Crochet
钩针编织的男人。为什么不呢？
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For a long time, the practice of knitting and crochet was exclusive to women, but that is something of the past. Many men got rid of this fear and discovered that this art can also be pleasurable for men.
Men knitting
On the island of Taquile which is located in the Peruvian part of Lake Titicaca. Surrounded by water, the island has not had much influence from Spanish colonizers and strongly clings to its traditions of its ancestors in the ancient Inca Empire. And knitting is one of the traditions that is very present in everyday life in Taquile.
During the Inca empire, a system of writing on cotton knots, called Quipu, was used, which served as the main way of recording information such as dates, tax collection. With the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, the khipus stopped using khipus, but the practice of working the threads was preserved in several Peruvian communities.
Boys learn the art of knitting from the age of 6. The activity is predominantly male. Women also learn to knit, but the experts are the men.
“We learn from the elders, by watching. And since I don’t have a father, it’s my older brother and grandfather who taught me how to knit. Over time, I got used to it”, explains a knitting specialist among the men who inhabit the island.
Passed down from father to son or from uncle to nephew, the tradition of knitting is part of the life of the Tequille people. The products are greatly admired by tourists who are fascinated by the vibrant colors of the so-called hats (chullos), which are adorned with totemic symbols and with themes of harvest and nature. Knitting skill turns out to be an indicator of masculinity within the Taquile community.
Chullo hats have a meaning in the search for marriage partners. The tradition is that women should choose their partners according to the quality and beauty of their pimps.
According to tradition. it is the father of the bride who needs to check the quality of the chullos before he authorizes the marriage. A test is to put the suitor’s chullo hat in water and, if the knitting is water resistant, it means that the suitor is a good knitter and will be able to marry your daughter.
