CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTHWEST GUATEMALA—McBRYDE 51 
remains today in Patzim, though a dark blue capixai 
is worn at San Antonio Aguascalientes (pl. 44, c), 
not far away. It is likely that this was a widespread 
costume through much of the Highlands until rela- 
tively recent time. Many somewhat similar types 
may be seen today in the remote Cuchumatanes 
Mountain region (San Juan Atitan, e. g., where 
sandals like those of Todos Santos are worn; pl. 
Sie): 
Ceremonial dress.—Ceremonial and official dress 
brings into consideration a number of additional 
elements. A square, embroidered cloth with tasseled 
corners (zute; see pl. 8, b) is usually worn by such 
Indian dignitaries as village chiefs (intendentes) and 
elders in the religious brotherhoods (cofradias), 
either with or without a hat. The latter is most 
elaborate at Solola, where it is of shiny black “straw,” 
with cylindrical flat-topped crown, and band of 
bright-colored, figured Japanese silk ribbon. Indian 
officials carry stout canes, often of fine wood and 
capped with engraved silver (throughout Highland 
Guatemala and Chiapas). These must be carried at 
all times while on duty, but must be kept in the 
municipal office when not in use. Ceremonial dress 
also includes full-cut outer black loin pants worn 
over the ordinary cotton trousers. 
Costumes in areas of little differentiation.— 
Other than in the regions described above, the men’s 
costume in Southwest Guatemala consists of light 
cotton (usually blue denim) pants, full and gathered 
by a colored sash at the waist, and small at the bot- 
tom, reaching to just above the ankles; plain, white- 
buttoned shirt, and tight-fitting, blue coat that is 
intended to match the trousers. Such is the appear- 
ance of the men of the high Valley region of Quezalte- 
nango and Totonicapan (pls. 34, d, e; 38, b). They 
are practically indistinguishable, and determination of 
their provenience is usually a matter of conjecture, 
unless a special sash or some characteristic trade 
cargo might label them. 
Lowlands.—In the Lowlands, distinctive men’s 
dress is to be found only in colonies or recently 
separated groups from the Highlands. Clothing is 
usually scanty along the Coastal Plain, consisting of 
white (or blue) cotton trousers, often rolled above 
the knee, or loincloth. Shirts are sometimes worn, 
but men are generally nude above the waist (pls. 1, 
d; 3, b,c). A light, square cloth (pl. 3, d) most 
frequently red with blue-white dashed (jaspe) stripes 
and V marks, about 4 feet square, may be thrown 
over the shoulders and tied in front (or with the knot 
over the right shoulder). This is strikingly similar to 
the 1579 Capotitlan description (q. v., p. 48). An 
intelligent informant at Santo Domingo Suchitepe- 
quez said that until about 1890, Indian men in that 
region wore only loincloths, and women only skirts 
from their own stick looms, dyed with indigo. 
Costume changes.—Certain transformations that 
are taking place in men’s costume styles, some of 
those mentioned in the above discussion, are illus- 
trated in pl. 7, d, e, 7, k, l, m. More changes, not 
always “modernizations,” seem to have taken place 
during the past generation than during many years 
previous; the date most frequently given was about 
1910 (“25 years ago’). Roughly the chronology 
checks with facts apparent from Maudslay’s photo- 
graphs. Old Indians, for example, at Santiago 
Atitan in 1936 were wearing costumes identical with 
those depicted by the English archeologist (Mauds- 
lay, 1899, p. 43). 
WOMEN’S COSTUMES 
The two essential garments of Indian women in 
Southwest Guatemala are, unlike many elements of 
the men’s modern dress, pre-Columbian. They con- 
sist of the huipil (Aztec derivation), or loose-fitting 
upper garment having no true sleeves, and the enagua, 
or skirt, which is generally wrapped several times 
around the body and tucked in, and usually is sup- 
ported further with a tightly woven, stiff cloth belt, 
of cotton, wool, or silk, often reinforced with maguey 
fiber. Some skirts are full and pleated, with a draw- 
string (Quezaltenango, Chinautla). 
Huipils.—Huipil types, like certain features of 
men’s dress, are somewhat a matter of climate. In 
the warm Palin and Coban areas they are short and 
gauzy. In the still warmer Pacific Lowlands (except 
in certain Highland colonies) light-weight blouses of 
manufactured cloth are worn. At home these are 
usually discarded (pl. 2, d). Even on the street, 
women of certain villages of the Lowlands, such as 
San Bernardino Suchitepequez and San Sebastian 
Retalhuleu, wear only skirts, or they may keep within 
the law by draping a blouse loosely over their 
shoulders. They are, nevertheless, modest and care- 
ful in the extreme when it comes to bathing in the 
Mrs. Os- 
borne records having seen women ‘‘on roads near 
Retalhuleu” (probably natives of San Sebastian) 
rivers or otherwise exposing themselves. 
