Cumbi (Qunpi, Qompi, Kumpi) was a fine luxurious fabric of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

. Elites used to offer cumbi to the

rulers A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the inst ...

, and it was a reserved cloth for Royalty. Common people were not allowed to use Cumbi. Cumbi was a phenomenal textile art of

Andean textiles The Andean textile tradition spanned from the Pre-Columbian to the Colonial era throughout the western coast of South America, but was mainly concentrated in what is now Peru. The arid desert conditions along the coast of Peru have allowed for th ...

Structure

The fabric was a fine

tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

structure

woven Woven fabric is any textile formed by weaving. Woven fabrics, often created on a loom, are made of many threads woven in a warp and weft. Technically, a woven fabric is any fabric made by interlacing two or more threads at right angles to one anot ...

with superfine local

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

and

vicuña wool Vicuña wool refers to the hair of the South American vicuña, a camelid related to llamas and alpacas. The wool has, after shahtoosh, the second smallest fiber diameter of all animal hair and is the most expensive legal wool. Properties The do ...

. The male weavers used upright looms.

Inca textiles

Textile production was the second most important after agriculture in the Inca period. The strength was the raw material like

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. Traditionally, alpacas were kept in herds that grazed on the level heights of the Andes of Southern Peru, Western Bolivia, Ecuador, and Northern Chile. More recentl ...

and

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

wool as well as indigenous

. Textile materials were classified into many categories, Chusi was the coarsest cloth used for blankets and rugs. The closest to Cumbi are the following:

Awsaka

Awaska, a warp faced plain weave cloth with a 120

thread count Textile fibers, threads, yarns and fabrics are measured in a multiplicity of units. * A fiber, a single filament of natural material, such as cotton, linen or wool, or artificial material such as nylon, polyester, metal or mineral fiber, or huma ...

for regular use, like daily household goods. Awaska was used for blankets and rugs. It was a coarse wool material from sheep or llama.

Qunpi

Qunpi was a finer and more delicate type than Awaska, divided further into two varieties: *Male weavers wove this type. Highly skilled weavers were engaged in weaving Cumbi. They were called ''Cumbi camayos'' (cumbi cloth makers). Cumbi weaving was their only job. It was allowed for specific usages like the clothing of the rulers, gifts for the nobles, and trading purposes. *The finest cloth type of Qunpi had a thread count of 600, was woven by ''acllas'' exclusive female weavers in

Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...

. The fabric was used for defined practices like religious rituals and royal use only. This particular type of cloth was unmatchable throughout the world till machines overtook in the 19th century. Cumbi was a valuable textile material; hence the material used was the finest wool from lamb. However, the richest version of the cloth was woven with

Vicuña The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', Vicugna, its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine tundra, alpine areas of the Andes; the other cameli ...

Use

Cumbi and Tokapu, a traditional decorative work, was exclusive to the Inca monarchy. After the destruction of the Inca state, the rules relaxed, and nobles were allowed to use the fabric. Cumbi was used for Royal usages, e.g., various clothing items such as

Uncu Uncu (Unku) was a men's garment of the Inca Empire. It was an upper-body garment of knee-length; Royals wore it with a mantle cloth called ''Yacolla (coth), yacolla.'' Women wore a long dress known as an Anaku (dress), anaku. Structure Uncu wa ...

and attire for religious rituals.

References

{{Reflist Inca culture Woven fabrics Textile arts of the Andes