Ecuadorian Woman's Traditional Skirt: "Yana Anacu"

The indigenous Incan women who live in Otavalo in the Andes Mountains north of Quito wear this traditional outfit, called "churajuna" in Quechua, on a daily basis. Their attire is considered to be the closest to the Inca costume worn anywhere in the Andes Mountains.

Traditional dress for the Otavalo women consists of a long dark skirt with pale underskirt, fastened with a woven belt, an embroidered white blouse with full, lacy sleeves and a shawl. The "skirts", called "yana anacu", are actually two separate pieces of cloth with no tailoring at all, simply wrapped around and held in place by the belt. Tiny, detailed embroidery appears along the edges of the cloth. The wide belts are woven in detailed and intricate designs with traditional weaving techniques which have been used in Otavalo for centuries.

The traditional white blouses for the women of Otavalo have broad, intricately embroidered collars and sleeves. Traditionally all the embroidery would be done by hand, though these days some is done by machine.

Jewelry is also an important addition to the women's outfit: layers of necklaces of predominantly gold beads, and red coral bracelets are the most common form of jewelry worn by the Otavalo women.

The Otavaleno consider their dress a way to outwardly express their ethnicity and Indian identity.
Source:
http://abyayala.nativeweb.org/ecuador/otavalo/culture.html http://www.ecuadortravelsite.org/otavalo_traditional_costume.html