In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

301 N o t e s o f M i d d l e A m e r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g y a n d E t h n o l o g y Carnegie Institution of Washington Division of Historical Research No. 78 January 20, 1947 Otomi looms and Quechquemitls from San pablito, State of puebla, and from Santa Ana Hueytlalpan, State of Hidalgo, Mexico Bodil Christensen are made of handwoven fabric. A very unusual type is shown in Figures 78.1.6, 78.1.7, and 78.1.8. When worn, it resembles the rectangular type in Figures 78.1.2 and 78.1.3. It comes from the State of Puebla, but the exact place is unknown. The peculiarity of the Otomi loom lies in the fact that it produces the two pieces of the quechquemitl not exactly rectangular but woven into shape, forming a graceful curve which falls over the shoulders. The two looms I obtained in San Pablito are slightly different, and a third one from the Otomi village of Santa Ana Hueytlalpan, near Tularicingo, Hidalgo, is quite different; but all produce a curved fabric by using part of the warp as weft. Loom 1, San Pablito (Fig. 78.4.12): This is a doublelength loom, having been warped for both parts of the quechquemitl at the same time. The loom is 2 m long from bar to bar inclusive. All sticks in the loom, with the exception of the end bars and the sword, are bamboo, the shed roll having a diameter of 2 cm and the rest about 1 cm each. Bamboo sticks are preferred because of their smoothness, light weight, and straight lines; but a stronger wood is necessary for end bars and sword. Spanish-speaking Indian women usually call a stick loom otates, using the Spanish adaptation of the Nahuatl word otlatl (bamboo ), instead of the Spanish word telar (loom), which is applied only to a foot loom. The end bars are of hard wood, 2.5 cm in diameter and 66 cm long. The warp is continuous and is attached to a heading cord of maguey fiber, the extension of which is used as binding string The looms to be described below are used for weaving a capelike garment worn by Indian women in several parts of Mexico and called a quechquemitl, from the Nahuatl quechtli, “neck,” and tlaquemitl, “garment.” The Otomi word for the same garment is monhuí. The quechquemitl is a pre-Cortesian garment. In codices and documents written shortly after the Spanish conquest we find illustrations of goddesses and noble women wearing quechquemitls, whereas women of the lower classes are pictured wearing huipiles. We also find representations of quechquemitls on pre-Cortesian stone sculptures and on clay figurines. The quechquemitl is usually made of two rectangular pieces of cloth sewn together by joining the end piece of one (a) to the long side of the other (b), and vice versa, thus forming a garment with an opening in the middle for introducing the head (Figs. 78.1.1–78.1.3). This quechquemitl is worn either with the points hanging toward the front and back (Fig. 78.1.2) or transversally with the points hanging over the shoulders (Fig. 78.1.3). It is in use amongst the Otomies, Aztecs, Totonacs, and Tepehuas. The Huaxtecs, the Huicholes, and the Coras maketheirquechquemitlsoftwosquarepiecesjoined together at c and d (Fig. 78.1.4), leaving an opening for the head; or of one long piece folded over at e and the selvages joined at f almost to the top. To make the opening for the head, part of the fold at e must be cut (Fig. 78.1.5). These quechquemitls are made of commercial cotton materials; those first described BoDil chriSTEnSEn 302 for fastening the warp to the end bars. These are shaped at the ends to keep the ropes and heading cord from sliding. The warp consists of three different sections with the following dimensions (Fig. 78.3.9): Section a: 22 cm of white 2-ply cotton yarns (12 to the centimeter). Section b: 19 cm of red wool yarns (8 to the centimeter). Section c: 5 cm white cotton border, similar to that described under a. These measurements are taken from the finished fabric, which is 46 cm wide. The warps must be more than twice the length of each part of the quechquemitl, plus almost...

Share