Huipiles

HuipilesIn Mexico there are many women, generally members of indigenous communities, who weave huipils as part of their clothing and others for sale. This happens, for example, in Puebla, Yucatán, Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca or Guerrero. The «huipil» is a garment of pre-Hispanic origin, as attested by pre-Columbian sculptures, codices and mural paintings. Although some groups incorporated wool and the treadle loom, and later imported cotton or commercial threads, the original meaning of the «huipil» has not been altered.

Today, only a few women continue to wear the «coyuchi,» a native cotton, so called because its color is reminiscent of a coyote’s fur. They know how to cultivate, harvest and clean it, then beat it so that the fibers, which are very short, are integrated into longer strips. Generally, the old women spin the yarn because, as they say, «to do so they don’t need eyes, but fingers and a heart.» They boil the thread with «nixtamal» to prevent it from breaking and dye it using bark, roots, plants, iron, indigo or «grana cochineal» and weave it on backstrap looms and with traditional iconography, with which they represent their environment and their worldview. Each «huipil» shows the sensitivity and vision of each artisan.

Good examples are the huipils made by an Amuzga woman named Victorina López Hilario, from Xochistlahuaca, in the Costa Chica of Guerrero, as well as those made by a Tzotzil woman, Carmen Vázquez Hernández, from Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas. Both have received national awards and recognition. Also noteworthy are the huipils woven by Francisca Palafox, a Huave indigenous woman from San Mateo del Mar, State of Oaxaca.

To see quality huipils you can go to the Museo de Arte Popular or the Tienda de la Fundación Cultural Banamex, located in the Palacio de Iturbide, both in Mexico City; or to Sna Jolobil, in the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya, in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas and the Textile Museum of Oaxaca.

HuipilesIn Mexico there are many women, generally members of indigenous communities, who weave huipils as part of their clothing and others for sale. This happens, for example, in Puebla, Yucatán, Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca or Guerrero. The «huipil» is a garment of pre-Hispanic origin, as attested by pre-Columbian sculptures, codices and mural paintings. Although some groups incorporated wool and the treadle loom, and later imported cotton or commercial threads, the original meaning of the «huipil» has not been altered.

Today, only a few women continue to wear the «coyuchi,» a native cotton, so called because its color is reminiscent of a coyote’s fur. They know how to cultivate, harvest and clean it, then beat it so that the fibers, which are very short, are integrated into longer strips. Generally, the old women spin the yarn because, as they say, «to do so they don’t need eyes, but fingers and a heart.» They boil the thread with «nixtamal» to prevent it from breaking and dye it using bark, roots, plants, iron, indigo or «grana cochineal» and weave it on backstrap looms and with traditional iconography, with which they represent their environment and their worldview. Each «huipil» shows the sensitivity and vision of each artisan.

Good examples are the huipils made by an Amuzga woman named Victorina López Hilario, from Xochistlahuaca, in the Costa Chica of Guerrero, as well as those made by a Tzotzil woman, Carmen Vázquez Hernández, from Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas. Both have received national awards and recognition. Also noteworthy are the huipils woven by Francisca Palafox, a Huave indigenous woman from San Mateo del Mar, State of Oaxaca.

To see quality huipils you can go to the Museo de Arte Popular or the Tienda de la Fundación Cultural Banamex, located in the Palacio de Iturbide, both in Mexico City; or to Sna Jolobil, in the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya, in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas and the Textile Museum of Oaxaca.

HuipilesIn Mexico there are many women, generally members of indigenous communities, who weave huipils as part of their clothing and others for sale. This happens, for example, in Puebla, Yucatán, Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca or Guerrero. The «huipil» is a garment of pre-Hispanic origin, as attested by pre-Columbian sculptures, codices and mural paintings. Although some groups incorporated wool and the treadle loom, and later imported cotton or commercial threads, the original meaning of the «huipil» has not been altered.

Today, only a few women continue to wear the «coyuchi,» a native cotton, so called because its color is reminiscent of a coyote’s fur. They know how to cultivate, harvest and clean it, then beat it so that the fibers, which are very short, are integrated into longer strips. Generally, the old women spin the yarn because, as they say, «to do so they don’t need eyes, but fingers and a heart.» They boil the thread with «nixtamal» to prevent it from breaking and dye it using bark, roots, plants, iron, indigo or «grana cochineal» and weave it on backstrap looms and with traditional iconography, with which they represent their environment and their worldview. Each «huipil» shows the sensitivity and vision of each artisan.

Good examples are the huipils made by an Amuzga woman named Victorina López Hilario, from Xochistlahuaca, in the Costa Chica of Guerrero, as well as those made by a Tzotzil woman, Carmen Vázquez Hernández, from Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas. Both have received national awards and recognition. Also noteworthy are the huipils woven by Francisca Palafox, a Huave indigenous woman from San Mateo del Mar, State of Oaxaca.

To see quality huipils you can go to the Museo de Arte Popular or the Tienda de la Fundación Cultural Banamex, located in the Palacio de Iturbide, both in Mexico City; or to Sna Jolobil, in the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya, in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas and the Textile Museum of Oaxaca.

Huipiles

In Mexico there are many women, generally members of indigenous communities, who weave huipiles as part of their clothing and others for sale. This happens, for example, in Puebla, Yucatán, Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca or Guerrero. The «huipil» is a garment of pre-Hispanic origin, as attested by pre-Columbian sculptures, codices and mural paintings. Although some groups incorporated wool and the treadle loom, and later imported cotton or commercial threads, the original meaning of the «huipil» has not been altered.

Today, only a few women continue to wear the «coyuchi,» a native cotton, so called because its colour is reminiscent of a coyote’s fur. They know how to cultivate, harvest and clean it, then beat it so that the fibres, which are very short, are integrated into longer strips. Generally, the old women spin the yarn because, as they say, «to do so they don’t need eyes, but fingers and a heart». They boil the thread with «nixtamal» to prevent it from breaking and dye it using bark, roots, plants, iron, indigo or «grana cochinilla» and weave it on backstrap looms and with traditional iconography, with which they represent their environment and their worldview. Each «huipil» shows the sensitivity and vision of each artisan.

Good examples are the huipils made by an Amuzga woman named Victorina López Hilario, from Xochistlahuaca, in the Costa Chica of Guerrero, as well as those made by a Tzotzil woman, Carmen Vázquez Hernández, from Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas. Both have received national awards and recognition. Also noteworthy are the huipiles woven by Francisca Palafox, a Huave indigenous woman from San Mateo del Mar, State of Oaxaca.

To see quality huipiles you can go to the Museo de Arte Popular or the Tienda de la Fundación Cultural Banamex, located in the Palacio de Iturbide, both in Mexico City; or to Sna Jolobil, in the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya, in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas and the Museo Textil de Oaxaca.