Totonicapán/Aldea Chuculjuyup
Totonicapán, Guatemala
Jaspe or ikat tying is labor intensive and demands nimble fingers, exactness and a good memory. In rural Chuculjuyup outside the city of Totonicapán, women sometimes earn much needed cash for their families from the work.
María Estela Puac Tzunun, 17, ties jaspe patterns for a living, bringing in cash for her rural family. Photo by Cheryl Guerrero 2005.
María Estela ties cotton thread bundles at specific intervals, according to a planned sequence. The area underneath the ties remains undyed, and produces a pattern when woven. Photo by Kathleen Mossman Vitale 2005.
After María Estela's thread bundles are dyed and woven, the jaspe textile looks like this. Photo by Kathleen Mossman Vitale 2005.
María Estela lives with her extended family in an adobe brick compound, high on a hill overlooking Totonicapán. Photo by Cheryl Guerrero 2005.