Maseual Siuat Xochitajkitinij, or "Indigenous Women, Weavers of Flower," works toward the revalorization and cultural conservation of traditional handicrafts. It is also promoting equity between men and women in the workplace.

A member of Maseual Siuat Xochitajkitinij grinds corn by hand to make tortillas. She uses a traditional mano and metate.

Two members of the cooperative working on the new line of linens in the workshop.

A member of the cooperative in colorful traditional dress embroiders linens by hand.

Yohualichan is one of those places that, if you blink, you might miss it. Situated toward the end of a meandering cobbled road in the midst of the Sierra Norte Mountains of Puebla, the entrance to the town's road and archaeological site is marked by a single blue sign around a curve in a one-lane "highway."

The two-kilometer distance from the entrance of the stone road to the town center below can be traversed by car or by the small transit camionetas, but the views and preface the road gives to the hidden, yet abundant small village is much better served by walking.

First settled by the Totonacs and later overthrown by the Aztecs, the present indigenous inhabitants of Yohualichan - which means "Casa de la Noche" in Spanish - are Aztec ancestors. The population's first language is Nahuatl but many, particularly of the younger generations, are bilingual in both Spanish and their native language. Because of its isolation and the impoverished conditions of its inhabitants, Yohualichan was little known to visitors before the early 1970s when the archaeological site it now boasts as its main tourist attraction was uncovered.

The facades of the temples directly superimposed over their original ones bear witness to the overthrowing of the Totonacs by the Aztecs and the subsequent restructuring that occurred. The site is what originally accounted for a surge in tourism to Yohualichan, which in turn spawned an upswing in the production of artisan goods customary of the region. Since the late 1980s, one group in particular, Maseual Siuat Xochitajkitinij, or "Indigenous Women, Weavers of Flower" in English, has been working toward the revalorization and cultural conservation of traditional artisan goods. It is also promoting equity between men and women in the workplace.

Set among vibrant greenery on a rise in the hillside is the site of the cooperative. The space was once a small parcel of land on which the group's three founders and early members used to gather under a tree to spend hours back-strap weaving and organizing group meetings. Today it is now occupied by a store that sells artisan work and weaving supplies, a restaurant serving traditional food, and an eco-tourism site whose construction is on its way to completion. While these buildings are certainly something to marvel at, it is the women in the group who are the motivating forces behind the fledgling business and concept.

Although only two of the original three founding members of the group remain living, Antonia and Natividad continue to serve as examples of innovation and using cultural preservation to effect social change. The women met in the late 1980s through a nutrition seminar. They soon discovered their similar concern for maintaining some of their community's most important cultural elements through artisan work. Both women had been taught by their mothers, grandmothers, or other family members how to weave, which in earlier times involved beginning with the cultivation of cotton or wool and ending in a final woven product. However, with the passing of years, rising land and raw material costs, and continuous devaluation of artisan goods, back-strap weaving has become an increasingly lost art.

 

Troubled by the ensuing disinterest in other cultural practices, such as traditional dress, the two women were determined to develop a way to renew interest in weaving. Starting out small, they traveled to surrounding towns and villages as teachers of back-strap weaving. Soon, they formed a group that met regularly under the large mango tree in the town center of Yohualichan. Their group seemed to be gaining strength in numbers and resources. They had received donations of money and supplies from the state and other organizations in recognition of their effort, and had even been given a mill as a way to gain capital and provide the service of grinding corn to the rest of the community. A new municipal administration elected to office in the early 1990s temporarily halted their momentum, however, by banishing the group from their public meeting spot and seizing their donated resources.

Weakened but not defeated. . .

Samantha Raneri has much more to say about Yohualichan and Maseual Siuat Xochitajkitinij. To learn what the women offer today, read about their restaurnt and eco-tourims projects and for directions to the town, we invite you to join our family of subscribers... it isn't expensive. A monthly subscription is just $5.00 USD - that's $1.15 per week. An annual subscription costs $30.00 USD - only $2.50 per month or 58 cents per week. We think you'll find it's money well spent.

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