Noqanchis
Art collective founded by Alipio Melo, Danitza Willka and María José Murillo. Rooted in the essence of Andean weaving, their purpose is to intertwine their worldviews and experiences as contemporary textile artists. Noqanchis, in Quechua, translates as 'we all.' It is an inclusive we (+), which differs from noqayku, or restrictive we (-). Unlike Western languages, Quechua retains the same root for 'I' [noqa] as for 'we' [noqanchis / noqayku], thus evidencing the inseparable link between the individual and the community in the construction of the Andean identity.
The –ntin / –nintin suffix
by NoqanchisOur Runasimi (Quechua) is a family of languages that was born in Nature and is always in Nature. It is vital, therefore, to know it.
For the Andean world rain is life!
ROQHOQOQOY… tremble…
Runasimi (Quechua) is onomatopoeic, it imitates the sounds of nature.
It is also very social and cultural, where the community plays a role of vital interconnectivity.
It is composed based on suffixes; It is a binder.
The suffix –ntin / –nintin, differentiating itself from the suffix for companioning –wan (“with” in Spanish), denotes a different kind of companioning that involves a transmission of knowledge and values.
The shepherdess walks in the company of her alpaca, her llama and her spindle.
Estefa Irco, mother of Alipio Melo, with her alpacas and llamas in Pampananta, Pitumarca, Cusco, Perú.
This is how they graze in the highlands, where, in addition to growing fiber, a relationship of companionship and exchange is cultivated. The weaver walks with her alpaca and her pushka (drop spindle), sharing and transmitting knowledge and values to each other.
It is through this ecosystem of reciprocal care that the fibers of the fabric, as well as the cells of the body, store information that, as the textile production chain progresses, materializes in information and woven memory.
Can you observe where the suffix of companionship –ntin / –nintin is present in your daily life?
