Shipibo Textile Art

ANA CECILIA ROJAS SORIA

I am an indigenous woman of the Shipibo ethnic group. I was born in the Native Community of Santa Clara in the district of Yarinacocha in the Province of Coronel Portillo, the Ucayali Region of Peru. I moved at a young age to the Native Community of Panaillo where I went to the first and second grade of primary school. As a child I liked to swim in the river and in the streams. I liked to go fishing and always accompanied my grandmother to stroll in the open country to look for bananas. After the death of my grandmother I went to live in the city with my mother. She always liked Shipibo artwork and from an early age on she learned the skills and the artistry from my grandmother.

The Shipibo-Konibo custom determines that women must learn to weave and embroider since childhood to be superb women, appreciated in society and valued by the Shipibo community. Thanks to my grandmother, who taught everything she knew to my mother and me, I grew up learning the Shipibo Artwork. What I like most is embroidering and painting fabrics, as well as experimenting with new techniques by combining them with natural dyes. I always seek to work with ancestral designs and value the creativity of my ancestors. I have participated in several craft fairs locally, regionally, nationally and internationally with great success.

Thanks to my grandmother and my mother, to date I am a young woman with excellent ability and skills in the art of embroidery and painting. I am very willing and interested in continuing to produce traditional artwork and to teach this craft to our new generation, especially my 15 year old daughter, Carola Lizeth. In the Shipibo language the name Carola is called Inin Kate. That name was given to her by my grandfather and it means woman of fragrancies. We chose it in honor of a Shipibo artist, who was a talented craftswoman and famous for making excellent ceramics, she was an example for the community. I will continue to work for my daughter so she can have access to a better education, always accompanied by Shipibo Artwork and strive to improve our quality of life.