Cloth with images of birds

Unknown artist

Function:‖ The female clothing repertoire consists of a multi-colored top called a huipil; a skirt called a falda or corte; an embroidered or woven belt called a faja; adornment for the head and hair called a cinta; and a cloth for various purposes called a tzute or servilleta.‖ The tzute is a square or rectangular cloth that can be used for many purposes, including carrying children or goods, covering the head from the sun, or it can be worn over the shoulder as an accessory. The tzute is usually woven on a hip loom. The decoration varies from village to village.\Description: \This cloth is woven of dark blue cotton with purple stripes along its length. Across the width of the cloth are rows of different kinds of animals embroidered including the double-headed eagle, a common eagle and a bird. The bodies of the animals are made of diamonds. The motifs consist of many colors; green, yellow, light and dark blue, red, white, orange and purple. Loose fringes hang from the ends of the cloth. \Technique:This tzute is woven on a hip loom. The piece is typical of Nahualá, but it was not used for ceremonial purposes although the depiction of the tiger lion and a two-headed animal on the tzute do indicate that it is a ceremonial piece. These pieces were intended for sale. A ceremonial tzute would have a border around it and have motifs of trees, feline and birds.‖ Community of origin:‖ Nahualá is currently a municipality of the department of Sololá. It is located 30 km from Lake Atitlán, 35 km from Sololá and 160 km from the capital (Guatemala City). Nahualá covers an area of 97 km² and is located at 2,467 m above sea level. \The name Nahualá comes from the Nahuatl and Quiché languages. Nahual means mother or protective soul. (espíritu protector) and in Quiché it means water. Once upon a time there was a great drought in Guatemala, which left all the rivers dry because not a drop of water fell from the sky. Only the river Nahualete still had water in it. People came from far and wide to collect water and bring it to their villages. That's why Nahualá is called the "soul of water". Nahualá is a village, where the population speaks the Quiche language. The last information on the number of inhabitants, is from 2007. In that year Nahualá had 120,693 inhabitants, of which 60,355 were non-Mayans and 60,338 were Mayans.