View source for Textiles of Oaxaca

[[Image:TapeteEnFabricación-Teotitlán del Valle-Oaxaca-Mexico.jpg|right|thumb|250px|A work in progress on a stationary loom.]]
The state of [[Oaxaca]] in southern [[Mexico]] has a noteworthy tradition of finely crafted '''textiles''', particularly handmade [[embroidery]] and [[weaving|woven]] goods that frequently utilize a backstrap [[loom]]. Oaxaca is home to several different groups of indigenous peoples, each of which has a distinctive [[textile]] tradition.

==Construction==
[[Image:Backstrap loom.jpg|left|thumb|200px|A woman from [[Guatemala]] works on a backstrap loom, in [[Mesoamerica]]n tradition.]]
Oaxacan fibers may be [[spinning (textiles)|hand spun]] from [[cotton]] or locally cultivated [[silk]]. Traditional [[dye]] sources include ''[[Tyrian purple|purpura pansa]]'' among the [[Huave people|Huave]], [[Chontal Maya people|Chontal]], and [[Mixtec people]]. The Chontal and [[Mazatec]] also utilize [[cochineal]] to attain bright red tones.<ref>Irmgard Weitlaner Johnson, “The Anatomy of a Textile Tradition” in ''The Crafts of Mexico'', Eds. Margarita de Orellana and Alberto Ruy-Sánchez, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2004, p. 224.</ref>

According to Alejandro de Ávila B., founding director of the Ethnobotanical Garden in Oaxaca, the region's biological diversity yields Mexico's greatest variety of fibers and dyes, and "the technical sophistication of Oaxaca's textiles is unparalelled in the country."<ref>Alejandro de Ávila B., "Weavings that Protect the Soul" in ''The Crafts of Mexico'', Eds. Margarita de Orellana and Alberto Ruy-Sánchez, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2004, p. 240.</ref>

Traditional clothing items among the peoples of Oaxaca include the ''[[huipil]]'', a women's blouse constructed from several panels; the ''[[ceñidor]]'', a type of sash among the Mazatec; and the ''[[paño]]'', a [[Chinantec]] head covering.  Handcrafted Oaxacan textiles employ [[plainweave]], [[brocade]] patterns, [[gauze]] weave.<ref>Johnson, pp. 224, 228-231.</ref>

==Motifs==
Mexican textile expert Irmbard Weitlaner Johnson associates pre-Christian spiritual traditions with the presence of butterflies in Mazatec textile motifs.  "To this day the Mazatecs identify the [[butterfly]] as the soul that leaves the body.  They believe that the souls of the deceased have permission to come to this world once a year on [[All Saints' Day]] and the [[Day of the Dead]] to visit their family.  This is the period when butterflies are most abundant in the area and the Mazatecs consider it a sin to kill them."<ref name="Johnson, p. 227">Johnson, p. 227.</ref>

Regional motifs without specific spiritual meaning, or for which disputed interpretations exist, include a class of stepped fret known as ''xicalcoliuhqui'', which means "twisted ornament for decorating gourds" in the [[Nahuatl language]]; and the double spiral ''ilhuitl'', whose name translates as "fiesta day."  Pre-Colonial tradition associates color with the four cardinal directions: yellow with east, red with north, blue and green with west, and white with south.  Another shared motif among the region's indigenous peoples is a rectangular ornament below the neckline of the ''huipil''.  No specific symbolism is known, but it is a frequent theme in pre-colonial [[codex|codices]] and surviving historic textiles that remains in popular use.<ref name="Johnson, p. 227"/>

==Other symbolic uses==
Traditionally, Oaxacan women wrap a red ''[[faja]]'' (a woven sash) around their waists as a protection from evil.<ref>Johnson, p. 228</ref>

<gallery>
Image:Calenda primer lunes 2005.JPG|Oaxacan women on parade in traditional apparel.
Image:Telar y tapetes-Teotitlán del Valle-Oaxaca-Mexico.jpg|A hand weaving loom in Oaxaca.
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Crafts of Mexico}}
{{textile arts}}

==See also==
*[[Weaving (mythology)]]
*[[Maya textiles]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Textiles Of Oaxaca}}
[[Category:Textiles|Oaxaca]]
[[Category:Oaxaca]]
[[Category:Mexican art]]
[[Category:Mesoamerican art]]
[[Category:Science and technology in Mesoamerica]]
[[Category:Mesoamerican society]]
[[Category:2Fix]]