This multicolor table runner testifies to the rich weaving tradition of the Ixil women of Maya origin, who share their historic textiles through the Cotzal Artisan Cooperative. Working on the back strap loom, they weave this cotton table runner in shades of brown, pink, yellow, blue, beige and jade. A neat square features images of great symbolic meaning such as the milpa (corn), which exalts the beauty of our natural environment and nourishes the birds of the area. The birds portrayed with open wings are aves viajeras or traveling birds. They represent the people who travel to other communities or countries. This bird, they say, travels to the other side of the mountains and when it rains, it flies toward the heavens where it will sing from the clouds.
Language: English
