In the center of the Canary Island of La Palma, at the gates of the Caldera de Taburiente, lies the city of El Paso. This upper part of the Aridane Valley is the only point in Spain where the complete process of obtaining and making silk is still preserved. The interest on the part of some residents of El Paso to preserve this ancient tradition, together with the abundance of morality in this area of the island, have been the keys to the fact that this craft has been transmitted to this day generation after generation. Today, in addition to the families that have maintained this tradition, the students of the El Paso Workshop School are learning the secrets of this craft. When spring arrives, the leaves sprout fresh on the morales and the silk-making process begins . On a daily basis, we must go to the morales to collect the amount of fresh leaves that are needed to feed the small caterpillars of the night butterfly "Bombyx mori", which have already begun to emerge from their eggs. As the caterpillars are so small when they are born, about two millimeters approximately, to facilitate their ingestion you have to make small incisions in the leaves since they eat them by their edges. The small insects are housed in large shallow boxes, inside a room or "workshop" that maintains constant temperatures between 20 and 26 degrees and humidity above 75%. Hygiene is very important during the rearing of caterpillars and you have to keep the boxes clean of their excrement. When the box is dirty, new leaves are placed and once they have been moved to eat them, the leaves with the caterpillars are transferred to another clean box. "Well, they were born eight or ten days ago they are more or less, they are in the first age of birth and they are eating twice a day. From the second age, they would eat every two hours, more or less." The feeding of the caterpillars is continuous and the quality and quantity of silk they manufacture will depend on their care . The "bug," as El Paso calls the caterpillar, grows rapidly. From the time it is born until the cocoon is made, 38 days of intense devouring activity pass. During this time it undergoes four molts, in which it remains totally inactive and changes its skin for a whiter, more elastic and transparent one. After its last molt, the worm has gone from the two millimeters it measured at birth to eight centimeters, and its approximate weight has increased about eight thousand times. From this last change it is said that the caterpillar is in "different". On some branches that have been placed in the "workshop" the "bugs" will form the cocoon. To do this, after releasing the last excrement, the caterpillar moves its head and thorax in all directions and its silk-like glands emits a silky slime that, when in contact with the air, solidifies. Thus he begins to weave an irregular silk network , which he rolls over his body many times until it is enclosed. Once its work is done, the final metamorphosis occurs inside the cocoon. Twenty days after encasing itself in its silk shell, the chrysalis turns into a butterfly. The "divine", as the sericulturists call it, secretes a liquid on the silk to soften it, break the thread and be able to come out of the cocoon. The domestication of the "Bombyx mori" is so old that the females have lost their ability to fly. The butterfly or moth will only live for five days, the time necessary to fulfill its reproductive function. The male has launched his sexual claim and begins to vibrate his wings to approach in circles, in a buzzing dance until he reaches copulation and fertilizes the female. Each butterfly or "barboleta" will lay about 400 or 500 eggs that remain attached to the cocoon, to the branches or to a black cloth that is placed to collect them. On the fifth day of this feverish activity, the insects die, leaving thousands of eggs. These eggs or "seeds" will be kept in cool places until next spring to start the cycle again. But, to obtain the silk thread, it is necessary to prevent the chrysalis or "divine" from breaking the thread in their attempt to get out of the cocoon. To do this, after separating the stained cocoons and the corpses, proceed to the so-called "stew". "The water always has to be about to boil. Not boiling, how the cocoons fill a lot with water. You add a little cold water when it is already very boiling. Once the water is prepared, the cocoons are put into it. " Solveida has inherited the knowledge and secrets of this ancient craft from her family. Normally, a bushel is usually put in each boiler, then they are all wetted a little. In the cauldron with water about to boil, add a cocoon bushel, which contains about 500 or 550 depending on their size. "By wetting them so that they soften a little, because now I remove a few from inside the boiler, I only leave the ones that I am going to use, and so that they stick. With the hand it is already more ..." "To increase the strand little by little. And they are already soft, because if they are dry the thread does not come out either. The cocoon has to soften in order to release the silk, because it is so finite, so finite, that if it is not softened, it breaks. " "You already take out the strand, ... The first one is removed, which is called a tanquía, which is the one that is used later to tie the skeins, or it was used to make the shoelaces or to tie the bags of almonds, according to, ... everything is used, nothing is wasted. " The silk has joined twelve to fifteen threads to form one thread. After threading it through the needle, which is a kind of disarticulated handle, it passes through the spools and then through the burgao until the lathe is wound. Give Macarena. For this work, Solveida is accompanied by her students, and it is that, to carry out this process well, three people are needed: the silk, the Hebrew and the turner. The rhythmic and uniform turn that the turner gives to the crank, in addition to rotating the blades that collect the skein of silk, transmits a circular movement to the mortar that, by means of an eccentric, moves the burgao from right to left, which helps to even out the yarn in the skein. The work of the lathe is very hard and the person who handled it used to be a young man, who took advantage of the circumstance to woo the silk. The silk is in charge of feeding the strand with new threads as they are finished. You do this by stirring the cocoons with a briar brush until the new threads are hooked and you can contact them together to the strand, thus maintaining their thickness. The cocoons