What you need to know about Wayuu women and bags

For the Wayuu ethnic group, women have a crucial role, it is the mothers and grandmothers who rule, lead and are guardians of the Wayuu culture and customs.

 Photo by Alvaro Jose Miranda

The so called weak sex is strong and important in the wayuu ethnic group. According to Carlos A Pulgarín  it is a matrilineal structure and they are in charge of keeping from generation to generation their customs, the lineage and arts (as chinchorros, hangings, bags and comosoras, their traditional footwear)

 Photo by Alvaro Jose Miranda

Characterized by her resistance, strength and leadership, Wayuu women is respected, and is seen as a blessing, in contrast with other cultures. Her training starts at an early age, since their first period, during the encierro they are taught and prepared for being the Wayuu woman she has become, a force of the Mother Nature. An active woman socially and politically independent

The Wayuu bag.

According to Artesanias de Colombia the spider or Wale’ Kerü was who taught sewing to Wayuu women. Wale’ Kerü is a sewing spider that according to legend, at dawn she had already sewn corsets and chinchorros, and always made her drawings before spring. Women sew with different sort of materials, but, the colors we recognize today are product of colonization, the Spanish brought colorful acrylic thread.

Nowadays, it has become popular the use of Wayuu bags, the Susu de ”diario”. In some way, we are now ambassadors of their culture, we have become in strong and empowered women for having in our shoulders the Wayuu heritage and spreading it around the world.

Photo by Alvaro Jose Miranda

Would you like to be part of this tendency? Look at NINA MOCHILA