Maya Civilizations - The Maya World
Where Man, Nature and Time are One
by Producciones Z-E

Textiles

The traditional Mayan textiles date back over one thousand years. Mayas have a special attachment to them because they represent much about their culture. To them textiles provide a link between their pre-Colombian past and the present.

For the Maya, the spinning and weaving that gives life to their textiles, is associated with the symbolism of childbirth, placed under the moon goddess and represented a projection of the image of the world. Therefore, it is an essential part of the reproduction of their mythical universe.

Source: Route of the Mayas. (Knopf Guides: NY, 1995) pg.100

Mayan weavers act as the artisans who, while fashioning their intricate motifs, evoke the cosmos and their subordination to a Supreme Being.

Each motif has a different meaning. Some of the designs of the "huipil" (garment used by mayan women as a blouse) can be read as a text, changing form and content according to their ethnicity, communities and lineage. Each weaver signs his work with his own mark.

Source: Route of the Mayas
(Knopf Guides: NY, 1995) pg.100