The typical costume of Nayarit corresponds to the clothing of the Huichol culture, or as they prefer to be called: wixárikas. Most of these descendants of the Aztecs live in the Sierra Madre Oriental.
These people, after resisting the Spanish invasion, still strive to keep their culture alive and viable, preserving a reverent and symbiotic relationship with nature. This is demonstrated in the use of peyote, the focal point for their ceremonies, and in their colorful beads and threads.
Image source: artesaniahuichol.mx
The crafts of this indigenous group are highly valued, especially their embroidery and beads. In recent times his art has been developed for commercial purposes. However, his best pieces are generally for personal use.
You may also be interested in the traditions and customs of Nayarit.
Brief description of the typical costume of Nayarit
The typical costume of Nayarit, both the male and female version, is made by Huichol women, who are reputed to be the best weavers in Mexico.
This ethnic group still practices the art of weaving on backstrap looms, creating designs that are largely abstract but loaded with much symbolism for this culture.
Even those whose figures are recognized - such as corn, flowers, or animals - are individual representations of myths, stories, analogies, and metaphors.
Thus, Huichol garments are not only elements to cover the body, but another way of expressing oneself.
Women
The female version of the typical Nayarit costume is quite simple, compared to its male counterpart. This includes an embroidered blouse and a skirt.
It also includes a cloak embroidered with flowers that serves to cover their heads and a quechquemitl as a complement.
The quechquemitl is a triangular garment with a central opening that in pre-Hispanic times was reserved for the goddesses of fertility, or for certain women of the nobility who identified with these deities.
On the other hand, men and women wear very characteristic beaded accessories such as rings, bracelets and necklaces. The designs have delicate colors, they are elegant and their themes are similar to that of embroidery.
mens
Men wear more elaborate garb. All his garments are decorated with beaded embroidery and brightly colored threads: the shirt open on the inside of the sleeves (cuarri), the pants (trousers), the cape (turra), the sashes that hold the cape and the backpack that crosses his chest.
They use symmetrical designs loaded with symbolic, mythological and magical elements. For example, a zigzag can represent lightning (associated with rain). These embroideries are, at times, so profuse that they do not reveal the white fabric in the background.
On the other hand, the girdles are woven on a backstrap loom, and on them they wear a narrower girdle than which very small blanket bags hang. The backpacks are also made of wool or blanket.
The other accessory they usually wear is the hat. In their preparation they use palm leaves woven by hand, then they are decorated with colored stamens or with bird feathers.
References
- Mexico's Huichol resource page: their culture, symbolism, art. (2011, May 14). In Mexconnect. Retrieved on November 10, 2017, from mexconnect.com.
- Traditions: The Huichols, one of the most fascinating cultures in Mexico. (2017, March, 03). In Excelsior. Retrieved on November 10, 2017, from excelsior.com.mx.
- Nayarit-how and where. (2000). Mexico DF: Unknown Mexico.
- Schaefer, SB (1996). Huichol fabric designs: documentation of the
encoded language in an ancient Mesoamerican art form. Retrieved on November 10, 2017, from famsi.org.
- Furst, PT (1981). Jaguar baby or toad mother: a new look on an old problem on Olmec iconography. In E. Benson (editor), The Olmec & Their Neighbors: Essays in Memory of Matthew W. Stirling, pp. 149-180. Washington: Dumbarton Oaks.
- The typical clothing of the Huichols, their art. (2014, February 20). In casamejicú. Retrieved on November 10, 2017, from casamejicu.com.
- Huichol costume. (s / f). In Museum of America. Retrieved on November 10, 2017, from mecd.gob.es.
- Zepeda, M. (2016, February 29). Huichol clothing, sample of traditions, customs and beliefs. Retrieved on November 10, 2017, from