Totonicapan Traditional Rebozo #1

Post-1980 Mayan shawl of ikat and cotton from Totonicapan.

Most rebozos used by Maya women in Guatemala are woven in the two textile-producing towns of Totonicapan and Quetzaltenango (known locally by its old Maya name of Xela). Most are produced on the Spanish-style treadle loom, which involves a considerable amount of dying and handling by hand. It is not as time-consuming work as back-strap weaving, but it can still take weeks of total effort to produce a shawl. Much production is by cottage industry, with small looms in individual homes, where the weaving is a family endeavor. The ikat or jaspe threads are all dyed individually, in the home, and this is one of the more tedious of the jobs. This ikat almost entirely uses cotton threads.

This finely-woven shawl is 10-20 years old, and is of a traditional style used in Totonicapan. The jaspe weft threads are cotton, as are the other colored threads.  The warp is of locally-dyed burgundy-colored cotton.

Size: 18.5 inches wide and 62 inches long, not including the fringes

Condition: excellent, perhaps some light soil but no holes or stains;  any light folds from storage will soon hang out