A CULTURAL READING : A VISIT TO MORROA MUNICIPALITY AND ITS HANDCRAFTS, A PLACE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SUCRE, IN THE NORTH OF COLOMBIA.Morroa municipality is located in the northest of the morrosquillo gulf in the department of Sucre Colombia in the Caribean or atlantic ocean. It is 7 kilometers far from Sincelejo the capital and 10 minuyes by car from Corozal, The second city of our Sucre Department.if you travel by plane you can land in Carlos barvo or las brujas Airport in Corozal..

The Hammock Main characteristics of this handcraftVertical loom weaving with 100% cotton thread makes part of handicrafts in these regions and fully identifies the departments of Sucre. In the Department of Sucre, this artisan modality is practiced in the Montes de Mara sub-region, specifically in the municipality ofMorroa, and a low percentage in the savannah region in the municipalities of Corozal (township of Don Alonso) and Sincelejo (township of Choch).The municipality ofMorroa is a small township, with a tropical savannah climate, located in the center zone of the department, ten minutes away from the city of Sincelejo, in the northern part of the Western Trunk Line.Its economic activity depends mainly on agricultural work, and the industrial activity amounts to no more than small yucca processing factories.From the artisan point of view, it is a community that has received the oral transmission since the time of vertical looms weaving, by manufacturing hammocks, which are known by their coloring which is distributed in high-contrasted strips.

The savannah in the center of the Department of Sucre has a high artisan weaving capacity, a potential that is practically unknown among the artisan community in the country.It is an occupation that has been transmitted from generation to generation since those times it was practiced to manufacture objects necessary for every day life, in a self-consumption society.In spite of , the artisan identity in this zone is practically unknown.

Type of handcraftThe hammock is a vital element in this zones homes, used for both rest and decorative purposes.Used techniquesThe hammock is made of 100% cotton strings in a vertical loom.It is the occupation where, by handling different-caliber flexible strings through an orderly, simple or combined crossing, with weft and warping, different type pieces are attained, according to the strings materials.

Tools used in artisan workshops with vertical looms arent sophisticated instruments, and despite requiring very specific characteristics, they dont have a technical complexity.Tools are follows:LoomThe one used in this case is called plain high castle loom, which consists in two longitudinal beams) to which two traverse beams are tied, according to the measures of the fabric to be made.The width is generally fixed, since it is determined with posts that are set on the floor; traverse beams are tied to them at a given distance, according to the fabric length.

MacanaIt is a plain wooden paddle with all its extremes sharp.It has an approximate width of three to five cm. and the length may range from50 cm. to one meter according to the artisan comfort.The macana is used to approach the last weft to the weaving. ShuttleTo start weaving, strings are rolled on a stick that serves as a shuttle, and will go all the way through the weft.StripsThey are strips made of hard and resistant wood, which are used in different functions.One, as the head to hold the warp; the other one to do the crossing that gives the order of the strings, and one more to tighten the warp; they are placed in the back of the weaving.Warp winderIt is a rustic wood structure consisting of a vertical stand that serves as a support to a circular structure where the hank is placed to allow the string to unwind without getting tangled.Production processThe production process in loom weaving is divided into:dyeing and/or preparation, warping, arranging, weaving, finishing.Dyeing and/or preparationDyeing and preparation are two different processes that are done according to the product requirements or to the raw material condition.The cotton they work with comes in hanks, already dyed and in different colors.But for the weaving they should be subject to a preparation process called sizing (gluing?).Cotton hanks are sized with a starch and water solution, in order to give the string more resistance and prevent it from forming burls and thus give way to the next step, because if the string isnt either sized or stretched, there will be inconveniences during the weaving process, such as breaking of warp strings, either because of the tension they are submitted to or because they get worn out because of the burls that also cause tangling between strings, which will make the lock difficult to open.WarpingOnce string hanks have been sized and dried, they are hand reeled, a procedure artisan women call balling (embolar), in order to arrange strings in a ball shape that allows a fast assembling (armado) or warping, since hanks arent easy to manipulate.Warping or assemblingOnce the loom has been adjusted to the dimensions of the fabric to be made, the assembling process starts; they use the one called sliding, which needs two completely smooth sticks; one of them has the function of holding the warp, to attain which it should be very resistant because it is submitted to tension; and the other one provides the crossing or the lock.Once warping has been finished, they proceed to make the reed (peine), which is made of a string that separates the assembling strings for the shuttle or the weaving stick go through and that way the weaving process starts.WeavingOnce assembled, the warp is stretched by introducing one or two strips all the way through the back of the weaving.According to the product being manufactured, a portion is left with no weaving and the chain stitch is done, which will give the initial and ending limit of the fabric, and will not let it come apart after it has removed from the loom.Once the chain stitch is done, the real weaving process starts. Find the words in the reading that Match every definition 1. A hand-operatedorpower-drivenapparatusforweavingfabrics, containing harnesses,lay,reed,shuttles,treadles,etc._______________2. A relatively long narrow piece of something_____________________3. involves lacing strips of fabric, string, or some other material together to make something. You canweavewool to make a rug, orweavethe details of a story together to make a great book._____________________4. Mechanical device around which something can be wound5. ahangingbedorcouchmadeofcanvas,nettedcord,orthelike,withcordsattachedtosupportsateachend._________________6. tomake(something)bymanualskill._____________________7. thesetofyarnsplacedlengthwiseintheloom,crossedbyandinterlacedwiththeweft,andformingthelengthwisethreads____________8. Adeviceinaloomforpassingorshootingtheweftthreadthrough theshedfromonesideofthewebtotheother,shapedpieceofWood containingabobbinonwhichtheweftthreadiswound.

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