dance inside the boiler, while the 1,500 meters of thread that each one has approximately unwind . As the thread is finished, with a strainer, the silk removes the chrysalis and the defective cocoons from the cauldron . In this process everything is used, even the dead chrysalis, which will serve as food for the chickens. The Hebrew is the one that collects the thread after passing through the needle, winds it on the spools and, after threading it in the burgao, splices it with the rest of the skein. The performance of the work depends on the speed that the turner applies to the blades and the response it has from the silk to feed the strand without splitting. From time to time, you have to add cold water to prevent the water in the cauldron from reaching the boiling point, which is detrimental to the process. When the skein is the desired size and weight, Solveida removes it from the lathe. Once tied on one side, loosen the wedges that press one of the blades and separate the skein. After tightening it with your arms, you have to tie the skein at different points so that it does not unravel. The skein obtained passes to the winder, whose measurement is similar to that of the blades of the lathe. Antonio has learned this trade through family lines and has been fond of it since he was a child. From the reel, the silk thread passes to the "sarja", which can hold two or three small skeins. For this process, touch is very important, both to control yarn breaks and to remove specks and dirt that may have adhered to the fiber. The little or bad diet during the life cycle of the caterpillars is manifested in this process. If your breeding has not been correct, it will be reflected in the strength and quality of the thread. "Here we are going to make the small skein and go down the two strands in the small twist and then cook the silk with soap." On the small lathe, Antonio is going to join two strands, forming a skein. Depending on the job the silk is intended for, you can use two or three strands. These skeins, which will remain untwisted, will be used for the weft or, as they say in El Paso, to "cover." "I am preparing the boiler with soap and water to cook the silk and make it white." "And now you have to have it for about half an hour to finish cooking." To whiten the skeins, a kind of bleach made with Castile soap or tallow soap is used. Antonio cannot put the whole skein in the water because the threads would wind up; To avoid this, he leaves it hanging from the cane and stews it in parts so that the soap passes through all its strands. This is so I don't get so much soap for the bucket, now. Now I am rinsing the silk and removing the soap. I'm stretching it out to dry and it's ready to dry. " Once washed and dried, all the skeins have taken on a uniform white color. From them, you will have to choose those that you want to dye. " This skein is already washed. and it is already wet and we are going to pass it into the ink. " For the dyeing of the silk, in El Paso the natural products that the island produces are used : the orchilla, the cochineal, and various dyeing plants. water has taken on the color of the dye, Solveida introduces the skein and goes round, controlling the entire strand receive the bath with the same intensity. "Now, let it rest here for an hour, to go taking the ink . " With the great variety of dye materials that can be used and the combinations between them, after staining a wide range of colors is obtained. " I am filling the barrels with two strands and then taking them to twist them. And you have to pair it with two, three or four strands, depending on the process you are going to make the piece of silk. " The thread that is going to be used for the warp of the loom must be twisted and for this, it is necessary to roll it previously in the "canyons." Filling the "canyons" consists of joining a certain number of threads in cane tubes, depending on the work to be done. This work is done in the "redina." To twist the thread, The silk inserts in the "cannons" some spindles or "jusos" of almond wood and hangs them from the ceiling in pairs. Then, with a strong friction of the hands, it rotates them by twisting the two threads in their movement. In this process, the silk has to be wet so that it takes the twist and does not make ringlets or "curls". The silks usually work with several "jusos" at the same time, usually four or six. The thread that is going to be used in the loom to make the weft it has remained untwisted, gathered in a skein. the shuttle and then pass it through the warp, you have to roll it up in the "cañuelas" with the "redina". When the silk threads are very tangled together, the "barrels" are made by hand, patiently, treating the thread with great care. In this way, Solveida prepares the guns to mount the warp. Antonio is going to prepare the warp on the warper. To do this, you have previously calculated the number of threads you need, the length of the warp and the number of turns you have to turn to achieve the desired width. The threads coming from the "cannons" pass separately through the sledgehammer and the weaver assembles them on the warper, always respecting the cross. The cross is the weaver's key and consists of crossing the threads so that they are ordered and the separation of the warp is respected to introduce the weft. The warp has already passed to the loom. There the width has been given to the fabric to be woven and that is limited by the dimensions of the loom. The shuttle, loaded with the thread shaft, passes between the cross of the warp, while the feet move the pedals that lift the heddle. The comb strikes the weft yarn until it is pressed against the other strands. Little by little, the fabric grows until it forms a compact piece from which the different handicrafts typical of the island of La Palma will be obtained. The exquisiteness of the production of these artisans from El Paso combines, in addition to a refined technique, a special affection for their work, secular wisdom and a lot of patience. The traditional clothing of La Palma, rich in garments made with silk, is a sample of the abundance of this raw material on the island. Today, fortunately, the process of obtaining and making silk, which can perfectly remind us of medieval techniques, has been preserved thanks to a few people. The resurgence of culture itself on the island of La Palma has prompted the creation of a Workshop School in El Paso for young people to collect this cultural legacy and pass it on to future generations.
