Quick summary: Guatemalan traje is a set of garments, each with its own name: the huipil (blouse), the corte (skirt), the faja (sash), the perraje (shawl, also used to carry a baby), the su’t and the cinta or tocoyal (hair ribbon). The Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena in Guatemala City records each piece by town, Mayan linguistic community, loom and technique. In its online collection, 7 of 10 huipiles were woven on a backstrap loom and 8 of 9 cortes on a foot loom. The Constitution (Art. 66) recognises the use of indigenous dress by men and women. Museum entry is Q45 for adults.
This page explains what each garment is, using the definitions in the Spanish-language academy dictionaries, and shows how Guatemala’s textile museum records them. The museum’s online catalogue pages, its visit page and the dictionary entries were all read on 8 October 2026.
The garments, defined
| Garment | What it is | Source of the definition |
|---|---|---|
| Huipil (also güipil) | A decorated blouse belonging to indigenous dress (DLE); a long, sleeveless blouse with decoration worn by indigenous women (DAMER) | DLE; DAMER |
| Corte | For Guatemala: a long, heavy underskirt (enagua) worn by indigenous women | DAMER |
| Refajo | A traditional skirt worn by indigenous women (Mexico, Guatemala); the DAMER says it is generally colourful | DAMER |
| Faja | A strip of cloth or weaving wrapped once or several times around the body at the waist | DLE |
| Perraje | For Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador: a cloth of various materials and colours that women use to cover the back, chest and head, and to carry a small child | DAMER |
| Su’t | A garment the museum catalogues as its own category; its su’t pieces include cofradía and ceremonial cloths. Neither the DLE nor the DAMER has an entry under tzute (checked 8 October 2026) | Museo Ixchel collection |
| Cinta / tocoyal | Hair ribbon. The DLE defines tocoyal, for Guatemala, as a wool ribbon used to decorate the hair | DLE; DAMER |
| Jaspe | A dyeing technique: parts of the thread in a skein are tied so they resist the dye, and the dyed and undyed areas contrast like a reptile’s skin (Guatemala, Nicaragua) | DAMER |
The Museo Ixchel groups its collection into camisas, cortes, fajas, huipiles, pantalones, perrajes, servilletas, su’t, cintas and a miscellaneous group. The shirts and trousers are part of the same tradition: the online catalogue includes a cofradía trouser from Sololá, a ceremonial trouser from Todos Santos Cuchumatán and a shirt from Almolonga.
How the museum records a piece
Every piece on the museum’s online collection pages carries the same fields: an inventory number, the garment, the town and department, the Comunidad Lingüística (the Mayan language community), the Telar (loom), the Técnicas and the Materiales. The loom field takes four values in the catalogue:
- Cintura: the waist, or backstrap, loom;
- De pie: the foot loom;
- De cinta: a ribbon loom, used for the hair ribbons;
- Industrial: an industrial loom; both such pieces in the catalogue were then embroidered by hand.
Counting what the online pages show, the two big garments come from different looms:
| Collection page | Pieces shown | Backstrap (cintura) | Foot loom (de pie) | No loom listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huipiles | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 (San Mateo Ixtatán, hand-embroidered) |
| Cortes | 9 | 0 | 8 | 1 (Salcajá, sublimation print on synthetic thread) |
| Perrajes | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| Fajas | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
These are the pieces the museum chose to show online, not its whole collection, so the counts describe that sample only.
Reading a piece by town: 16 pieces from the catalogue
| No. | Garment | Town | Linguistic community | Loom | Technique and materials (museum’s words, translated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P-74 | Ceremonial huipil | Mixco | Poqomam | Backstrap | Hand-woven, embroidered and brocaded; mercerised cotton, sequins and silk |
| MI-00567 | Huipil | Santiago Sacatepéquez | Kaqchikel | Backstrap | Hand-woven, brocade and embroidery; mercerised cotton |
| MI-06529 | Huipil | Totonicapán | K’iche' | Backstrap | Hand-woven and embroidered; mercerised cotton and silk |
| MI-06864 | Huipil | Quetzaltenango | K’iche' | Foot loom | Hand-woven, embroidery, appliqué of commercial cloth; mercerised cotton, jaspe thread |
| MI-05177 | Huipil | Zunil | K’iche' | Backstrap | Hand-woven and embroidered; acrylic fibre |
| MI-00499 | Huipil | San Mateo Ixtatán | Chuj | none listed | Hand-embroidered; cotton |
| P-174 | Huipil | Senahú | Poqomchi' | Backstrap | Hand-woven and brocaded; mercerised cotton |
| MI-04039 | Corte | Totonicapán | K’iche' | Foot loom | Hand-woven and jaspe; mercerised cotton, jaspe thread |
| MI-05027 | Corte | Santa Catarina Barahona | Kaqchikel | Foot loom | Hand-woven, joining embroidery; wool |
| MI-07337 | Corte | Salcajá | K’iche' | none listed | Sublimation print; synthetic thread |
| P-617 | Corte | Tamahú | Poqomchi' | Foot loom | Hand-woven, joined by machine; mercerised cotton |
| MI-05644 | Perraje | Chajul | Ixil | Backstrap | Hand-woven and brocaded; cotton and silk |
| MI-01404 | Perraje | Santiago Atitlán | Tz’utujil | Backstrap | Woven; mercerised cotton |
| MI-02405 | Woman’s hair ribbon | San Juan Atitán | Mam | Ribbon loom | Hand-woven; acrylic fibre and wool |
| MI-00768 | Ceremonial trousers | Todos Santos Cuchumatán | Mam | Backstrap | Hand-woven; mercerised cotton and acrylic fibre |
| MI-04250 | Cofradía trousers | Sololá | Kaqchikel | Backstrap | Hand-woven and embroidered; mercerised cotton and silk |
Three things stand out in the museum’s own records:
- Jaspe belongs to particular places in this sample. The catalogue lists jaspe as a technique for the two Totonicapán cortes, for perrajes from Mixco, San Pedro Sacatepéquez, Totonicapán and Quetzaltenango, and for a ceremonial napkin from Samayac. All four jaspe perrajes are foot-loom pieces. Jaspe thread also appears among the materials of a Quetzaltenango huipil and an Almolonga faja.
