Shicra may be the oldest textile technique in the Andean world. It consists of fabrics of vegetal fibers, which served for the construction of walls, fillings and bases of the walls in the old temples and ceremonial pyramids in Peru.
A team of archaeologists led by Ruth Shady discovered vestiges of its use in Caral’s pyramids. It was precisely in Caral, where the engineer Julio Vargas Neuman spread the use of shicra technique in the construction of popular housing, resistant to earthquakes; his essays were successful.
“The Shicras” in Pisquillo
More recently, the archaeologist Walter Tosso excavated an ancient site near Pisquillo, and named it “The Shicras”. The name is not casual, the walls still preserve this construction technique: large baskets full of stones as a filling to hold the walls.
This constructions are more than 3.000 years old and do not show signs of collapse after enduring several earthquakes and heavy rains, including rains of “El Niño” phenomenon.
Tosso also determined that “The Shicras” site in Pisquillo is contemporary with Caral constructions, thus demonstrating the massive use of this textile technique throughout the pre-Hispanic coast, in construction.
Nowadays, it’s used to elaborate handbags in the Peruvian Amazon, and the San Andres Tupicocha’s district, in the Province of Huarochirí. Women use maguey fiber, and the manufacturing process is long and complicated.
However, they make indestructible bags that support up 30 kilos of weight. The weavers have a special place in the Ruraq Maki fair that takes place every year in the Ministry of Culture’s headquarters.
