A mile or two from the city are fields of corn; a recurring reminder of where the masa used to make tortillas, tamales, and other mealtime staples, comes from. Livestock roam the hills and are often seen being herded down the streets of local villages.
And, at the foot of the stairs of my new apartment is a coyuche bush — the brown cotton plant that has been cultivated in this part of the world for thousands of years.
The ripe buds of the coyuche have been harvested, cleaned, spun, and woven into huipiles and cotones (men’s shirts) by countless generations. However, like many textile traditions, industrialization has taken its toll. The cultivation and use of coyuche is literally hanging by a thread, mostly confined to the Mixteca and Costa Chica regions of Oaxaca. As a result, besides just liking the design and color, I have a profound appreciation for and treasure this old huipil that was given to me a couple of years ago.
It’s in desperate need of repair. My friend and Mexican textile collector and chronicler, Sheri Brautigam, advised me to take it to Odilon Merino Morales, who is from San Juan Amuzgo and leads an effort to revive the use of coyuche. I will ask him if he knows of someone who could give my huipil some tender loving mending.
Living close to the source — there is something wonderful about the coyuche plant’s daily reminder of the origin of one of my favorite huipiles.
Mexican Peso Converter
Wonderful post Shannon. Today is the day we get to see Lila Downs. I am very excited!
Shannon, you’re touching on the rewards of living in what some refer to as the Third World. I have learned so much by living in an Indigenous village for the past 1 1/2 year that I am having to reformulate many of my ways of thinking, that is, not taking things for granted. Great post.
Nice post Shannon – and thanks for mentioning Living Textiles of Mexico – hope you find Odilon in his shop as he’s certainly a master and knows what’s needed for your beautiful huipil. See you when I get back from Chiapas.
Definitely hold on to that huipil. I still have a lovely woven shawl I picked up in Oaxaca.
[…] built my apartment complex in Oaxaca many decades ago, established a textile weaving business and planted coyuche (koyuchi), a natural brown cotton. She is no longer with us, but her plant survives and grows up […]