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are in one color and the design motifs in another. Again, traditionally the pattern
was white on white. Today a popular color combination is royal blue and white,
probably because it sells well. The open spaces between the disks are filled with
patterns especially designed of filigree or patterns that cross each other at
angles to fit.
The final step is to use the scissors to cut away the fabric back and leave
only the threads. Before cutting, the piece is washed carefully and dried in the
sun. It is then washed again with a manioc paste (starch) and dried. Any
excess starch is carefully removed. Then the cloth frame is cut away. The
washing of the threads in manioc paste allows the fine, frothy lace to maintain its
shape and may be the primary reason why many lightweight threads continued
to be used in ñandutí as opposed to Tenerife lace. Manioc is indigenous to
Paraguay and lowland South America, although it is now grown throughout
Africa as well (Sanjurjo and Casciero 1978).
Paraguayan Historical Background
The Spanish women arriving in the 16th century first brought lace-making
knowledge to the Province of the Rio de la Plata. According to Josefina Pla
(1998:58), sol or rueda lace probably arrived with young women of good
character and domestic skills who came to Paraguay to wed with the Spanish
conquerors. However, none of the early chroniclers mentions the development
of the art in Paraguay. At the end of the sixteenth century, we have
commentary from Ruiz Díaz de Guzmán about the sewing skills of Paraguayan
women, both criollas and mestizas (de Guzmán 1962:111). A few years later,
the Anuas Jesuíticas (1610) mentions the handkerchiefs and embroidered towels
made for the Jesuits by domestic labor (Pla 1993:1).
A survey of indigenous textile production leaves no doubt that the tradition
is not indigenous. According to Barbara Ganson (2003:19), "There were few
social distinctions among the Guaraní. Unlike the Aztec and the Mayan nobility,
who wore elaborate clothing to distinguish themselves from native commoners,
most Tupí-Guaraní did not cover their bodies, but women sometimes wore a
small cotton garment called a typoi. For warmth during the winter, shamans
covered themselves with animal skins or feather robes and decorations, which
also served certain religious purposes." The extensive documentation of
indigenous material culture of various indigenous groups of the region that
Branislava Susnik (1986) made her life work reveals no similarities with ñandutí
(or other current national Paraguayan textiles).
Originally, the Guaranies practiced a number of skills that were
reformulated and adapted to new colonial functions. These new functions, in
their turn, incorporated new materials and techniques into objects that had
previously not existed (Salerno 1996:10). According to Ganson (2003:68), "the
Guaraní, however, did not simply imitate European crafts but showed creativity
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