For centuries the Huichol (Wixárika) Indian women of Jalisco, Mexico, have been weaving textiles on backstrap looms. This West Mexican tradition has been passed down from mothers to daughters since pre-Columbian times. Weaving is a part of each woman’s identity—allowing them to express their ancient religious beliefs as well as to reflect the personal transformations they have undergone throughout their lives. In this book anthropologist Stacy B. Schaefer explores the technology of weaving and the spiritual and emotional meaning it holds for the women with whom she works and within their communities, which she experienced during her apprenticeship with master weavers in Wixárika families. She takes us on a dynamic journey into a realm of ancient beliefs and traditions under threat from the outside world in this fascinating ethnographic study.
Navajo rugs set the gold standard for handwoven textiles in the U.S. But what about the people who create these treasures? Spider Woman's Children is the inside story, told by two women who are both deeply embedded in their own culture and considered among the very most skillful and artistic of Navajo weavers today. Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete are fifth-generation weavers who grew up at the fabled Two Grey Hills trading post. Their family and clan connections give them rare insight, as this volume takes readers into traditional hogans, remote trading posts, reservation housing neighborhoods, and urban apartments to meet weavers who follow the paths of their ancestors, who innovate with new designs and techniques, and who uphold time-honored standards of excellence. Throughout the text are beautifully depicted examples of the finest, most mindful weaving this rich tradition has to offer.
Morocco: Ancient cities, adobe fortresses of centuries past, fertile plains of wheat and olives, carpets of wildflowers, endless deserts, wild mountains, and isolated rural villages. And of course, the fabled open-air markets framed with stacks of woven rugs and other handicrafts, exotic scents wafting through the aisles, the hum of Arabic, Berber, French. Within this diverse land and confluence of cultures, many rich and ancient craft traditions carry on—women spin and weave, make buttons, embroider designs passed down through generations, and sew stunning native costumes. Women Artisans of Morocco tells the stories of twenty-five women who practice these textile traditions with an inspiring energy, pride, and fortitude. For the first time, we have a book that focuses on the artisans of Morocco themselves, those who produce these beautiful textiles that contribute substantially to their family's income while maintaining households and raising children. You will step into the lives of these Moroccan women artisans and gain an appreciation for their artistic skills and ingenuity but also for their strong roles in this supposedly male-dominated society, their fierce independence and determination as they work to improve their economic livelihoods. You will be welcomed into their homes in rural Berber villages, in bustling cities, and in a remarkable desert oasis. You will begin to learn truly what it is like to live as a woman in Morocco and to be part of a rapidly changing society. Most of the women presented here are rug weavers whose ancient skills and designs vary from region to region. You will also meet Fes embroidery artists, women who needle-weave buttons that have decorated native costumes for centuries, and a contemporary seamstress. Joe Coca's award-winning photography, guided by his curious and reverent sensibility, captures the beauty of the women, their work, and Morocco.
Traditionally most gurus, philosophers, and religious leaders have been men. But in this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Bancroft provides the feminine approach to mysticism by examining the methods and teachings of fifteen women who have developed their own insights into what the author calls the "truth that goes beyond the ordinary".
