![]() The figurine in the center wears a typical loincloth. In hot climates, women of all ranks more often wore a sarong, a long garment tied under the arms that could more or less conceal the legs (See the figurine on the right in the first photo). The four quatrefoil designs on this figure represent “portals” to the otherworlds. Huipils of elite and royal women usually contained symbols. Those worn by commoners were likely plain with little or no embellishment. Here, the woman is wearing a huipil, a long outer garment that covered the shoulders, chest and hips. In this unprovenanced panel in the Cleveland Museum of Art dated 795 AD, a royal woman holds an effigy, a “God K” or “ K’awiil scepter.” The kings who displayed it proclaimed themselves masters of the “Vision Serpent,” which conferred upon him the ability to negotiate with the gods. Attire for both men and women varied depending on the individual, status, location and time period. Though scholars are still debating gender roles and responsibilities, weaving tended to be the domain of women, and farming the responsibility of men. Embroidered stitching, which was an easy and quick way to embellish a woven garment with color and designs is also in evidence, worn by elite women. The object at their feet is an offering bowl containing blood-splattered cloths to be burned along with copal incense.Īlthough insect, vegetable and mineral dyes were traded extensively in the Classic Period, the archaeological record indicates a strong preference for painting on cloth-clothing-using stamps and brushes. Her huipil appears to be embroidered and trimmed with fringe and pearls, and the pectoral on her beaded collar-likely made of shell or jade plaques-depicts the sun god. Below, the patterns woven into the woman’s huipil and the ruler’s cape symbolize the four cardinal directions.ĭated approximately 709 AD, Shield Jaguar, Lord of Yaxchilan, holds a torch over his wife, Lady Xoc, who performs a bloodletting sacrifice by pulling a barbed cord through her tongue. ![]() Weaving lent itself to the making of geometric shapes and patterns. These were fitted in place with a belt or fabric tie. Since the looms are not very wide, several widths of woven cloth were sewn together to create square or rectangular shaped garments. The principle device for weaving raw fiber into cloth was the backstrap loom, similar to the ones used today. ![]() Soaking and cooking the leaves made them tender enough to scrape and shape into long soft threads that were dried in the sun and then woven into fabrics. With regard to commoners and slaves, very little is known about their coverings, except they mostly consisted of maguey fibers. So it’s likely that cotton was also reserved for Maya elites. A thousand years later, in Aztec Mexico, only the king could wear fine mantles of cotton. Animal products such as duck and goose feathers, deer hides and feline furs were incorporated as well. With regard to body coverings, the materials at hand were mostly plant fibers including cotton, kapok, yucca and agave, which contains henequen and maguey fibers. In the Classic Period, belief systems evolved to where the emphasis was on stories of creation, gods and apotheosized rulers-those who’d died and became deified. In the Early Preclassic period, symbols were largely based on ancestor veneration. While commoner garments were simply intended to beautify or eroticize the body, those depicted in art-ceremonial regalia, jewelry and body manipulation such as scarification, tattooing, piercing, teeth filing and cranial modification, were rich with meanings that referenced and celebrated their myths and ideology. The elite Maya of the Classic Period went to extremes in the latter category, investing many items of clothing with meaning. It can also symbolize the wearer’s beliefs and values, as when an apron is worn by a Rabbi. For example, an apron in modern society can signal that the wearer is a chef or manual laborer. Whether intended or not, clothing communicates. What you wore was a sign of who you were and where you lived
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