Today we need to all consider what weaving means to the indigenous woman and her family...but first you have to go back to the past to do that. Why not start here?
Too often however, to be indigenous and a female, is to be disadvantaged. As Alan Riding states, in his book Distant Neighbours: “Proud of its Indian past, Mexico seems ashamed of its Indian present’. In Chiapas, for example, indigenous people were only granted the right to walk on the streets during the 1970s. Perhaps it is for this reason that some younger Triques prefer not to wear their traditional huipiles.
This does not mean however, that Trique women have forgotten how to make huipiles—for the time being at least. “My daughter learned to weave when she was four,” says Martinez. “She does have a huipile, but only wears it for special occasions.” Tourism, in part, is helping to maintain their weaving tradition, but is changing it in the process.
While weaving techniques remain the same, more and more Triques are using cheaper synthetic materials. “Synthetic huipiles are lighter to carry around for us, and most tourists do not know the difference between these and cotton ones,” notes Martinez, but she adds that they, “avanza mucho muy rapido.” In other words they don’t last half as long. Tourists hate paying the high prices, which Triques rightly charge for more heavily embroidered, natural cotton huipiles that take up to six months to complete. For this reason, Triques are opting to weave wall hangings and sell large quantities of mass-produced cotton shirts and blouses, which provide them with a more steady income.
For more about women and weaving in Mexico...
