Manuela & Esperanza: The Art of Maya Weaving (English R2)

estás Liam Ahmad las semillas Lucas and ELISA Paris Umbra and El Campo este de bajo las hoyas Del perro yes the a la familia Oh God Guatemala borders the south of Mexico and as a country roughly the size of Ohio of the more than 12 million people who live here just under half identify as indigenous Maya people who in myriad in modern ways carry on the cultural traditions of their ancestors people with a culture as colorful and varied as the waiting's they create the traditional glass woven and worn by Maya women in Guatemala is called a weepy the colors and styles of we peels vary greatly many are identified with a specific community there have always been changes in adaptations to accommodate new tastes designs and materials we're in Highland Guatemala to record the making of a we beat from start to finish within 90 days the length of our visa we met a weaver in chichi Gustin angle who agreed to work with us to record the process of making a whipping on a backstrap loom Manuela carnelian is an accomplished weaver who also works as a vendor in the local market she lives with her extended family in a labyrinth of linked rooms and living areas near the center of town at one of the town shops Manuela chooses the colors and threads she will use to make our weepy speaking in Spanish and catch a man Willa's native language she and the clerk review the pattern we have chosen from her collection the next morning Manuela begins by using a warping board to arrange and measure the warp or vertical threads for the loom the pegs can be used for different panel lengths when Manuela is done she will transfer the warp to sticks which form the backstrap loom Manuela is in her early 30s newly married and pregnant although her husband is rarely present during our visit Manila's family is a constant support as Manuela finishes the warp her sister Blanca and father Don Tomas set the hook from which the loom will hang with the warp now safely on the sticks she and Blanca untangle the threads in man Willa's immediate family we discover that she is the only one of four girls to continue the weaving tradition Manuela concentrates on building the string hetal's and adding them to the heddle rod during weaving the Hetal rod lifts alternate warp threads to produce a shed or space through which the weft or horizontal thread is inserted as the Sun hits High Noon she begins to prepare her loom to be able to finish all four edges of the panel rather than cut the weaving from the loom and hem the ends a four salvaged panel saves thread but requires skill and tenacity beyond the average weaver manuela inserts a rod an attached cord through the warp loops and secures it then she lashes the attached cord to the new end rod when finished she pulls out the placeholder rod and attaches the leather back strap her body's pressure on the back strap controls the tension on the loom using a plain black weft thread on a stick shuttle she begins to weave what will become the finished edge or selvage on one end of the panel when we returned from lunch Manuela has woven four inches of plain weave to stabilize the end of the loom now Blanca helps her push up the beater sticks and heddles in preparation for turning the moon since the cotton warps tend to stick together the process must be done carefully to avoid breakage once the loom is turned Manuela repeats the process of straightening and grouping the warps and lashes on an end rod to allow for another finished edge by late afternoon while her nephews play on the lower level she works to finish the band of plain weave needed before she can start the colorful and complex brocade designs used in chichi casting angle though her sisters do not weave they are there to assist Manuela at every step her family's support will prove to be increasingly important for Manuela in completing this repeat as a backup we need a second weaver see whenever this we approach a leader Paris in the colonial capital of Antigua San Antonio ayahuasca a leader owns a small museum which traces the history of Maya weaving and indigenous clothing Ali descends to the nearby town of san antonio aguas calientes to meet weaver Aida Lopez Aida seems reluctant to participate but with her cousin Delaney goes along to buy the thread a few days later when we returned to the museum to film confusion sets in the woman at the Museum who starts the project is not a EDA but her mother Esperanza vadas Aida was unfamiliar with the more complex local designs and uncomfortable travelling alone into an thiw each day to be filmed Esperanza however is composed and self-assured like Manuela Esperanza starts by measuring the thread on a warping board then she counts the warps into groups and bundles them for some it is hard to believe that these wooden sticks and rods come together to help create a weepy but as Esperanza sets them up with the warp threads the loom becomes apparent it is Lamas importante low Delta he'll sing Alto : in the hidden nor funcion no se puede sing it sing it Esperanza begins building the heddle referring to her hetal's as the chicoy she explains that they are the most important elements of the loom without them the loom will not work when the hetal's are all on the heddle rod she passes the end rod through the warps secures it and lashes it to the attached chord Allah said alone me gusta mucho Mita she too plans to weave a panel with for woven edges or selvages the cord used to secure the warp to the end rod has come up short so as Bonanza attaches thread to lengthen it with the economic challenges these women face improvisation is important there are substitutions and adjustments display their flexibility and ingenuity with the end rod securely in place Esperanza begins to weave chichi gasping angle transforms itself on market day becoming an almost overwhelming blend of sights sounds and smells that leave your body buzzing 19 days after our last visit we find Manuela making slow progress on our weepy when she sees our concern she admits she's been finishing another commission but assures us that the repeal will be finished on time she explains some of the broke aided designs some people use the Spanish word border battle to mean both brocade and embroidery brocade refers to the decorative elements inserted into the weft on the loom while embroidery means designs added to a finished cloth Weaver's in chichicastenango use their fingers to produce the many broke aided designs typical of their area the moon pecking Nita your lip who says a tropical