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| Peruvian handwoven camino de mesa and tassels |
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| Peruvian tassels from Urban Outfitters 2014 |
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| Peruvian Tassels from Gunn and Swain |
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| pom poms made and worn by quechua women on the floating islands of lake titicaca in peru |
The use of tassels—for adornment and ceremonial purposes—goes back almost as far as Peru’s history. In ancient times, tassels were symbols of power. Not only were they used to designate social standings, they were also used to honor and label mighty warriors. The most powerful warriors would be layered with the most tassels, and have the tallest tasseled headdresses (much like the function of a birds plume).
Even today, tassels are used for labeling purposes in Peru, especially with livestock. Forget branding, the Peruvians “tag” their alpacas with a specific tassel in the ear—these tassels not only designate the village and the owner, they also serve to distinguish male and female alpacas from a distance (because the different genders have different functions).
Italic text from 'Say it with tassels' to read the full text and more images of Tassels in Peru visit the original article here
