5 TYPICAL COSTUMES OF CHIAPAS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The typical costumes of Chiapas are the color and the very essence of the inherited Mayan culture. This clothing has evolved over time, thus achieving great diversification in terms of the type of garment and style.

Although artisan production has grown considerably and techniques have been changing, traditional methods and materials for its manufacture are still preserved.

The products of this textile market have both local and foreign demand from tourism.

You can see simple garments designed for everyday wear and more complex garments for tourists looking to take a souvenir from Chiapas.

Women are the main gears of this market, since men generally work in agriculture, another very important branch of the Chiapas economy.

The highest concentration of these products can be found in San Cristóbal de las Casas, located in the center of the state of Chiapas.

The typical costumes of Chiapas are very similar to those of the Guatemalan market, since both regions inherit the Mayan culture.

In the typical costumes of Chiapas, colors abound and share certain patterns of nature, such as flowers, butterflies and some other animals.

You may also be interested in the culture of Chiapas or its history.

The 5 main typical costumes of Chiapas

1- Huipil

Huipil - ecured.cu

The huipil (or hipil) is an ornate dress or blouse that used to be used for religious ceremonies. It represented a distinction of ethnic groups and social positions in the pre-Columbian period.

The colors used for the details and embroidery had different meanings. For example, the cardinal points were represented in the following way: the north was white, the east was red, the west was black and the south was yellow.

In addition to the cardinal points, these colors were also used to represent stages of life, emotions, food, among other aspects.

White symbolized hope, red was linked to power and blood, black to death, yellow to corn, and green to royalty.

The arrival of the Spanish to the American continent made the manufacture of this product evolve, introducing the brocade and the pedal loom as techniques.

Other materials such as wool and silk also began to be worked, since the natives used cotton and henequen.

Although its origins are in the Mexican south, this garment is currently used throughout Mexico, and each indigenous community has its own style or design.

2- Chiapaneca costume

Chiapas costume (woman) - commons.wikimedia.org

Originally from the city of Chiapa de Corzo, these costumes have a clear Spanish influence.

During colonial times, many materials imported from Europeans were used by indigenous women to decorate their dresses.

This outfit had many modifications over time, there were about fifteen different models.

They went from being black and white dresses to being totally black, always with their respective ornaments.

The black background color is believed to represent the jungle and the colorful flowers refer to the diverse flora.

This outfit consists of a satin blouse with a semicircle neckline and a tulle veil with embroidered flowers. The skirt is black, long and also made of satin.

3- Poncho from Chiapas

Colorful poncho -.com

The poncho is a typical garment of South America; However, this artisan product can also be found in the Chiapas market made by local artisans.

The poncho is a thick fabric cut in a rectangular shape with a hole in the middle where the head is inserted.

Although at first glance it looks like an aesthetic accessory, it is used as a coat and also allows the free movement of the arms.

The origin of the poncho is still doubtful: some say that it was part of the habitual clothing of the natives and later adopted by the Creoles. Others associate these garments with ecclesiastical dress and other ancient robes.

4- Typical costumes of the parachios

Parachicos characterized with traditional attire - todochiapas.mx

The parachios are dancers of the Fiesta Grande that takes place in January of each year in Chiapa de Corzo. Her clothing is composed of a white shirt, black pants and a saltillo serape.

They wear a red sash at the waist, an embroidered scarf that falls over the pants, and a large scarf tied around the neck.

In addition, they wear a wooden mask covered with white or pink lacquer to imitate the skin of the European, more precisely the Spanish.

5- Costumes in Tojolabal

Tojolabal traditional clothing - todochiapas.mx

The Tojolabal tribe is distributed between the municipalities of Altamirano and Margaritas and their language is spoken by almost 40,000 inhabitants throughout Mexico.

The women's clothing is made up of short-sleeved, embroidered blouses up to the neck, and shiny satin skirts with embroidery that they sew themselves. As accessories they wear earrings, necklaces and a headscarf.

The feminine dress preserves more the culture than the masculine one. In fact, only older men occasionally wear traditional garments.

For example, huaraches (sandals) have been replaced by boots, or hats by caps.

Modern dress

Handmade stiletto -.com.mx

The constant changes in fashion that occur every day have led to the appearance of modern products with touches of Aboriginal culture.

These products are not manufactured by indigenous people, they are products belonging to the global market that have complements of the pre-Columbian regional culture as an added value to stand out in a certain market segment.

References

1. Castro, J.. (2006). Historical readings of Chiapas. Mexico: Government of Chiapas.
2. Chiapaneco Institute of Culture. (1988). Regional costumes of Chiapas. Mexico: Constitutional Government of the State of Chiapas, Chiapaneco Institute of Culture.
3. Donald Bush Cordry, Dorothy M. Cordry. (1988). Costumes and fabrics of the Zoque Indians of Chiapas. Texas: Illustrated.
4. Albán, J. & Ruz, M. (1995). Chiapas: the directions of another story. México, DF Guadalajara: Center for Mayan Studies of the Institute for Philological Research and Humanities Coordination (UNAM) Center for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology Center for Mexican and Central American Studies University of Guadalajara.
5. Government of the State of Chiapas. (1990). Chiapas costumes and fabrics. México, DF: Grupo Editorial Miguel Angel Porrúa.