Otavalo indigenous clothing

Abstract

This article examines the indigenous clothing of Otavalo, Ecuador, highlighting its multifaceted function as protection against the environment and as a transmitter of social and economic identity. Despite the scarcity of bibliographical references and the limited information provided by colonial chroniclers, it investigates how recent cultural and economic transformations have influenced changes in the clothing of the Otavalo indigenous people. The study observes a notable change in men's clothing, which has adopted elements of Western fashion, while women have experienced an alteration in the traditional embroidery of their blouses, losing part of its capacity to indicate the community of origin. Through the review of the "Relación y reseña de los pueblos del partido de Otavalo" by Don Sancho Paz Ponce de León, the article contextualizes these changes in the historical evolution of indigenous clothing.