{"id":12731,"date":"2025-03-17T11:13:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T19:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=12731"},"modified":"2025-03-17T11:13:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T19:13:09","slug":"in-defense-of-tissue-in-guatemala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/in-defense-of-tissue-in-guatemala\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"In defense of tissue in Guatemala"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY TERESA GON\u00d3N AND MAR\u00cdA GUARCHAJ<\/p>\n

TRANSLATED BY EMMA PORTER<\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda Elena Curruchiche is kneeling on a petate in the courtyard of her home in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala.
\nShe has a mecapal gathered at her waist that hangs from the warp of the cloth tied to the top of the beam of her house. He throws the bobbin with corinth thread from left to right. He finishes off with a blow with the help of a wooden sword so that the crossed thread is tight inside the warp. Curruchiche performs the same action several times quickly, exchanging colors until the desired shade is complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur weavings and mainly the huipiles complement our being, women like my age, 65 years and older, we only wear huipil we don\u2019t wear blouses, because we don\u2019t feel good,\u201d shares Curruchiche, Kaqchikel weaver.<\/p>\n

Spinning history<\/strong><\/p>\n

Weaving in Guatemala is above all an art that condenses the history, culture, economy and spirituality of the native peoples. There are 22 linguistic communities that make up the country, plus the Xinka, Garifuna and Mestizo. Each region and people has its own way of elaborating its clothing, a technique that people have been using for centuries since the ancient Mayan civilization.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeaving around the world is a primary technology, which marks the before and after of the people: they invent the warping machine to turn a fabric, in history, it is the action that indicates a civilizing process and Guatemala is no exception,\u201d says Maria Jacinta Xon, Maya K\u2019iche\u2019 anthropologist, through a video call.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeaving is humanity\u2019s own way of getting hold of itself and, at the same time, capturing its history,\u201d says X\u00f3n. In the communities of Guatemala, they weave textiles, including cortes (similar to skirts), huipiles (related to blouses), perrajes, napkins, jackets (ponchos) and a variety of fabrics that are then transformed. There are also departments where mestizo people live who have stopped using clothing, but continue weaving, as in some areas of Quetzaltenango and Escuintla.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

An initiative to protect weavers<\/strong><\/p>\n

The weavers\u2019 movement in Guatemala is made up of 25 weavers\u2019 councils from 25 different municipalities, including the departments of Sacatep\u00e9quez, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, Alta Verapaz, Huehuetenango and Quich\u00e9. One of the municipalities with the greatest interest and participation has been San Juan Atit\u00e1n, which is located in the heights of the Cuchumatanes Mountains, in the border department of Huehuetenango.<\/p>\n

Their work in defense of ancestral weavings began to take shape in 2014. First they were united by the need to accompany and support each other among weavers due to the various situations they suffer, among them the low pay they receive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe profit that intermediaries make from the weavers, by selling the weavings at double the price they pay the weavers, is modern exploitation,\u201d says Milvia Aspuac, representative of the Women\u2019s Association for the Development of Sacatep\u00e9quez (Afedes), which works with the weavers\u2019 movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we realized the need to take our petition to Congress, we organized ourselves, we held assemblies of 600 or even 1,200 weavers,\u201d Aspuac said in an interview with Ojal\u00e1. In 2022, the National Movement of Weavers Ru chajixik ri qana\u2019ojb\u00e4l, which means \u201csafeguard of our knowledge\u201d in the Kaqchikel language, presented Law Initiative 6136. The initiative proposes the protection of collective intellectual property over the textiles and clothing of Guatemala\u2019s indigenous peoples and communities.<\/p>\n

There were several assemblies at the national level, a process that led to much reflection. It arose out of necessity: it is the organized weavers who turn to the Weavers\u2019 movement for support and guidance because they want to join in the defense of the intellectual property of their weavings. The proposal to promote a legal initiative arose from the dialogue among weavers, motivated by the need to protect and preserve textile designs, as well as to recognize the collective knowledge they represent.<\/p>\n

Weaver Curruchiche, who is a member of the Weavers\u2019 Movement, explains that the importance of the law lies in protecting the craft and knowledge for future generations. \u201cIt would give us the opportunity to stop the usurpation of rights by designers and entrepreneurs,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Proposal on pause<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bill was presented by members of the Indigenous Peoples Commission, Afedes and the Ru chajixik ri qana\u2019ojb\u00e4l weavers\u2019 movement in September 2022, and on February 29, 2024 it was referred to the social development commission of the Congress of the Republic. Since then there has been no further progress.<\/p>\n

The initiative contemplates the creation of the National Council of Intellectual Property on textiles and clothing, which requires funds for its operation. \u201cWe are seeking dialogue with the Ministry of Finance to analyze where the funds can come from,\u201d says Aspuac. He confirms that they have tried to meet with the Social Development Commission but to date have not been able to do so.<\/p>\n

Aspuac assures that pushing this proposal challenges them because \u201cwe are women and therefore weavers,\u201d referring to the lack of resources and time to follow up on the proposal. While pushing for the bill to move forward, Afedes continues to accompany the various weavers\u2019 councils, strengthening their advocacy strategy. From X\u00f3n\u2019s point of view, before continuing with the process of the initiative, \u201cit is essential to continue evaluating the mechanism for protecting the weavings.<\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda Guarchaj Carrillo is a K\u2019iche\u2019 Maya, journalist and community communicator.<\/em>
\nTeresa Gon\u00f3n is a K\u2019iche\u2019 Maya from San Crist\u00f3bal Totonicap\u00e1n, and has been working for ten years with women and youth promoting rights based on Maya identity.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY TERESA GON\u00d3N AND MAR\u00cdA GUARCHAJ TRANSLATED BY EMMA PORTER Mar\u00eda Elena Curruchiche is kneeling on a petate in the courtyard of her home in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. She has a mecapal gathered at her waist that hangs from the warp of the cloth tied to the top of the beam of her house. 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