EL CHUMBI ANDINO. REFLEXIONES EN TORNO A LA POTENCIALIDAD DE SU ESTUDIO DESDE LAS FUNCIONES DEL VESTIDO

Abstract

The chumbiis one of the most representative elements of the Andean identity. Its uninterrupted use since the pre-Hispanic period demonstrates the relevance it has among the Andean communities to ascribe their ethnicity and claim their values and customs. This importance has motivated many scholars from various areas, such as Anthropology, History, Ergonomics and Semiology, to undertake researches focused on their uses and social meanings. In this article, a review of the academic documentation available on the subject is carried out in order to show that there is a vacancy area regarding studies that approach the chumbifrom the dressing functions perspective. Indeed, the bibliographic reconstruction demonstrates a marked tendency towards mainly descriptive researches focused on the uses that indigenous communities make of it, the support it provides to the bodies or the meanings it communicates. However, there are few contributions that, basedon the dressing functions perspective, recognizethenecessary interlink between Anthropology and Fashion Design. The potentiality of this kind of proposal is visible in the possibility of producing theoretical and technical developments that arise from the dialogue between the academy and the communities involved.