air to Sierra is either blown eco que ahora por la citrusy own economica in lo que nos hemos a traversable for tanked August okay tenido por el estudio de mis hijos de como yo vivo sola it does his job is to have indian de los trucks see me esposo Safeway de la casa se fue de la casa de três anos yo vivo Sola convent see hosting okay trapper mucho para sistema de mis hijos como un petit he related Ave Satanas and Elena decirte ano singer delante tango Cuarenta Y tres años de lo que empezar a trabajar es que decir que tengo como treinta Y Cinco años de de pasar seni Travie unique to san antonio aguas calientes is a double-faced broke heading they call mercado marcador weaving is done with a pic as it is too difficult to do without one de este trabajo nosotros already Venus not the name was so tractor a few months for many my away man in Guatemala especially of Esperanza generation weaving may indeed provide the only viable means of support the campo di Ferro symbol vardhanamma salute the hero a thickened with Manila tells us that though she started weaving when she was 8 it wasn't until she was 14 that she learned broke a ting from her mother it is the complex broke a ting that produces the many colorful designs of Chi Chi Chi Fandango reveals as her pregnancy wears on her fatigue is more evident and her work slows we silently lament that the repeal will not be finished before we have to leave back at the Museum in Antigua Esperanza continues her work sometimes drawing attention from groups of tourists the unique style of san antonio aguas calientes repeals is very time-consuming and difficult to master with its intricate technique and numerous complex designs it requires the focus and fortitude of the weaver what do you think about when you weave we asked her my mind is only on this she tells us if you allow your mind to straight the lines of your weaving may end up doing the same Esperanza works 9 to 11 hours a day to complete the weepy the work is physically taxing but her weaving is essential to support her family of seven children estudiando todos see todos estudiando por ESO yo trabajar mucho para que ellos tingle diferente saying de trabajar mejor porque este trabajo es muy bonito am I'm a boosted este trabajo perez muy cansado when the streets of antigua are carpeted with colourful designs for Holy Week processions Manuela visits for a day to show us how she finishes the center panel of her EP now past the difficult stage of her pregnancy she has made immense progress using a thin stick and an umbrella spoke she works the web through the increasingly narrow opening the completion of a four salvaged panel is an exact and painstaking process when she has closed the gap as much as possible Manuela can remove the string hetal's as she worked through the finishing process Manuela surprises us with a recent development in her family in your care appended at the head it will meet oh this this is truly surprising since it is a rare instance of a grown Maya woman in Guatemala wanting to turn her attention to learning the art of weaving like a language weaving skills are normally begun as a small child and developed throughout life now as education becomes more accessible and the global culture more visible in Highland Guatemala fewer Maya girls are taking up the loom two days later we catch up with a spate on-site the museum where she is completing the first of two panels for our other weepy along with a sturdy comb Esperanza uses an umbrella spoke that was once her grandmother's weaving tool the work is intricate and the process time-consuming look a fascicle 4l4 si trabajo muy difícil no se preocupe a perky no Sally no silent honest yeah Quan Li oh yes master ankhila where are we she can now start to remove the heddles and in a place where nothing can afford to be wasted she doesn't as Esperanza removes the hetal's she wraps the thread around a cardboard cylinder to save and reuse what she can the umbrella spoken pic allow her to insert the last few rows many hours each day have been spent on this piece and the two panels we beam is coming together beautifully with just a week before our last scheduled trip to chichi Costin angle we stopped unannounced at man Willis and are delighted by what we find both side panels have been finished Manuela points out that the hanging threads on the reverse side of the panel's will remain uncut she refers to the 11 colors making up the weepy as the rainbow when we return for our last visit a week later the neck has been cut out and finished by a professional embroiderer Manuela finishes the embroidery that joins the three panels together her sister Alicia toting a new baby on her back is there to help the stunning repeal is complete with the traditional chichi Caston angle Sun motif neck design at the center of us with just a few days left before our departure we arrived at a speed on sus home for the finishing of the last panel with the last spoken thread through it just takes a few clips and finished later at the museum with her daughter Aida Esperanza uses a whip stitch to sew the panel's together forming the weepy the finished weepies are testaments to the skill perseverance and tenacity of these weavers as Western culture and ideals make their way into the lives of the younger generation this amazing centuries-old art form becomes in danger of being lost lo mejor y muy importantes tener lo está usted porque con el tiempo stic no se termina porque como hora en muchos custodian yeah no hacen el deseo yo no quiero que c'est termine ellos dicen es por generaciones La MaMa Summa Mallinson young my mom immense in yo the our Jorge Theresa gundalia our me six these women struggle daily but their energy creativity and sense of beauty find an outlet in their weaving they do this in an effort to sustain themselves their families and their culture the creation of weepies is a tangible art form it represents both the continuity and change of Maya culture community and identity there's something about Guatemala the colors the warmth penetrate the experience the people stay with you long after you've left we started this project hoping to capture the weaving process but in the end we were allowed so much more Oh

Channel: Endangered Threads

Views: 379,500

Keywords: Guatemala, Chichicastenango, San Antonio Aguas Calientes, weaving, indigeneous weaving, back-strap weaving, Maya weaving, Maya culture, brocade, double brocade, Endangered Threads, huipil

Id: BrBdRbrXMVw

Length: 28min 55sec (1735 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 07 2016