image: collage from Ixchel Museum

After our LONG flight from Australia back to Guatemala City we had 1 day RnR. The rest was well needed and our Recreation was museum visits.

Museo Ixchel del Traje Indigena
was our 1st stop. Textiles and clothing of the Mayan people, Guatemala's indigenous community, are displayed at this outstanding museum, which also contains paintings, interactive weaving exhibits, a bookstore and gift shop.

The Ixchel Museum has formed an exhaustive and inclusive collection of costume from the indigenous communities of Guatemala that continues as an ongoing activity.

The collection includes almost 8,000 pieces originating from 147 towns and 34 villages, so that 181 communities are represented, dating from the end of the 19th Century until today.

Given that indigenous dress is not only constantly changing and in some communities it has all but disappeared, garments have been collected to document and show the evolution and transformation of the Maya textile tradition.

The collection consists of a variety of garments of daily and ceremonial use: huipils (blouses), over-huipils, cortes (skirts); su'ts and paños (cloths made for diverse purposes), perrajes or rebozos (shawls), cintas and tocoyales (ribbons and bands for the head), veils, kerchiefs, ponchos, rodilleras (knee-cloths), jergas (large rectangular woolen cloths), sacos and cotones (jackets), capixayes (cape-like coats), sobrepantalones (overtrousers), pantalones (trousers), camisas (shirts), fajas (sashes), servilletas (utility cloths), manteles(table cloths), pañitos ceremoniales (ceremonial cloths), chamarras (blankets), ribbons to decorate statuettes of saints, as well as accessories including hats, ribbons, collars, bead necklaces, earrings, rings, sandals, bags knitted in cotton, wool, and sisal, etc.

The oldest pieces are mainly for use by women, both daily and ceremonial, and include huipils, over-huipils, su'ts, veils, sashes, and utility cloths. There are some for use by men such as trousers, under-trousers, shirts, su'ts, and over-trousers. Interesting also are the pieces used to adorn the statues of saints, such as wide ribbons, and others imitating cuff-less sleeves that cover the arms so that on the image they will look like shirts; also the huipils used to clothe images of the Virgin Mary.

WOW - The
Olga Arriola de Geng Collection
The complete collection of miniatures consists of 112 replicas of examples of daily and ceremonial use. They come from 82 highland municipalities, consisting of 13 linguistic groups. Olga embroidered them between 1980 and 1985, faithfully copying the designs, colors, and forms of authentic garments.