Guatemala, Concepcion Poou Coy Tharin, Poncho with Harp Design

Product name: Poncho with harp design

Type of product: Poncho, blouse, Mayan back-strap weaving

Description (story of the item): This is a poncho top made from two panels woven on a back-strap loom in the traditional pikb'il style of my ancestors. I wove it at my home in Tarpon Springs, FL, USA.  It has white traditional designs on a white cotton weave.   The fine 100% cotton thread I use I have only been able to find in my home region of Guatemala due to the scarcity of weavers who weave in this tradition and the painstaking process of soaking the thread in a corn starch before setting up the loom to keep the fine threads from breaking.  This huipil features an intricate design and patterns passed down through generations. These delicate patterns are created through a painstaking process known as a pik’bil of creating a raised design in the fabric by carefully lifting interweaving the threads in the desired shapes. The patterns here are harps, water pitchers or jars, stars, ducks, and pacaya leaves.  It is very soft to wear it, easy to put it on, and you can wear it anywhere. You can wear it on top of your skirt or jeans. I wear mine all the time and I love them. Wash by hand, iron if needed.  It took a month for me to weave. This is an original and one-of-a-kind piece.

Materials: 100% cotton thread

Measurements / size: 

Neckline: 35.5 cm 

Width: 84 cm

Length: 51 cm