Waraka (also waraqa, huaraca etc.) is a Quechuan word meaning sling. Its equivalent in Spanish is honda.
[From Clark, N.R. 1993. Glossary of Textile Terminology. In The Estuquiña Textile Tradition. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Washington University. pp. 958-1115.]
My own experience with warakas started many years ago when my mother gave me a copy of Adele Cahlander’s amazing book Sling Braiding of the Andes which she’d found while on holiday in Devon, UK.
After several attempts over the course of a few years I managed to teach myself the technique described in the book. In the back of my mind had always been an ambition to visit the Andes and see some sling braiding for myself. That chance finally came last year, when my partner and I spent 2 months travelling in South America as part of a homecoming trip to Australia after eight years in Europe.
I saw sling braids! They’re not easy to find, but they are there, even without straying too far off the tourist trails. And what’s more, I bought a few of them, both old and new. This blog is an attempt to catalogue my own collection and to bring together some of the materials on sling braiding that can be found online and elsewhere.
Image Credit: BraidersHand
