Huipil

1950s huipil

Huipil [ˈwipil] (Nahuatl: huīpīlli [wiːˈpiːlːi]; Ch'orti': b’ujk;[citation needed] Chuj: nip) is the most common traditional garment worn by indigenous women from central Mexico to Central America.

It is a loose-fitting tunic, generally made from two or three rectangular pieces of fabric, which are then joined with stitching, ribbons, or fabric strips, with an opening for the head and, if the sides are sewn, openings for the arms. Traditional huipils, especially ceremonial ones, are usually made with fabric woven on a backstrap loom and are decorated with designs woven into the fabric, embroidery, ribbons, lace, and more. However, some huipils are also made from commercial fabric.

A huipil can vary in length from a short blouse to a garment long enough to reach the floor. The style of traditional huipils generally indicates the ethnicity and community of the wearer as each has its own methods of creating the fabric and decorations. Ceremonial huipils are suitable for weddings, burials, women of high rank and even to dress the statues of saints.

The huipil has been worn by indigenous Mesoamerican women of both high and low social rank since well before the Spanish invasion. A characteristic item of Aztec clothing, it remains the most common female indigenous garment still in use.[1][2] It is most often seen in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Campeche, Hidalgo, Michoacán (where it is called a huanengo), Veracruz and Morelos.[1][2] In Central America it is most often used among the Mayas in Guatemala.[3]

Cuetzalan, Puebla has an annual coffee and huipil festival called Feria del Huipil y Café, which began in 1949.[4]

  1. ^ a b Ruth Lechuga (10 August 2010). "El huipil, una prenda secular" (in Spanish). Mexico City: Mexico Desconocido magazine. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Huipil". Popularte (in Spanish). Veracruz, México: Universidad Veracruzana. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  3. ^ "The Huipil". Images of the Maya. Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  4. ^ Judith Segura (September 29, 1996). "Estrene un huipil y tomese un café" [Show off the huipil and drink coffee]. Reforma (in Spanish). Mexico City. p. 11.