The Quechquémitl

Nahuatl translation is “neck garment” 

(quechtli = neck, tlaqumitl= garment)

Quechquémitl is a garment that has been used historically since the indigenous Aztec people (the Mexicas) from the city of Tenochtitlan or Mexica, Aztec name for Mexico City  (modern day Mexico). The term quechquémitl, comes from the Nahualt language and is broken down in translation as shawl or covering for the neck or shoulders. The quechquémitl has existed since pre-Cuauhtémoc time. Pre-Cuauhtémoc refers to an era that was ruled by the Aztec ruler Cuautémoc during 1520-1521 and before Cuautémoc there were other Aztec rulers since the beginning of the 13th century. Why refer to pre-Cuauhtémoc? It is necessary to acknowledge and refer to this time period and the empire as the last ruler of the Aztec people, noting that there was a civilization and people before Spanish colonizers and influencers of people that we have known thereafter.  It is important to highlight a society that already existed with systems, traditions and functions. I am inspired by the words of a local Chicagoan, Carlos Tortolero, an educator, current President and co-founder of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, who “...purposely sought to de-emphasize the Eurocentric view of Mexican history.  He regarded the popular terms, pre-Hispanic, pre-Colombian and pre-conquest used by academics and institutions as problematic since they placed emphasize on Europe to define a specific time period in the Americas.” 2

The garment is important to reflect on the stories and the origin of its use and the people of this region. It’s also a garment that has continued to exist through and with the native people of Mexico and maintained its shape through the Spanish conquest in 1521. The garment remained but the languages and names for the garment have evolved with the piece as well. For example, different words for this garment exist such as mañanita, poncho and capa (cape).  Having personal roots in Guanajuato Mexico, the central region of the country of Mexico. I have known this garment often referred to as mañanita, which directly refers to a square piece of garment with an opening for the head or morning.3 Guanajuato Mexico is estimated to be 6,558 feet above sea level, allowing the state to have mostly warm and mild climates. The larger cities in Guanajuato are considered colonial cities tracing back to the influence of language and architecture and traditions of the Spanish people and Europeans who arrived in the region. In this region of the state, the mornings and nights have colder temperatures. I reflect on whether this is why the mañanita term has been used in various regions of the country, to stay warm with the woven or crochet garment in the morning dew. There’s also a reflection on the shape of the sun. Do you see the sun and rays in a triangular shaped mañanita?

The mañanita and Chicago

It is important to have representation of different cultures and populations that make up a city of immigrants and migrants as an international school of art. Mexican Americans and people of Mexico make up a large population of the City of Chicago. According to my investigation in the TRC online database, there is one object from Mexico in the collection, specifically labeled as a shawl from the region of Cholula, Chiapas, Mexico. Although this is an important acquisition, I consider the significant need in acquiring more pieces such as the quechquemitl or mañanita in a collection of fiber and textile resources in our community.  

Representation is important in the TRC, for students and teachers with Mexico, Mexican American, native, and indigenous people of the Americas. It is important to feel a sense of the rich history and connection to their origin and the origin of a neighboring country of Mexico. Mexico is constantly being desensitized in the story of immigration and trauma in the media. In addition to representation of histories and herstories that have been oppressed by conquistadores over so many centuries. Having this piece in the collection connects us to an origin with the Mexica people and we are given an opportunity to learn and investigate the quechquémitl and the stories of marginalized communities and histories that are not often discussed in American history. 

Through the quechquémitl we can explore different techniques such as weaving, piecing, brocade, crochet, embellishment, appliqué and embroidery, dyeing processes, as well as cultural references through symbolism, throughout regions of Mexico and its native people.

Chalchiuhtlicue, The Goddess of Water

As a Mexican American, daughter of immigrants, I also find it very resourceful to share a commonality with others in our stories of origin with the Aztec people and the continued use of this garment in Mexico and Mexicans in Chicago.

According to The Rules of Construction of an Aztec Deity: Chalchiuhtlicue, The Goddess of Water by Daniele Dehouve, and her rendering of the Codex Fejerváry-Mayer they state that “in everyday life Aztec women dressed with a huipil and the shoulder shawl was worn only in ritual contexts: “all of the symbolism connected with the quechquémitl associates the costume with fertility and abundance, an association that appears to exist throughout Central Mexico”. Furthermore, the edgings of the quechquémitl worn by the Aztec goddesses were often decorated with fringes, or tassels made by bunching these fringes together. 4  

The garment piece quechquémitl is made from uncut pieces of cloth as they come off the loom. The body of the shawl is designed to fall on the shoulders of the wearer. Figures above all collected from the Codex Fejerváry-Mayer. The triangular shape can be found in various Codex.  

Along with sharing the etymology of the term of a quechquémitl with peers and faculty, the benefits of having this garment in a collection is also used as inspiration for new garments or construction of materials in fiber. For example, we find that in 1952 Edith Head, a film designer traveled to Mexico for five weeks and was deeply inspired by the garment “working with the two rectangular strips of cloth”. Through this investigation of the garment piece, we notice the influence and inspiring use of the variations and exploration of a piece used by indigenous people of America.

I’ve always felt a connection to the land and town my parents were born in. Strolling in the small town at night wearing a mañanita crocheted by my aunt. Keeping me warm during the cold nights in Mexico. Living in Chicago I felt honored and proud to wear my shawl that reminded me of my grandmother's home in Guanajuato. Learning the stories of the quechquemitl and origin reminds me of the layers and importance of knowing our own narratives and informs me of the resistance this garment has gone through. I feel empowered to learn and investigate the quechquemitl traces back to the Aztec people and I honor the women and people who continue a rich and valuable legacy of the pre-cuauhtemoc people.