Arts & Architecture - Guatemala - page 584

Handicrafts
Guatemalans make many traditional handicrafts, both for everyday use and to sell to tour-
ists and collectors. Crafts include basketry, ceramics and wood carving, but the most prom-
inent are weaving, embroidery and other textile arts practiced by Maya women. The beauti-
ful traje (traditional clothing) made and worn by local women is one of the most awe-in-
spiring expressions of Maya culture.
Weaving
The most arresting feature of traditional clothing is their highly colorful weaving and em-
broidery, which makes many garments true works of art. It's the women's huipil, a long,
sleeveless tunic, that receives the most painstaking loving care in its creation. Often entire
huipiles are covered in a multicolored web of stylized animal, human, plant and mytholo-
gical shapes, which can take months to complete. Each garment identifies the village from
which its wearer hails (the Spanish colonists allotted each village a different design in order
to distinguish their inhabitants from each other) and within the village style there can be
variations according to social status, as well as the creative individual touches that make
each garment unique.
Maya men now generally wear Western clothing, except in places such as Sololá and
Todos Santos Cuchumatán, where they still sport colorful trajes . Materials and techniques
are changing, but the pre-Hispanic backstrap loom is still widely used. The warp (long)
threads are stretched between two horizontal bars, one of which is fixed to a post or tree,
while the other is attached to a strap that goes round the weaver's lower back. The weft
(cross) threads are then woven in. Throughout the highlands you can see women weaving
in this manner outside the entrance to their homes. Nowadays, some huipiles and fajas are
machine made, as this method is faster and easier than weaving by hand.
Yarn is still hand-spun in many villages. For the well-to-do, silk threads are used to em-
broider bridal huipiles and other important garments. Vegetable dyes are not yet totally out
of use, and red dye from cochineal insects and natural indigo are employed in several areas.
Modern luminescent dyes go down very well with the Maya, who are happily addicted to
bright colors, as you will see.
The colorful traditional dress is still generally most in evidence in the highlands, which
are heavily populated by Maya, though you will see it in all parts of the country. The vari-
ety of techniques, materials, styles and designs is bewildering to the newcomer, but you'll