White quechqué mitl with embroidered floral motifs

1975

This quechquémitl (a chest and shoulder garment) is woven with natural coloured cotton on the step loom (known as telar colonial in Spanish). The weaving technique used is the 'tafetán' technique, also known as 'tejido sencillo' (simple weave). This technique is the simplest, as both the warp and weft are simple: one thread of the warp crosses one thread of the weft.The quechquémitl is embroidered with factory wool using the cross-stitch technique in predominantly red-lilac tones. An embroidery is a decorative technique in which additional threads are added to the fabric after weaving. There are motives embroidered of flowers with eight petals (this can refer to the tree of life), with small birds and mammals. The motifs are identical on the front and back of the quechquémitl. On the shoulders are two geometric motifs of flowers. The colors used in the embroidery are orange, red, and green.‖ The motifs consist of stylized plants and flowers and some animal figures. The quechquémitl was purchased at a price of 190 pesos, about f 42. It comes from Tancanhuitz, SLP. \Huipiles and quechquémitl (there are no good equivalents for either garment in the Dutch language) are the traditional garments par excellence of the Indian woman in Mexico. The huipil is an essentially simple rectangular, sleeveless garment that covers the shoulders and part of the arms and can fall to the hips lengthwise, but elsewhere reaches to the ankles. It expresses many aspects of social life. This also applies to the quechquémitl which is basically more of a shoulder garment. The different huipiles and quechquémitl differ from each other in form and applied weaving and decorative techniques, as well as the size and nature of the decorative patterns and motifs - these elements are often related to the distinct identity of the different ethnic groups. It is interesting to note that in the 20th century the distribution of both garments is virtually non-existent: when a group dresses in the huipil, the quechquémitl is missing and vice versa. In pre-Columbian times this was not the case and both garments existed side by side and in some cases were even worn on top of each other, as Mixtec codices show.