Maya textiles
[1] Ancient Maya women had two natural types of cotton to work with, one white and the other light brown, called cuyuscate, both of which were commonly dyed.
This fiber was, "another commonly spun material, and depending on the species used and the number of production steps, it could produce either cluded human and animal hair (rabbit and dog), feathers, and vegetable fibers such as milkweed and chichicastle, a fibrous nettle native to Southern México, also known as mala mujer.
In the pre-Columbian era, Mayan women exclusively wove with backstrap looms, that use sticks and straps worn around one's waist to create tension.
The weaver controls the tension by the direction in which she moves her body, and opens and closes the sheds in which weft threads are inserted by lifting heddles, placing and rotating the wooden batten, and using other hand-held implements as needed... 'The loom itself appears to be a simple device.
[8] There had to be specific bodily discipline, like stillness, balance and kneeling for a long time, in order to use the backstrap looms correctly which would end up defining, "the proper physical comportment for women.
In the Maya civilization, a man's typical dress was a cotton breechcloth wrapped around his waist and sometimes a sleeveless shirt, either white or dyed in colours.
[10] A woman typically wore a traje, which combined a huipil and a corte, a woven wraparound skirt that reached her ankles.
Women possessed two items of clothing: a length of ornamented material with holes made for the arms and head, known as a kub.
Both genders wore a heavier rectangle of cloth, as a manta, that functioned as an overwrap on cool days, and as blanket at night.
The most prevalent and influential aspect of women's clothing in ancient times is the huipil, which is still prominent in Guatemalan and Mexican culture today.
The huipil is usually white with colorful cross-stripping and zigzag designs woven into the cloth using the brocade technique still commonly used today.
In 2011, Efrain Asij, President of Guatemala's Commission for Culture, proposed legislative changes in favor of protecting textiles produced by indigenous communities.
[16] He touted the textiles' economic value to the women of these Mayan communities, as well as the cultural heritage represented in these designs.
[17] He calls for the creation of schools designed to create the next generation of Guatemalan weavers, in order to ensure that this ancient and sacred art continues to be valued.
[16] All Departments of Guatemala's government are expected to promote and participate in the protection of traditional Mayan textile production.
[18] 30 Weaving Co-Operatives from 18 linguistic communities in Guatemala are supporting the movement which is led by the Women's Association for Development of Sacatepequez, known in its Spanish acronym as AFEDES.
For example textiles now, "include the use of imported rickrack, ribbons, metallic threads, variegated embroidery floss, and velvet edgings on hand-loomed garments.
