GUATEMALART - The Guatemalan Guipil

The Guipil is a typical Guatemalan garment that resembles a blouse, and is manufactured on a handloom. The güipil is the result of a fusion between the mayan women's clothing and the Spanish's clothes during the time of the conquest, and it has been the most common used garment by indigenous women since the prehispanic times. As the ancient mayan sculptures and codex reveal, the güipil is a kind of symbolism that has been transmitted from one generation to the other, and it has been a way of identifying the provenance of the woman who wears it, her marital status, her religion and a little bit about her personality. During the time of the conquest, the güipil played a very important role in favor of the Spaniards, because they could notice when there were too many people coming from the same place of origin, and knowing this they could avoid any kind of revolt.

Each güipil is singular and original because it is made according to the artisan's liking and it takes between 3 to 5 months to weave the fabric and to embroider the details; which makes it very expensive.

Some of our products are made of Guipil fabric, such as our # 200 wallet.

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Category:

Education

Tags:

• guatemala
• guatemalart
• guipil
• handloom
• indigenous
• huipil
• marimba
• typical garment
• maya
• mayan highlands
• atitlan