Reading a Wayuu Pattern

Kanas are the geometric figures that structure Wayuu weaving. Each is named, each is abstracted from the desert, and each belongs to a lineage.

A weaver can look at a hammock and name the family that made it, sometimes the individual. The pattern is a document.

This is why we record the artisan, the clan and the date on every certificate. Without them, the object loses half of what it is.