ART AND ARTIFACTS

Archaeological and ethnohistorical evidencedemonstrate the tremendous economic valueof cloth throughout Mesoamerica since theClassic period. Lengths of cotton cloth, carvedand polished greenstone beads, beads of redspiny oyster shell, measures of salt, and cacaobeans, were used as units of economicexchange and tribute during the Classic periodin the Maya Lowlands. (Schele 1990)

A cylinder vase from the San AcasaguastlanRegion, Guatemala (File No. K558) illustratesthe use of cloth as tribute. A royal captive withquetzal feather headdress kneels in submissionbefore a ruler wearing a spangled headdresswith water lilies. Two attendants that standbehind the captive hold armloads of batik printcloth. There are also two bundles of clothdraped on the throne of the seated ruler. Thecloth is being presented to the enthroned ruleras a bounty of war or a tribute offering.(Reents-Budet 1994)

Vase with Detail of AttendantsSan Acasaguastlan, Guatemala

File No. K558 Justin Kerr

Written accounts such as Hernan Cortes' firstletter to King Charles V of Spain indicate theimportance of cloth in Mesoamerica during thePost-Classic. During the first encounter ofHernan Cortes and the Aztecs, the Spanishconqueror was presented with gifts, whichwere carefully recorded and itemized inSpanish accounts. These items included goldand silver jewelry, two native books (codices),gold dust and gold nuggets, two enormouswheels, animal skins, and elaborate textiles.(Ananwalt 1981)

Cosmology and Weaving

Weaving has played an integral role in the livesof the Maya, communicating their personalidentity, their heritage, and their ideologicalbeliefs. In pre-Columbian times, only the eliteclasses could own or wear ornately wovencloth and clothing. Today, weaving has becomea cornerstone in the economic survival of bothhouseholds and villages. Although culturalcontact has influenced many of the techniquesand materials used in weaving, it has noteliminated the ancestral cosmology andsymbolism still found in weavings throughoutGuatemala and Mexico.

Jaina Figurine WeavingMuseo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico

Linda Schele suggested that this Jaina figurineexcavated on Jaina Island in the early 1960s isIxchel rendered with a backstrap loom. In herright hand she holds a batten, for tighteningthreads; at the edge of the cloth, the heddles,which hold the threads apart and allow foreasier work, are the sticks at the end of theloom with their attachment to the tree stump.(Miller, 2004)

Although the cosmology of weaving wasestablished in pre-Columbian times, itsimportance and vitality can still be seen inmodern weavings. The symbolism woven intothese fabrics tells a story of Maya history. Itspeaks to the informed observer,communicating the importance of the traditionand beliefs of these people.

Pre-Columbian and ContemporaryTextile Design Motifs

A culture's symbolic imagery is subject tochange with the course of time as well as withthe influences of outside forces. One of themost significant outside forces that drasticallyaltered Maya textiles is the Spanish Conquest,which brought about the invasion of Westernlife into "traditional" Maya culture. The ratherrecent intrusions of tourism and commercialmarkets have also influenced both thetechnical and aesthetic traits of Maya textiles.In spite of the omnipresent changes that haveoccurred over the last millennium, the Maya oftoday continue to weave and embroider someof the same design motifs that have beenpopular since the Classic period (AD 150-900).

Maya Weaving with BirdsPhotograph Linda Kreft

Although Classic period textiles are scarce dueto poor preservation conditions, images onpolychrome ceramics, lintels, stelae, and wallmurals reveal design motifs used in textiles.See Maya ceramics with rollouts showingtextile tribute. (Kerr 5764, 2780, 6059 and5940)

The most common design motifs from Classicand contemporary times derive from naturalsurroundings and geometric patterns thatsymbolize natural phenomena such as hills orsnakes.

Contemporary design motifs, however, includea greater percentage of "natural surrounding"motifs than in the past. These motifs include amultitude of flora and fauna native toGuatemala and Mexico.

