Nebaj
Quiché, Guatemala
Nebaj, part of the Ixil triangle so devastated by the 36 year civil war, is still an area of intense economic hardship. Maya women's traje of shawl and huipil covered with colorful geometric designs and a brown or burgundy skirt with stripes is still used by many, though some now only use the skirt.
A row of colorful horses in supplementary weft brocade is almost complete in this back strap weaving by Helena Estella Covo Santiago, Nebaj. Photo by Kathleen Mossman Vitale 2005.
Helena Estella Covo Santiago, 14, sets up a back strap loom in her small stall in Nebaj where she works fulltime, having been forced by family circumstances to leave school in fifth grade. Photo by Kathleen Mossman Vitale 2005.
Schoolgirls in Nebaj giggle with embarrassment after begging to be photographed. The Peace Accord of 1996 gave indigenous children the right to wear traje to school, though in large cities few do. Photo by Kathleen Mossman Vitale 2005.