Museo Casa de Tejido

Hi all. (this was written yesterday July 10 but not able to be posted until tonight)

I had another great day of conjugating verbs and struggling through various tenses. After the morning's adventure of having abuela (grandma of the house) beside herself with worry about why I am yet to have children, I returned to school for more work!  Luckily it was only an hour and a half more after lunch of sitting at my desk working... then we were off. My teacher and I walked over to the Museo Casa de Tejido.

 

This museum is dedicated to the craft of weaving in Guatemala. There are a variety of Maya groups throughout Guatemala (approximately 22 Mayan linguistic dialects) and each community expresses their identity through a variety of designs and colors in their weaving.  We were given a private tour of the museum and I was allowed to both practice my Spanish and learn a bit about these beautiful textiles.  This woman is using a traditional back-strap loom. We spent a lot of time discussing weaving and she told me that she began learning to weave when she was 5 years old. She learned from her mother and her grandmother. We talked about how each village has their own distinctive colors and designs and that it is easy to identify (once you know all of the colors and designs that is- in other words easy for HER to identify) where a person is from by the designs and colors in their clothing. I was given a private tour of the museum and at the end was asked to put on the traditional dress from her village San Antonio Agua Caliente (see photos below for a good laugh!).  

Below you will find pictures of traditional Guatemalan huipils.  The clothing also says a lot about the climate where the group lives. A few are made of wool and lots of extra fabric for those who live at higher altitudes in the mountains, where the weather is much colder.  The garments are beautiful and a traditional huipil take approximately 4-6 months to make (if worked on for at least 5 hours a day)! Some designs are used for special ceremonies only. others are worn daily. Also, in some communities the size of the belt of the presence of a head dress signify if a woman is married or single.The traditional dress is very expensive, much more so than a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, so many of the women in these areas cannot afford to wear their own traditional dress as easily. Although, everyone was sure to explain to me that these textiles are well worth the money for many people given how much more durable they are and how much longer they last than cheap t-shirts.

Anyhow, enjoy the photos- I've got to run back to class! 

Chris 

When specifically asked to please wear the traditional dress of one of the weaver's home villages, San Antonio Agua Caliente, I had to oblige. Feel free to giggle at the tall gringa lady! :)