2023-06-25 04:29:00
The protagonists of this story are fifty women who weave in their homes, workshops and a source of pride for the residents of Valchetawho come to honor them a few days ago with the National Festival of Matra and Crafts.
In each garment that they assemble on their looms, traditions, legends and experiences of their peasant and Mapuche culture.
“Each one gives its stamp because our stories are told through the threads”explained Norma Robles to BLACK RIVER Journalwho teaches at the municipal workshop.
Every year, from June 17 to 20, the weavers from Comallo, Pilcaniyeu, Los Menucos and the Somuncura plateau travel to Valcheta and join the locals to present their creations and sell them at the fair, which functions as the true heart of this festival.
The group of weavers is made up of the oldest, those who made their lives in the fieldsin the golden days when wool was worth it, until the crisis and the need for a better future for their children pushed them to the city.
I can’t see myself without knitting. My daughter challenges me because she didn’t join me in the round of math. I drink while I assemble on the loom».
Norma Robles, teaches at the Valcheta craft market
From the older ones, such as Clorinda Huenchupan and Elvira Huenteleo, the youngsters learnedwho live with great emotion having made their first matras.
Elvira Huenteleo he lived much of his life in a field near Valcheta. It is there that she feels comfortable. Here she is seen spinning the wool with which she will later begin to assemble a matra (Photo: Juan Pablo Montelpare)
Learning is gradual, first going through the assembly of belts or fajitas, until the elaboration of the plain (mantra without drawing).
“When you don’t know how, the matra seems to be too big for you, something unreachable,” says Silvia Coñoel, “But with patience and perseverance it can be achieved. As in all learning, you always go back and disarm, until you get it ”, he added.
The history of the matra and its uses
The history of the matra is very rich. The first use it was given was as a horse service. A padded blanket for horsemen who covered long miles every day.
“Since it is such a tight fabric, it does not pass through the cold or rainwater or frost,” said Claudia Alles, who has been organizing the fair for 13 years and is in charge of the Municipal Craft Market.
The matra added other uses over time. With different sizes you can show it off as clothing or to decorate homes.
Its standard measurement is 1.15 x 1.10 meters. In them you can find ostrich footprints, arrowheads, clover leaves. They are ordered labyrinths of threads that are braided to create culture.
The handmade garment begins with the spinning of the wool, which is done on a spindle or on the distaff and then comes the dyeing. They use natural dyes that they obtain from plants such as jarilla and pichana.
The National Festival of Matra and Crafts It was held from June 17 to 20. About twenty weavers and more than 100 artisans came from towns and places in the Southern Region to exhibit their work. (Photo John Thomes)
Most knitters are making two garments at the same time. One in the municipal workshop and another in the loom they have at home. The wool is bought from the municipality, which acquires it at cost price.
To the value of the matra, which is tied to the behavior of the dollar and today is around 50,000 pesos, 15% is added, which is collected by the municipality.
Two Valcheta weavers were awarded by Unesco. Florinda Huenchupan in 2010 for her poncho and Rosa Miles in 2011 with a matra
The funds are used for the maintenance of the workshop and trips to different fairs in the country, in which two or three artisans from the region bring everyone’s creations to sell.
The continuity of this culture seems to be guaranteed. In primary and secondary schools they teach how to use the loom. They have a specific matter that explains the origin and function of the fabrics in the Mapuche worldview.
Victoria Jaqui: “Small rugs work well for me”
Victoria is the most talkative and everyone celebrates his occurrences in the group of weavers. He says that he has a long way to go, but he has already started with his first matras. (Photo John Thomes)
Victoria is 77 years old, she loves to tell her story and what she is learning in the artisan market workshop. She was born in Los Menucos. At the age of 20, she came to live in Valcheta. She started a family and following 24 years of marriage her husband passed away. She before her lost her parents. “I was left alone. And now what do I do, I told myself? It was then that she met the loom. He learned with Josefina Giménez. The first thing that came out was a clover. His task was growing and now it does not stop. “I am making small tapestries and they turn out well. For sale. I grab a little plate and that makes me very happy”.
In the inaugural act of the Fiesta de la Matra, he had to carry the Mapuche flag. She was the one who smiled the most during the ceremony, along with the queen candidates.
Silvia Conoel: “If I have wool I don’t stop because I really enjoy knitting. If I don’t have it, I start putting together or drawing drawings”, explains Silvia. The young weaver grew up in Arroyo Salado, a place that is 60 km from Valcheta. She learned to make the smooth (without drawing) at the age of 12 with Clorinda Huenchupán. She gave up because she had no resources and it was difficult for her to get wool. In 2018 she joined the workshop offered by Norma Robles and with her she learned to embroider. “It was very nice because I learned to make matras and walks. When you don’t know, the matra seems to be too big for you, that you won’t be able to close it”. (Photo: John Thomas)
Norma Robles: “I can’t see myself not knitting”
Norma Robles She is one of the artisans who makes the Río Negro flag on her loom. It takes her between 10 and 15 days to make it. (Photo John Thomes)
“My daughter challenges me because she didn’t join me in the talks in the math round. I take it from afar, while I am assembling on the loom ”, Norma tells to define her working method.
She learned to weave at the age of 15 with the Sépalo courses. “We signed up a few women, I was staying, I learned… But I quit because I wanted to finish high school and I left Valcheta. I had my daughter and then I came back.” She sold cosmetics on the street, until one day “Beca” Jurado, the benchmark in the craft market, encouraged her to resume. “She gave me little woolen puffs. She did not know how to make matras, pure fringed fabrics. She sold little belts for the children’s waists or fajitas for school events. When Claudia Alles was in charge of the workshop, she suggested that she make matras. She then said that she was learning from Florinda, “Beca”, Clorinda’s grandmother, who is the oldest weaver and Elvita. They taught him to arm. Her first matra took three months. He now he creates it in 10 or 15 days. Today she teaches the training course in the municipal craft market.
What is the origin of the matra
The origin of the mother It is linked to the riders who used it as part of the message for the horse, as well as the skin and the cushion. It is also used as a blanket. In a smaller and lighter size, like a shawl, indicated Claudia Alles, from the Valcheta Craft Market.
Crosses of lines and colors. Quite a challenge for the artisans when it comes to creating on their looms. (Photo John Thomes)
The weavers also put together the hairdressers that go on the errand and they measure 60 x 90 cm, the headbands for the pony boots that the tamers use and the girdles that the gauchos wear at the waist.
For decorative use they make paths, centerpieces and tapestries.
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