Weaving in Guatemala

I spent two months in Central America this Spring (2006) mostly intent on learning Spanish. But being a weaver, and seeing all of the incredible textiles for sale on the street, I just had to discover more about it.

What struck me first was how integral a part of daily life weaving is for Guatemaltecans. Everything was handwoven! Tablecloths in every restaurant, dishtowels, bedspreads in the guesthouses. Weaving was everywhere!

I know locals must have thought me mad taking pictures of such mundane things, but they were wonderful!

Weaving is done by the indegenous peoples of Guatemala, the Mayan people, predominantly in the highland villages. The women weave exclusively on backstrap looms, and the few men that weave, weave only on the floor looms or foot looms as they call them (telar del pie).

The elaborate patterning on the Huipils (Mayan blouse) is incredible. In the photo below, you can see the tapestry nature of the weaving. They said it can take months to create one. A daughter starts weaving about age 7, and weaves her own huipils when she is a teenager. The Keldas (skirts) are produced in a town called Salcaja where the men do the floor loom weaving. They produce yards and yards of fabric that is pleated and wrapped around the waist, and held in place with a band.

Of course I had to try this myself. For a week in Quetzaltenango, I spent the morning in Spanish school for five hours of one-on-one intensive language learning, and the evening in Weaving school for four hours learning how to weave on a backstrap loom. It was a great experience.

Because only women weave on this loom, I was the subject of many curious glances from the locals. Quetzaltenango isn't really on the tourist track, so seeing a guy gringo weaving on a backstrap loom was very curious indeed. One gentleman actually gave me a thumbs up and an enthusiastically friendly nod.

The hilo (yarn) is measured, and then laboriously tied to produce wonderful designs. I bought some yarn to try and weave with, but I still haven't worked up the nerve to give it a try. If the threading or tension is off just a tiny bit, the pattern can become very distorted. I don't have the centuries of shared knowledge that they do.