Nahuala Morga #13

Nahuala morga consisting of a tube measuring 40 inches wide and 45 inches long, with very fine randa and many thin 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 40 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 40 inches wide and 45 inches long, of double thickness. The weave is weft-faced plain weave of solid dark blue cotton cloth. This particular skirt also has many thin ikat or jaspe. Each ikat stripe is outlined with a single thread of plastic, which gives the garment a slight glitter. This garment is light and supple, and the randa stitch is particularly fine and decorative. 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. The actual color is fairly accurate or possibly slightly darker blue.