Throughout the mid-1800s, outsiders, including many Euro-Americans, arrived in what is now northwest Washington. As they interacted with Samish, Lummi, S’Klallam, Sto:lo, and other groups, some of the men sought relationships with young local women. Hoping to establish mutually beneficial ties, Coast and Interior Salish families arranged strategic cross-cultural marriages. Some pairs became lifelong partners while other unions were short. These were crucial alliances that played a critical role in regional settlement and spared Puget Sound’s upper corner from the tragic conflicts other regions experienced. Accounts of the men, who often held public positions--army officer, Territorial Supreme Court justice, school superintendent, sheriff--exist in a variety of records. Some, like the nephew of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, were from prominent eastern families. Yet across the West, the contributions of their native wives remain unacknowledged. The women’s lives were marked by hardships and heartbreaks common for the time, but the four profiled--Caroline Davis Kavanaugh, Mary Fitzhugh Lear Phillips, Clara Tennant Selhameten, and Nellie Carr Lane--exhibited exceptional endurance, strength, and adaptability. Far from helpless victims, they influenced their husbands and controlled their homes. Remembered as loving mothers and good neighbors, they ran farms, nursed and supported family, served as midwives, and operated businesses. They visited relatives and attended ancestral gatherings, often with their children. Each woman’s story is uniquely hers, but together they and other intermarried women helped found Puget Sound communities and left lasting legacies. They were peace weavers. Author Candace Wellman hopes to shatter stereotypes surrounding these relationships. Numerous collaborators across the United States and Canada--descendants, local historians, academics, and more--graciously participated in her seventeen-year effort.
"A fascinating history of…[a craft] that preceded and made possible civilization itself." —New York Times Book Review New discoveries about the textile arts reveal women's unexpectedly influential role in ancient societies. Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing the first clothing created from spun fibers. In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women. Despite the great toil required in making cloth and clothing, most books on ancient history and economics have no information on them. Much of this gap results from the extreme perishability of what women produced, but it seems clear that until now descriptions of prehistoric and early historic cultures have omitted virtually half the picture. Elizabeth Wayland Barber has drawn from data gathered by the most sophisticated new archaeological methods—methods she herself helped to fashion. In a "brilliantly original book" (Katha Pollitt, Washington Post Book World), she argues that women were a powerful economic force in the ancient world, with their own industry: fabric.
In this innovative study, Sarah Hill illuminates the history of Southeastern Cherokee women by examining changes in their basketry. She explores how the incorporation of each new material used in their craft occurred in the context of lived experience, ecological processes, social conditions, economic circumstances, and historical eras. 110 illustrations. 6 maps.
Craft co-ops, educational programs, and commercial ventures, including Tierra Wools in Los Ojos, New Mexico, and Weaving Southwest in Taos. Anyone who has ever made a living as a craftsperson or thought about doing so will delight in Joan Loveless's thoughtful evocation of this way of life. Loveless beautifully captures the spirit of Taos valley, the texture of daily life, and the challenge of the creative process. Anyone with an interest in the culture of the Southwest.
In the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, a large indigenous population lives in rural communities, many of which retain traditional forms of governance. In 1996, some 350 women of these communities formed a weavers’ cooperative, which they called Jolom Mayaetik. Their goal was to join together to market textiles of high quality in both new and ancient designs. Weaving Chiapas offers a rare view of the daily lives, memories, and hopes of these rural Maya women as they strive to retain their ancient customs while adapting to a rapidly changing world. Originally published in Spanish in 2007, this book captures firsthand the voices of these Maya artisans, whose experiences, including the challenges of living in a highly patriarchal culture, often escape the attention of mainstream scholarship. Based on interviews conducted with members of the Jolom Mayaetik cooperative, the accounts gathered in this volume provide an intimate view of women’s life in the Chiapas highlands, known locally as Los Altos. We learn about their experiences of childhood, marriage, and childbirth; about subsistence farming and food traditions; and about the particular styles of clothing and even hairstyles that vary from community to community. Restricted by custom from engaging in public occupations, Los Altos women are responsible for managing their households and caring for domestic animals. But many of them long for broader opportunities, and the Jolom Mayaetik cooperative represents a bold effort by its members to assume control over and build a wider market for their own work. This English-language edition features color photographs—published here for the first time—depicting many of the individual women and their stunning textiles. A new preface, chapter introductions, and a scholarly afterword frame the women’s narratives and place their accounts within cultural and historical context.
"Through an analysis of specific weaving stories, the difference between a text and a textile becomes blurred. Such stories portray women weavers transforming their domestic activity of making textiles into one of making texts by inscribing their cloth with both personal and political messages."--BOOK JACKET.
