by their godfather, a red hat covered with patterns.
(Marital status can be seen by hat)
Later, if the man divorces and widows, or becomes an important person on the island, or becomes an elder, their Chullo hat will change accordingly.
Although the work of knitting is mostly done by men, this does not mean that women do not work.
The island's women, who are mainly responsible for shearing and spinning wool, walk the cobbled streets in red sweaters and black Chuko (a type of headdress) and can often be seen holding handmade wooden spindles.
(Women of Textiles)
They also did some knitting work, mainly weaving The Chumpi belt, which was given to the groom on the wedding day.
Women learned from an early age to weave belts from a traditional loom, considered the oldest in the world, made of wood, rope and llama femur, and it took months to weave a belt.
This belt is also very elaborate, it is called a "calendar belt" and has 12 patterns on it, each representing a month.
Women will incorporate their marriage aspirations into the pattern, such as owning a large family, having a fertile land, or a comfortable house.
(a full Chumpi belt)
The pattern can also represent other conditions, with a two-headed snake woven meaning a family member dead, and yellow stripes meaning it's time to sow.
The inner layer of the belt is also woven into the woman's hair, and before marriage, the man wears the belt with his mother's hair, and after marriage, it is his wife's hair.
The technique of weaving belts is also passed down from generation to generation of mothers to their daughters, and it is easier for women with good weaving skills to get married, and their belts are the most colorful.
"If that girl is a good knitter, she can tell the whole story with a belt." Alexandra said, "Whenever we see a friend, we pay attention to his belt first, from which we can know their family's plans." We read through images and colors. ”
The unique culture of Takirai Island is mainly related to its remoteness, even if it is a three-hour boat ride to the nearest city of Puno, which is even more difficult to reach when traffic is not developed.
By the 1950s, Takirai island was in contact with the outside world, and by the 1970s, they had developed tourism.
Today, 40,000 tourists come here every year, and the islanders make money mainly from tourist accommodation and selling souvenirs. Chullo hats are the best sellers, and men in every household struggle to weave more hats.
Because of the exquisite art of knitting, in 2005, UNESCO included "Knitting of Takilay Island" as an intangible cultural heritage, making the island famous all over the world.
In the last year or so, Takirai Island has been closed to tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and islanders have returned to farming.
Still, people's hands knitting yarn didn't stop, and Alexandro said he saw a little boy weave the pattern of the coronavirus into his hat, a fusion of modern thinking and ancient traditions.
"It's important to protect traditional culture. We gain knowledge from our ancestors, and that knowledge must also remain in the minds of the younger generation. If modern society comes, we will also accept it, but will not forget our roots. ”
"After all, like my grandfather said, 'A man who can't knit is not a man.'"