Lago San Pablo

Cristina's Clothing

On our second to last day, my sister and I went to Lago San Pablo. Here we met Cristina who lives in the Kichwa community around the Lago San Pablo. Cristina taught my sister and I about her typical wear. First, she said that her skirt is called "anaco" which is two rectangular cloth pieces that are put together. The one on top is darker than the one on the bottom. To keep both cloths together they use fajas called "chumbi." There are two different kinds of chumbis one is red which is called mama chumbi and another colorful one named guagua chumbi. The mama chumbi is in red to represent fertility since on their first menstruation women start wearing the mama chumbi. Meanwhile, if the girl is a child she has to wear the guagua chumbi. The embroidery of the shirts is usually flowers or birds to represent nature. Furthermore, the bracelets are red to protect from bad energy. The necklaces are always yellow to represent the sun and corn. Another interesting thing about her traditional clothing was the piece of clothing around the shoulder which lets people know if a woman is married or not. When that piece of clothing has a knot on the side that means the woman is single (the way Cristina has it in the picture). Meanwhile, if the knot is facing the front that means the woman is married. Overall, these were some interesting about Cristina's traditional clothing.

Here's a picture of my sister and I in Lago San Pablo. In the back you can see the Imbabura volcano.