Iku woven mochilla bags

WAYUU TRIBE - THE WAYUU PEOPLE, THEIR CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

The Wayuu (pronounced "Wah-You") people are an indigenous Latin American group inhabiting the desert of La Guajira Peninsula which borders Colombia and Venezuela.  The Wayuu live in small settlements called "rancherias" which consist of five or six houses.  Within these rancherias, the Wayuu people are able to preserve a way of life that has been passed down through the generations and remains unscathed by modern culture.  The Wayuu tribe preserves their deep cultural traditions, their attachment to the land, and their own language, the Wayuunaiki. Organized in matrilineal clans, the Wayuu children carry their mother's last name, making the Wayuu women not only the center of the family but cultural leaders as well.  One of the most significant aspects of culture that the Wayuu women practice is the art of weaving Mochilas Wayuu bags.

Each Wayuu mother teaches her daughter how to weave and crochet, keeping the tradition a way of life.  At a very early age (about 12-year-old), Wayuu girls are taught the art of crocheting Wayuu bags as part of their tradition and legacy. To the Wayuu, weaving is a symbol of wisdom, intelligence, and creativity.  As young Wayuu women come of age, they learn to create Mochilas Wayuu bags.  According to legend, the tradition comes from "Wale´kerü", a spider that taught the women how to weave their creative drawings into the Wayuu bags.  Each design incorporated into every Wayuu bag is unique to the weaver, telling a story through the bag's colors, patterns and shapes.

The weaver takes careful precision in her storytelling, making sure that the Mochila bag is a strong representation of Wayuu culture.  Wayuu women work full days while weaving their Wayuu bags and can take up to a full month to complete one single bag.  Today, Wayuu bags has become a means of financial support for the Wayuu people, which enables them to preserve their way of life.

With the threat of Covid the tribes saw a decline and then stop of tourist traffic in their region and their income became non existent. Iku bags was born out of hearing of this need and doing something about it. They have direct relationships with the tribes and are able to purchase from them.

We are proud to carry Iku bags here at our studio, for every bag sold 10% is donated to the Tribes directly.

Help carry on the tradition on these powerful women weavers.