Many Maya of Chiapas, Mexico continue to live in rural areas on their ancestral lands where women still weave and embroider for themselves and their families.  Neighboring communities often speak different Mayan languages and they retain their own ceremonial practices, along with a distinctive style of traditional dress. Women weave on back-strap looms like those used over 2,000 years ago.  

The Huipil is a traditional women’s garment made of rectangular pieces of cloth, hand woven on a back-strap loom, the sides hand-sewn together.  The elaborate designs that decorate the garments are woven into the cloth with colored cotton or woolen threads, a process called brocade. The woven designs celebrate the sacredness of the Earth, the ancestors, and the supernatural world.  Each community has its own designs and color preferences, and they are worn proudly to show respect for their ancestral ways and in solidarity with their community.

Brocade weaving had nearly disappeared by the end of the 19th century due to poverty, loss of land, and centuries of Colonial rule.  Yet, it has persevered, and today it is recognized throughout the world for its beauty and complexity.