Nahuala Morga #10

Nahuala morga consisting of a tube measuring 44 inches wide and 46 inches long, with very fine randa and a few subtle jaspe stripes
Most of the skirts or cortes used by the Maya women of Guatemala are made on treadle looms in the large textile-producing villages of the western highlands of southern Guatemala. Certain designs are village-specific, but it is now more common for the woman to choose a skirt fabric which suits her personal aesthetic. Some skirts are also made in the particular village for use in that village. As used, the two ends of long panels 35-50 inches wide are seamed together to form a tube. The woman steps inside this tube and folds the material in a complicated manner to form the skirt. Those skirts with a foundation of indigo-dyed cotton are very traditional in many villages, and are called morgas.

This skirt is a post-1990 morga from Nahuala. The panel width of 44 inches was formed by joining two narrow panels with a decorative randa stitch; this wide panel was then formed into a tube, with the two ends being joined with the same randa. The sides of the cloth are very nicely selvage-finished. Overall size as seen is 44 inches wide and 46 inches long, of double thickness. The weave is weft-faced plain weave of solid dark blue cotton cloth. This particular skirt also has a few stripes of ikat or jaspe. This garment is light and supple, and the randa stitch is particularly fine. In the photos below, the second is a closeup of the first, showing the cruciform intersection of the randas. In both cases, the weft is in the horizontal direction.

Condition: very good, lightly used but presenting no noticeable flaws except light wear and some slight soil. A couple small circular spots are reflections in the camera optics, and are not on the garment. The actual color is a very dark blue.