Connecting Community Through Ancient Weaving
Standing before a dozen curious elementary school students, Pedro Andres stretched a strap across his back and began tightening rows of purple yarn tied to a window fixture.
“This is part of the Mayan tradition,” Andres explained to the children gathered at the Escuelita Maya After School Program in Lake Worth as he began weaving on a backstrap loom, a device that is at the heart of the ancient Mayan art of weaving.
As he weaved a purple fabric, the children grew excited, awaiting their own turns on the loom, which can produce just about any kind of fabric, from shirts to belts.
Andres is an ambassador for Guatemalan-Maya Center’s initiative to educate young Guatemalan-Mayas living in Palm Beach County about the importance of ancient weaving techniques and their potential for spawning start-up businesses.
He’s part of a growing collaborative of Guatemalan-Maya weavers interested in making colorful clothing and accessories to sell across the region. The 19-year-old is teaching weaving to other Guatemalan Maya children as well as adults interested in Mayan culture and the arts.
“When I weave, I feel close to my people and what they have done. I’m very proud,” said Andres, a senior at Lake Worth High School.
Weaving is the cornerstone of the Guatemalan-Maya culture, dating back centuries. According to Maya legend, the goddess of medicine and childbirth was said to have invented backstrap weaving. Weavers made offerings to her before beginning each new textile.
In Guatemala and other countries, weaving with the backstrap loom is still being done today. In primitive and advanced societies alike, the loom provides a weaving device at low cost. It is portable and can be set up almost anywhere.
A simple loom is made of two sticks between which warps are stretched. One bar is attached to a fixed object like a tree, post or window and the other end to the weaver with a strap around the back.
In Palm Beach County, the Center’s weaving initiative began in 2009 after Andres and other members of the community expressed an interest in selling their fabrics.
The Guatemalan-Maya Center purchased materials, including vibrant colored yarn from Guatemala, to build looms for teaching. Organizers drafted a syllabus to make weaving an enhancement activity for dozens of after-school programs across the county.
“I’m hoping through the displays and attention we get from this initiative that we can help the Guatemalan-Maya children born in this country have more pride in their cultural roots,” said Dr. John Linstroth, Executive Director of The Guatemalan-Maya Center. “I imagine over time that many students will learn about our efforts and come and find us. I have high hopes.”
The goal also is to inspire Guatemalan-Maya weavers to go into business for themselves by selling their hand-made clothing and accessories, Dr. Linstroth said.
“They’ll learn valuable business skills through this initiative like making agreements and contracts,” Dr. Linstroth said. “By using what they naturally know how to do, they’ll also now have the business skills to move forward.”
For Andres, weaving is a deep connection to his roots.
He began weaving at age 8 when his grandfather taught him to make a loom by cutting wood with a machete and sanding it with broken beer bottles. It was hard at first learning to shed and pick the yarn. Eventually, he made belts, purses, bags, scarves, table runners, blankets, shawls, and shirts. Over the years, he’s made hundreds to sell at flea markets and on the sides of major traffic interactions.
“A lot of people my age aren’t interested in weaving. They think it’s something from the past. They think they are in the United States and so they have to make a new start,” Andres said. “But I’m interested. I don’t want my culture lost.”
He got involved with The Guatemalan-Maya Center’s weaving initiative to raise awareness. Although he wants to be a chef someday, he expects to always weave -- and inspire the younger generation.
Writer: Leon Fooksman can be reached at fooksman17@gmail.com
