Cofradias: Indigenous and Ceremonial

In Guatemala, the indigenous cofradias, or religious brotherhoods, are an integral part of the syncretic culture of those towns that still adhere to ancestral customs and traditions. Originally established to propagate catholicism, over approximately five hundred years they have acquired important religious, civil, and political status. The cofradías, custodians of ancestral wisdom, provide an insight into traditional community identity. As shown in this exhibit, differences in color, texture, designs and usage are evidenced by the garments and textiles used by members of several cofradías and mayordomías represented.

It is difficult to describe the male ceremonial attire, as it varies from one community to another, and depending on whether an attire for everyday use exists or not. In the places where it prevails, cofrades incorporate other garments (cloths, jackets, several su’t, capes, etc.) to make up the ceremonial dress. If the everyday clothing has disappeared, a specific distinctive dress is adopted. In other cases they wear European style clothing and use a su’t or cloth to cover their heads or to wear it over the shoulder, a shirt and a sash with the community’s characteristics, or simply an embroidered cloth that has little to do with the local tradition (Miralbés de Polanco, 2016).

Much of the conservation and valorization of this tradition is owed to women who, through the use of the backstrap loom and the application of the techniques required to weave the fabrics the garments are made with, have preserved the knowledge that has been transmitted from generation to generation. In pre-Hispanic times, the style of the female attire seems to have been less complex than the male one. It was composed of a skirt and a huipil in addition to beautiful headdresses, sashes and various cloths. During colonial times, Spanish women introduced garments such as tapados, veils, and pleated skirts, among others, which were adopted by local women (Miralbés de Polanco, 2016).

"In addition to distinguishing cofrades form the rest of inhabitants in a community, the ceremonial dress is, in some cases, related to the cofradías’ internal organization. In other words, these attires convey information regarding the social, religious and political position of the people who wear them and often provide information about the specific office a person holds" (Jiménez, 2016).

In the case of Santo Domingo Xenacoj, the insignias carried by the texeles include a small su’t that can be seen in the front, right beneath the images. 

The transformations these entities have undergone since their beginnings during the colonial era are undeniable, but perhaps it is their ability to change and at the same time keep traditions what has allowed them to survive to this day. As long as these sociocultural organizations continue to have a place in the minds and hearts of communities, they will surely prevail as they have until now: transforming and at the same time perpetuating and passing down an ancestral legacy (Jiménez, 2016).