Spiny Star Design

The spiny star design (as it is termed byWalter F. Morris Jr.) is a geometric motifformed by an equilateral diamond outlined by"stairs" in the form of triangles. (Morris 1984)

Sky Band

Detail Lintel 24 Yaxchilan, Mexico

The British MuseumDrawing Linda Schele

The sky band is another motif that is found inboth contemporary and Classic Maya textiles.It is a long band composed of a series ofrectangular glyphs representing celestialbodies. The ancient Maya used this symbol toact as bases, platforms, or thrones on Codexstyle vases. It is thought to have personifiedthe snake that formed the frame around theMaya world (Miller 2004). This motif isnoticeable along the sleeve edges of the huipilon Lady Xoc of Lintel 24 and Lintel 26 from thesite of Yaxchilan.

Toads

Depictions of toads are common in Mayatextiles. Past and present, these animals areassociated with rain and fertility. In the MayaLowlands, the coming of rain is announced bythe emergence of toads and their croakingsound. As Chip Morris explains "while the toadsings at the mouth of the Earthlord's mountaincave, the Earthlord's daughters dutifully fluffcotton which will be transformed by a bolt oflightning into rain clouds." These amphibiansare said to be the guardians of the rain god'scave. (Morris 1987)

Diamond/Universe/4 Corners

The diamond shaped design may be the mostcommon design theme in both contemporaryand Pre-Columbian times: "technically andaesthetically it is simple to weave orembroider. The shape of the diamondrepresents the quadrilateral Maya worldcharacterized by its distinctive four corners.Each corner represents one of the four cardinaldirections: east, north, west, and south. Insidethe center is another smaller diamond orgeometric shape that represents the sun.Classic period depictions of this motif areshown on the huipils of Lady Xoc from Lintel 24and Lady 6-Tun from Lintel 15 of Yaxchilan.(Schele 1990) They are also found on theedges of textile offerings in the polychromevase in Nebaj Style (Coe: 1978) and theclothing of elite members of society painted onvases. (No. 717, and No.2772 Kerr 1989)

Crosses/XX's

Morris claims that the crosses portrayed in thetextiles of Magdalenas, Chiapas represent thefour corners of the earth, thus representing thefour cardinal directions. (Morris 1987) Crossesare also seen to symbolize the world tree withits branches and roots transcending the layersof the universe. In many modern Mayavillages, the cross contains protective powersand is placed at crossroads or at sacred areasof the natural landscape. (Bassie-Sweet 1996)A high status woman in a Classic period vase(File No. 1563) also wears a huipil with plaincrosses; it lacks the diamond shape that oftensurrounds them. (Kerr 1989)

Zig Zag

The Zig Zag motif can be seen withoutaccompanying iconography or with geometricshapes in the remaining empty space. Plain zigzags like those huipils are said to symbolize"cerritos," little hills or "path of the snake.”(Morris 1987)

The discussion of snake symbolism in Mayaiconography is quite extensive. Above all, theserpent is found to personify the sky. In factthe words "sky" and "serpent" are often usedinterchangeably as they are viewed as thesame thing. Zigzags are also said to representlightning or the path taken by Maya priests asthey climb up the steep temple steps. (Schevill1985)

The technology and methods of weaving on thetraditional backstrap loom are complex andinvolved. Great patience, skill, and dexterityare needed to produce these incredibletextiles. Men participate in weaving primarilyby working with machinery and techniquesintroduced by the Spanish in the 1600s. Theirclothing, like that of the women, shows the

unique and village-specific color and designcombinations found in each of the indigenousvillages throughout Chiapas and Guatemala.

These two geographic regions lie adjacent toone another in the valleys of contiguousmountain ranges. Today, the territory isdivided by indigenous language groups andmodern political boundaries. In ancient timesthe competition created by intense trade andcommerce with other Mesoamerican cultureswas a cause for major hostilities between theseseparate Maya groups. The war and uprisingsthat have been a curse in these regions for atleast 2,000 years, continues to plague thismagnificent land even today.

Woven Voices: Textile Traditions ofthe Highland Mayahttp://www.anthro.fsu.edu/wovenvoices/precolumbian/precolumbian.html

Florida State UniversityDepartment of AnthropologyDr. J. Kathryn Josserand