- Materials change. The catalogue lists acrylic fibre in a Zunil huipil, rayon in several fajas, metallic thread (bricho) in a Totonicapán corte, and a Salcajá corte that is printed rather than woven.
- One motif tells a story. The Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias describes the rupan, a design woven into the huipiles and over-huipiles of San Juan Comalapa, which decorates the museum building’s frieze. It represents a plate used in church when fruit and bread are blessed.
What the Constitution says
Article 66 of the Constitution, on the protection of ethnic groups, says Guatemala is formed by diverse ethnic groups, including indigenous groups of Mayan descent, and that the State recognises, respects and promotes their ways of life, customs, traditions, forms of social organisation, “el uso del traje indígena en hombres y mujeres”, languages and dialects.
Where to see it
- Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena. 6ta. calle final, zona 10, Centro Cultural UFM, Guatemala City. Phone (502) 2361 8081 al 2, as the museum prints it. Its visit page lists Q45 adults, Q25 university students with a current ID, Q15 children, and says cards are accepted. Open Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., closed Sundays and public holidays. The museum states its mission as collecting, conserving, documenting, rescuing, exhibiting and educating about Guatemalan indigenous textile heritage. Our Guatemala City museums guide covers the neighbouring Popol Vuh museum.
- Weaving in a town. In San Juan La Laguna on Lake Atitlán, women’s cooperatives run weaving and natural-dye demonstrations; prices are on our San Juan La Laguna weaving tour page.
- Markets. Textiles are sold at the Chichicastenango market. This page does not list garment prices: none of the sources above publish them.
Related
- San Juan La Laguna weaving tour
- Chichicastenango market
- Guatemala City museums: Popol Vuh and Ixchel
- Guatemalan slang (chapinismos)
- UNESCO heritage in Guatemala
- All guides
Sources
- Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena, collection pages (huipiles, cortes, fajas, perrajes, su’t, cintas, camisas, pantalones, servilletas), visit page and mission: https://museoixchel.org/coleccion-de-textiles-del-museo/ and https://museoixchel.org/planea-tu-visita/ (read 8 October 2026).
- Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias (AGN), Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena guarda valiosos textiles mayas, 24 May 2021: https://agn.gt/museo-ixchel-del-traje-indigena-guarda-valiosos-textiles-mayas/ (read 8 October 2026).
- Real Academia Española and ASALE, Diccionario de la lengua española, entries huipil, faja and tocoyal: https://dle.rae.es/ (read 8 October 2026).
- ASALE, Diccionario de americanismos, entries huipil, corte, refajo, perraje, jaspe and tocoyal: https://www.asale.org/damer/ (read 8 October 2026).
- Constitución Política de la República de Guatemala, Article 66, text published by the OAS: https://www.oas.org/dil/esp/Constitucion_Guatemala.pdf
Information current as of 8 October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the traditional clothing of Guatemala called?
In Spanish it is called traje, and the Constitution uses the phrase traje indígena: Article 66 says the State recognises, respects and promotes the use of indigenous dress by men and women. The textile museum on the UFM campus in Guatemala City is the Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena. Its collection is grouped into huipiles, cortes, fajas, perrajes, su’t, cintas, camisas, pantalones and servilletas.
What is a huipil?
A woman’s blouse. The RAE’s Diccionario de la lengua española defines huipil as a decorated blouse belonging to indigenous dress, used in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. ASALE’s Diccionario de americanismos describes it as a long, sleeveless blouse with decoration worn by indigenous women.
What is a corte?
The skirt. ASALE’s Diccionario de americanismos defines corte, for Guatemala, as a long, heavy underskirt (enagua) worn by indigenous women. In the Museo Ixchel’s online collection, 8 of the 9 cortes shown were woven on a foot loom (telar de pie).
Can you tell which town a huipil comes from?
The Museo Ixchel catalogues every piece it shows online by town, department and Mayan linguistic community, with the loom, technique and materials. It does not publish an identification key, so this page does not offer one. The table below shows what the museum records for 16 pieces from 15 towns.
How much does the Museo Ixchel cost?
The museum’s visit page, read on 8 October 2026, lists Q45 for adults, Q25 for university students with a current ID and Q15 for children, and says cards are accepted. It opens Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and is closed on Sundays and public holidays. It is at 6ta. calle final, zona 10, in the Centro Cultural UFM, Guatemala City.
