This woven Guatemalan Belt (or sash) features a playful design with pompoms and tassles. Handpicked from the Chichicastenago Market in the Guatemalan Highlands. 132" inches including the pom poms and fringe. It is of a 100% high quality sturdy cotton with the Ikat woven design that the Mayan weavers are noted for. Hand woven by women on back strap looms.
The art of backstrap weaving is practiced by many artisans in the highlands of Guatemala and has been indigenous to this region for generations. According to Maya myth, backstrap weaving originated with Ixchel, the Maya Goddess taking numerous forms – Moon, Water, Weaving, and Childbirth. She is the deity of fertility and procreation, and represents female empowerment. Ixchel taught the first woman to weave, and since then the practice has been passed on from mother to daughter, generation after generation.
Backstrap weaving is conducted using a simple apparatus that consists of parallel sticks holding in place vertical base threads that are held taut and are cross-woven with horizontal threads running parallel to the sticks. One end of the loom is attached to a post or tree via a rope, and the other is attached to the weaver’s body through a strap that wraps around the back, giving the technique its name “backstrap weaving.” A shuttle is used to pass thread through the layers.
Guatemalan Belt
Due to the nature of one-of-a-kind handmade items from the most remote reaches of the world, all sales are final.
Orders typically ship within 1- 3 days. Unless otherwise indicated, all domestic orders ship USPS Priority Mail ($6.50) and will arrive within 1-3 days of the date of shipment. International orders ship USPS Priority International Mail and are expected to arrive 6-10 business day of the date of shipment, depending on customs and reglautions in delivery country.