Huipil

Huipil made of three rectangular cloths, sewn by hand, vertically arranged and folded at the shoulders. The brocade design is mainly composed of geometrical shapes (rhomboids, diamonds, borders, straight lines and zigzags) as well as human figures and slender flowers. Huipil is a term from Nahuatl and is used to describe a traditional shirt or blouse that is still used today by indigenous women in Mesoamerica. In the pre-Columbian world it was a garment used only by the social elite; however, the need to cover the torso in order to enter the church lead women to adopt the huipil as their everyday clothes. It is part of the ceremonial attire of women in the Aldama community (Magdalenas), in the Chiapas Highlands, which belongs to the indigenous group Tzotzil. It is a luxury garment, used on the patron saints’ days only by the wife of the local festivity godfather, or by the wives of those men that have fulfilled the political or religious responsibilities of their villages, in which case the woman must know how to make her own huipil. On the other hand, these types of huipiles are woven to dress the Virgins, which is a great honour for the weavers since it is a sacred mission. The rich brocade on this garment is intimately related with the concept of the world and ideology in the Mayan communities of today. These combine features and beliefs from both pre-Columbian times and Catholicism.