Chochinilla Dye May 17
A Cochinilla Rainbow in Oaxaca
Natural History of Chochinilla Used in Natural Dyes of Oaxaca
In her book Downcanyon, Ann Haymond Zwinger describes the life history of the little bugs that produce this versatile dye used in Oaxaca.
“The woolly tufts of cochineal bugs dot many of the pads [of prickly pear cacti]. When I scrape off a tuft, a rich carmine red stains my fingertips. “Cochineal” means scarlet-colored, but only the female bug is red, the male, drab gray. A mature female lays a single egg under her body, which can hatch into a pinpoint red larva in as quickly as fifteen minutes. A female larva, as soon as she finds a place to settle permanently, begins producing a protective, white waxy covering, under which she metamorphoses to adulthood. … Immobile as adults, their plugged-in siphoning eventually kills the cactus pad upon which they live.
”Cochineal insects have been used as dye for textiles and body paint for thousands of years (cochineal was replaced by aniline dyes in the late 1800s). Spaniards found the Aztecs using the dye and took both plant and insect back to Spain. A wildly labor-intensive industry, it requires a full day of labor to produce only two ounces of dried cochineal and 70,000 insects to provide a pound of dye.”
Source: Haymond Zwinger, Ann. Downcanyon. The University of Arizona Press. 1995. p69-70.
Manuel Montaño’s Astounding Hands-on Explanation of the Natural Dyes used in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca
Manuel Montaño showed us that not only does cochinilla give red, but a whole array of colors! He pressed some of the bugs in the palm of his hand, smearing it. Then with lemon juice he made the dye turn a completely different color! Cochinilla can produce orange, rust, red, purple and more colors depending on how it is processed.
He showed us that the startling indigo blue that they use in their rugs comes from a root and fermentation was part of the process. He talked about wool colors and barks, etc.
We were astounded. Then of course he showed us the beautiful rugs that his family had on display, as well as some details of the loom weaving process.
He spent hours with us and answered all of our questions. This is when there is no substitute for speaking Spanish and being able to use all of the correct terms of respect and questioning strategies. (Not that he would be unkind to someone without those skills, it’s just that the depth of the conversation is better with them.)
His family business was not yet on the web, but he gave us his business card with the following information:
Manos que Tejen (Hands that Weave)
Tapetes de lana 100% hechos a mano (100% handmade wool rugs)
Colores naturales (natural colors/dyes)
Manuel Montaño Sánchez
Av. Juarez Num. 109
Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca
Tel y Fax (951) 524-4033
A Special Concern for our Native North Americans
I was moved by the time spent with Mr. Montaño and believe that the art form being revived in his community is invaluable as part of our world heritage. I was concerned about one aspect of his art (which I didn’t discuss with him, out of respect).
There is a practice in Teotitlán del Valle of figuring out how to weave other people’s designs from photographs of their rugs. Designs from the Native Americans in the southwestern United States are often used. This is a concern because as I stated in the description on the previous page, the people of this Oaxacan town are combating pressures to produce cheap art. If the pressure on Oaxacans is intense, it must be 10 times as hard for Native North Americans, who are living in the US and must charge enough for their rugs to earn livings sustainable in the United States.