Huipil: Explore Collections: Windows to the World: Digital Artifacts for Global Educators: Indiana University Bloomington

Huipil

This velvet blouse, known in Spanish as a huipil or in Zapotec as a bidaani, is a traditional style of shirt from a Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico. Zapotec people are an Indigenous people who have lived in the Oaxaca region since the 6th century BC. They have a total population between 400,000-650,000 people, and approximately 490,000 people (12% of the state of Oaxaca) speak the Zapotec language. Culturally and geographically, Zapotec people divide themselves into four main regions: the Central Valleys, Sierra Norte, Sierra Sur, and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Colonization in Mexico often caused Zapotec communities to become isolated from each other, especially across these geographic zones, so the four regions developed distinct linguistic and cultural differences.

Huipil 3D Model Viewer

Huipils are common in a variety of forms throughout Indigenous communities in Mexico and Central America, so specific designs can indicate the garment’s place of origin. Many everyday huipils are woven on backstrap looms, but the Isthmus Zapotec ones use black velvet for special occasions. Women wear these relatively short huipils with a matching embroidered skirt (Spa. falda, Zap. bizuudi) and a white lace petticoat (Spa. enagua). They also wear a large, round headdress of starched white fabric (Spa. resplandor, Zap. bidaani quichi/bidaani ro). All together, these pieces create a traditional Zapotec outfit called traje bordado. Traditionally, Zapotec women embroider each of these garments by hand.

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Photos Courtesy of Anya Peterson Royce

Traje bordado and traditional clothing worn by other Zapotec people can been seen at a festival called Guelaguetza. This festival takes place in the city of Oaxaca, the capital of the state of Oaxaca, each July. The word guelaguetza is a Zapotec word meaning “reciprocal exchange of gifts and services,” and the festival focuses on the sharing of traditions that include arts, crafts, foods, clothing, dance, music, and theater. It has become an important economic factor for the city as thousands of tourists attend each year.

Zapotec styles have inspired many people, including artists like Frida Kahlo. In recent years, Indigenous-inspired designs have begun to appear in European and American fashion prompting questions about cultural appropriation. Indigenous weavers and designers have pushed back against some of these mass-produced garments, as they threaten traditional businesses and craftsmanship.

Huipil Activity Guide

Teacher-Made Huipil + Hanbok Lesson Plan- 2nd Grade Social Studies by Claire Stancombe

Teacher-Made Huipil + Hanbok Lesson Plan- Spanish II by Rebecca Agudelo-McNealy

Agudelo-McNealy Supplement 1- Guided Conversation Slides

Agudelo-McNealy Supplement 2- Vocabulary List

Agudelo-McNealy Supplement 3- Student Activity 1

Agudelo-McNealy Supplement 4- Student Activity 2

Agudelo-McNealy Supplement 5- Huipil Reading

Agudelo-McNealy Supplement 6- Hanbok Reading

Agudelo-McNealy Supplement 7- Self Reflection

Resources

Resource 1

The Beautiful Stories of 8 of Oaxaca's Traditional Outfits- Vogue

Guelaguetza Costumes- Gobierno de Mexico

Guelaguetza celebrates the diversity of cultures in Oaxaca, and that includes the various traditional outfits from the region. Here, Vogue and the Mexican government website discuss some of the styles worn at the festival.

Resource 2

Women's Blouse or Huipil- Brooklyn Museum

The depicted textile is a Maya woman's ceremonial blouse (huipil) originating from Chichicastenango, El Quiche, Guatemala, dating back to the 1930s or 1940s. The intricate design, crafted from cotton and silk, features multicolored geometric patterns, including a double-headed eagle motif on the central panel. The neck opening showcases silk appliqués resembling radiating points representing the sun, while four rosettes symbolize the cardinal directions. Such huipils hold cosmological significance in Maya culture, aligning the wearer with the universe's center. This textile, part of the Arts of the Americas collection, was donated to the Brooklyn Museum in memory of Elizabeth Ege Freudenheim.

Resource 3

Frida Kahlo and Cultural Appropriation- OPB

Traditional Mexican Dress- Victoria and Albert Museum

Frida Kahlo was known for her use of Indigenous-inspired clothing and style. However, Frida was only one part of a much larger movement to reconceptualize Mexican national identities in the early to mid 20th century. These articles from OPB and the Victoria and Albert Museum discuss how Kahlo interacted with Indigenous Mexican cultures in her art, and how her art tied into the broader social and political movements of the time.

Resource 4

Image reads in Spanish "We are daughters of the grandmothers who will not die, they live in the universe of our weavings."

The Other Story of Huipiles- Mayamam Weavers

The blog post discusses the cultural and social significance of huipils, traditional blouses worn by Maya women in Guatemala. It highlights two key struggles related to huipils: the protection of traditional designs from appropriation and the fair compensation for weavers. AFEDES, a women weavers' group, is working to secure intellectual property rights for their designs and raise awareness about the value of huipils. Additionally, the article addresses the ethical concerns surrounding the repurposing of huipils into various products, emphasizing that the practice can exploit impoverished weavers. The struggle aims to educate consumers about the complexities of recycled huipils and their impact on indigenous artisans.

Huipil

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