Charrua in Chunky

The Charruas were the original habitants of our country, Uruguay. They had a ritual performed on young girls as they hit puberty, which consisted of painting three light blue lines on their foreheads,  starting at the hairline down to the nose, symbolizing their entry into the adult world. These lines  represented the rivers, as a way of always having their territory with them, and sharing with their children the love for the land.  The Charruas were exterminated between the years 1830 and 1832. This colourway was created as a tribute to them, representing that ritual by using light blue and different tones of brown symbolizing the colour of their skin.

[…] “Llevarás en tu frente los ríos de la tierra nuestra, y tu piel entre ellos será el territorio al que jamás renunciaremos. Tus hijos, al mamar de tus pechos, clavarán sus ojos en ti hasta adormecerse, y siempre verán en tu frente el territorio amado. Después, cuando caminen solos, harán sus paraderos junto a esos cielos azules que viajan, y su susurro apacible o sus aguas embravecidas les harán comprender por qué los cerros en la lejanía tienen duros pezones de piedra.”  […] (Original text)

Charrua comes in Malabrigo Lace, Malabrigo Merino Worsted, and Malabrigo Chunky

Squishable slouch hat, knit by KnitnFrog
Drop Scarf by Melissa “Missa” Hills, knit by susannead
Shetland Shell Lace Scarf by Frances Goodman, knit by Cookiecat
Kiri by Polly Outhwaite, knit by rybka

A big thank you to my knitting group who helped me find information about the initiation ritual 🙂

— Verónica