Mayan Weaving and Textiles in Guatemala

"Clothes are inevitable. They are nothing less than the furniture of the mind made visible" --James Laver (1949)

Weaving in Guatemala has played an integral role in the lives of the Maya, communicating their personal identity, their heritage, and their ideological beliefs. In pre-Columbian times, only the elite classes could own or wear ornately woven cloth and clothing.

Today, weaving has become a cornerstone in the economic survival of both households and villages. Although cultural contact has influenced many of the techniques and materials used in weaving, it has not eliminated the ancestral cosmology and symbolism still found in weavings throughout Guatemala.

As example, the "huipil" (Wee-peel) Spanish term for a Maya woman's traditional blouse, signaled social structure, ritual patterns and a commitment to the community.

Imbued in the design and in its overall symbolism, cosmology connects with weaving by defining femininity and directing ritual. One of the most important associations that weaving has to the supernatural is its association with the deities, primarily the moon goddess Ixchel. Believed to have invented weaving, she was the patron of conception, childbirth, medicine, and reproduction.

On request, Adventure in Mayalandia will present you an itinerary relevant to this colorful world of textile.