Despite the fact that indigenous dress in Ecuador has changed and evolved over the centuries, tupus, (metal pins used to ornament and fasten together shawls), have been an essential part of women's garments in Andean culture for over a thousand years. Why has the tupu held so strong? This is because it of its practicality, beauty, and feminine powers.

A history of prestige
The oldest tupus found in Ecuador come from the Puruha culture dating from 700 a. c. The Puruha were located in the Chimborazo, Tungurahua, and Bolivar provinces. They had a complex religious system, metallurgy, agriculture, and trade. Their economy was based on llama herding and growing corn, products which they often exchanged with nearby ethnic groups for other goods. Because they were relatively specialized, artisans had time to develop metallurgy. A fine example of their work are tupus usually about 15 cm long, skillfully embossed in copper. One such piece can be admired at the Olga Fisch Museum in Quito. It was used to hold together a shawl worn by a noblewoman as part of her funerary attire.

Though the Puruhua people used tupus, perhaps it was the Incas who's vast empire stretched across the Andes, who popularized the usage of tupus amongst Andean women. For example, there is a wonderful tupu made out of laminated gold from 1460-1534 in the Central Bank Museum of Quito. This piece has a delicate golden bird on the tip and it is explained that only Incan noblewomen, were allowed to wear this prestigious ornament.

During the early Colonial Period, women still considered them a status symbol. One account from 1539 describes Incan dances and festivities for the coronation of the Incan Emperor Huayna Capac, ".the women gave flowers to the Inca, and the men golden objects from the mines of Maranon. the women were dressed with elegant tupus known as Pichonchas. made with Emeralds from Manta and golden jewelry from Zaruma and Chinchipe." Therefore, these fancy pins were considered part of elegant dress for formal occasions.

Practical uses
The tupu isn't just a status symbol, it is also a very practical object, which holds together the lliclla (a type of shawl) over the shoulders, keeping women and girls warm, as the cool Andean winds blow in the highlands. For example, in Aymara culture, "the topus or tupu (kolke kuchara) is a long, ornamental and practical spoon-shaped pin for fixing the traditional wrap at the shoulder. Tupus are always used in pairs. Women generally have one set for daily use and another for special occasions."

Saraguro Style
In Ecuador, the most famous tupu-wearers are the Saraguros from the Loja Province. There are around 22,000 and many anthropologists claim that Saraguros are mitimaes (populations transferred by the Incas) from southern Peru or Bolivia. They are a very proud people with distinctive dress, traditions, and physical characteristics. For Saraguro women, elaborately beaded necklaces, silver earring, and tupus are a MUST. These tupus are quite large, and have humanoid suns at the end. One fine piece found in the Olga Fisch Museum, is about 12cm in diameter and was created through casting. The Saraguro women value these pins because they can look lovely while at the same time keep warm.

Salasaca Fashion
One can also find attractive and utilitarian tupus amongst the Salasaca women. The Salasaca are another ethnic group located in the Tungurahua province near Ambato, they are said to be mitmaes from Bolivia. Olga Fisch, the Hungarian-born handicrafts expert, said in the 1980's "they are a great contribution to Ecuadorian popular culture due to their effort as an ethic group, their honesty, diligence and great artistic sensibility."ii

The Salasaca tupus were traditionally made out of silver and precious stones. Unlike the fancy Pre-Hispanic pieces mentioned above, they are often more modest and are made out of simple metal with a piece of glass, or cheap stones, and have little roosters or other animals at the end. Even so, they are still charming ornaments and reflect the artistic sensibility mentioned above.

A Secret Weapon!
Tupus have another handy use for women. Often they are very sharp and can be used as a self-defense weapon. It is said that both Saraguro and Salasaca women use them for this purspose. This inconspicuous weapon can be useful when pasturing sheep all alone in the highlands and a thief, or vicious animal may make an attack!

Binding together Andean women
Tupus are not just used by the Salasaca and Saraguro women. They are also found in Otavalo and throughout the entire Andean region. For example, a mummified Incan girl wearing a lliclla held together with a silver tupu was found in 1999 in Llullaillaco volcano in the Argentinean-Chilean border. This child, together with other flawless children, was sacrificed as a messenger to the gods in the hopes that they would bring about bounty for the entire community. In contemporary Argentina, artisans still make elaborate silver tupus. In Chile, the Mapuche women flaunt them; and in Bolivia and Peru there are wide range of tupus made in silver and copper.

Feminine strength
Though different in design and materials all over South America, all the pins emulate important objects in Andean Cosmology. For example, the sun, the moon, the stars, birds, serpents and felines are usually represented. Though more research must be conducted, some experts believe they are connected to the cult of the moon. Inca historian Irene Silverblatt explains: "The Moon dominated the female side of the Inca cosmos. the moon was the sister and wife of the sun, she was the mistress of the sea and winds, and queens and princesses, and over the process of which women gave birth; and she is queen of the sky. They called the Moon Coya which means queen." This may be the reason why several tupus depict the moon. For some Aymara women, they "symbolize status and plenty in the household, the waning moon conveying the notion of strength, beauty, and fertility."iii

Unfortunately, as things get more expensive, and zippers, and safety pins become common, tupus are becoming more scarce. Hopefully, modern Andean ladies will continue to proudly wear this traditional piece of jewelry which binds together women; past and present, throughout the Andes.

By Carolina Matheus, for Folklore Olga Fisch

Sources:

• http://www.metmuseum.org, Feb. 2008
• http://www.saraguros.com/saraguro.php, Feb 2008
• www.ecuadorciencia.org, Feb. 2008.
• Carvahlo-Neto, Diccionario del Folklore Ecuatoriano, CCE, 2001
• Olga Fisch Museum, Permanent Collection, Feb. 2008
• Museo del Banco Central del Ecuador, Quito
• Fisch, Olga El Folclor que yo viví, CIDAP 1995.
• Sliverblatt, Irene Moon, Sun and Witches, Gender Ideologies and Class in Inca and Colonial Peru, Princeton University Press: 1987.
• Arte Ecuatoriano: Precolombino, Salvat. Barcelona:1997
• www.onachile.com

Photographs:
Iván Ceballos

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