Huipil from Nahualá.

Mayan culture. K’iche ethnic group, Sololá, Guatemala. First half of the 20th century.

Piece of great elegance that preserves ancient traditions, woven on a backstrap loom, warp-wise, with virgin cotton yarn for the base and cotton and silk threads for the ornamental design. The technique used to "draw" the geometric figures characteristic of this ethnic bias is that of supplementary weft brocade, consisting of applying threads of different colors and materials -in this case some cotton and others silk- during the weaving process of the fabric. white base “…the Nahualá huipil is easily recognizable by its geometric designs and its whiteness, intentionally “stained” with the pink hue of dyed brocade threads without etching…” (1)

This garment, 92 cm. (36.22 in) long and 49 cm. (19.3 in) wide, woven in two panels, joined by a simple central seam, has been made for a Mayan girl close to puberty or for an elderly woman, taking into account her measurements, and her destination has been festive or ceremonial, as expressed the clear difference of the surface covered by the design on its front (the narrowest) and on its back.

A native of the department of Sololá; a wide territory that combines mountains, valleys, volcanoes and as if that were not enough, its geography encloses the wonderful Lake Atitlán, at 1562 meters above sea level. Nahualá is located in the northwest corner of the department, on a plateau, at about 2,400 meters above sea level, separated from the towns located on the shores of the lake by a chain of hills. Precisely this geographical isolation has operated as a preserver of its traditions, and the textile issue is not exempt from these.

Note:

1. Mireille Holsbeke, Julia Montoya, Robert S. Carlsen: The Maya Weaves. Ed Cholsamaj, Guatemala, 2008. Page 37.