There are few places left in the world where
the clothes people wear are the clothes they weave. The Mayan highlands
of Chiapas, Mexico are one of these rare places. Their weaving is gorgeous,
without question some of the most exquisite traditional
weaving in the world. These
Mayan weavers are the descendants of the great Mayan civilizations that
ruled the Chiapan highlands and southern jungles 1,500 years ago.
The Tzotzil-speaking
town of San Andrés Larráinzar has one of the oldest and
most stable weaving traditions in the Chiapas Highlands - Sna Jolobil.
Sna Jolobil means "The Weaver's House" in tzotzil (a Mayan language).
The main motifs of
San Andrés, especially the grand design and the toad, are reminiscent
of the patterns used by the Ancient Maya of 300-900 A.D. in lowland Chiapas.
As members of the Chiapas weaver's cooperative, Sna Jolobil, the women
of San Andrés collect and study old textiles and give classes in
the ancient art of natural dyes.
Like the Tzatzil-speaking
weavers of old, the women of San Andrés are leaders in the revival
of a Chiapas backstrap loom technique known as "brocade." The
designs are woven into the cloth itself. Many of these brocaded designs
survive from pre-colombian times; they portray the saints, gods, and animals
who protect the growth of corn and the fertility of the earth and symbolize
the Mayan vision of the cosmos. Women who devote their lives to brocade
and achieve mastery of its complicated techniques and symbolism are greatly
admired in their communities
Sna Jolobil is one of the oldest cooperative
organizations in Mesoamerica. It is one of the longest lasting and most
successful artisan cooperatives in Latin America, now in its third decade
and encompassing more than 800 weavers from 20 communities. The main objective
of Sna Jolobil is to preserve and revitalize Mayan art by encouraging
its members to study and recreate ancient textiles, natural dying methods
for wool and cotton, and ancestral weaving techniques. Each piece is an
origiral creation with its own value, impregnated with the sensibility,
wisdom and respect with which each artist composes the designs and symbols
inherited from their elders.
Featured
in the landmark book “Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art” is
the founder of Sna Jolobil, María Meza Girón. Feria Maestros
del Arte is indeed fortunate to have several members of this cooperative
at this year’s show. They will be selling Chiapan textiles - bedcovers,
blouses, mats, tablecloths, pillow covers, and other indigenous textile
creations. These are considered some of the best quality textiles in the
world.
Antje Zaldivar from Chapala
has been working with Sna Jolobil for several years. Whenshe approached
us about having these women represented at this year’s Feria, we
were delighted to accommodate her request. For more information on this
area of Chiapas, consult this Science Museum of Minnesota website http://www.smm.org/sln/ma/sanandres.html.
This will be the
first time Feria Maestros del Arte has welcomed
Sna Jolobil. We're hoping they are well received and that their incredible
textiles will delight Feria-goers who have not seen their work before.
If you are interested
in purchasing their work, call Marianne Carlson at 011522 376 765 7485
or email mariannecarlson@gmail.com
