Preservation of Patterns

Although the cloth of ancient Maya is not preserved the way their stone ruins are, Maya weavers have managed to pass down designs through the centuries. Many of the pre-Hispanic motifs which appear on steles, frescos and ceramics are reproduced on modern textiles.

Although many Maya communities lost the art of weaving after the Spanish conquest, some Spanish traditions helped preserve Maya weaving techniques. To this day, special huipil are made for statues of saints in Mayan Catholic churches. As was the custom in Spain, village women were asked to dress the saints. This was familiar to the Maya since they had clothed Mayan idols in pre-conquest times. The most intricate embroidery work went into clothing to adorn statues.

On the saint's feast day, the ceremonial garment is ritually washed and honored. When the huipil becomes too old and worn to use, it is placed in a special chest with the saint's other possessions. A master weaver is then given the honor of producing a new huipil for the saint. Weavers study the saint's huipiles as examples of the finest work, and practice the designs to improve their skills.

The care of saint's clothing has preserved some of the oldest extant examples of weaving. The remarkable continuity in women's costume over the last 450 years in partially a result of studying old huipiles and weaving new ones for saints.