66 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY—PUBLICATION NO. 4 
Light blue.—For lighter shades of blue, indigo is 
used, brought from El Salvador, in the form of irregu- 
lar cakes, by Momostenango merchants, who sell blan- 
kets there. There are said to be nine different grades 
of Salvador indigo, four or five of which come to 
Momostenango. Reported to have been used for- 
merly unadulterated, it is now generally mixed with 
sacatinta (Jacobinia spicigera; see p. 143), as is done 
by skirtweavers who dye cotton.1” 
Red.—Cochineal was used almost solely for red 
dye until about 1920,1°% according to several in- 
formants. Most of it came from Antigua. Since 
then, aniline dyes have been largely substituted or 
mixed with cochineal. Chinche negrita, or cinco 
nigritos, (Lantana camara), a small shrub growing 
in the woods in the Momostenango region, is 
gathered, and leaves, twigs, and flowers are boiled in 
water, along with cochineal. Limes, which act as a 
mordant, are cut in half or crushed and added to the 
dye mixture in the proportion of 40 or 50 limes to a 
wool “pound” (80 oz. avoirdupois, or, actually, 5 
Ib.)1°* German aniline dyes were being used to a 
large extent before 1940 for red, as for other colors, 
though it was invariably said that these were not so 
fast as “natural” dye-stuffs. Some weavers mixed 
aniline and cochineal, half and half, getting a deeper 
red than with the insect alone. 
Yellow.—Palo amarillo (Chlorophora tinctoria) is 
a fairly common tree throughout Central America, 
and supplies of the yellowish wood, from which a 
similar color is obtained by boiling it in water, come 
from the Mexican border region of Huehuetenango 
and from the Petén—Vera Paz territory. 
Purple.—Brasil (Haematoxylum brasiletto) is a 
well-known dyewood, which, when variously treated, 
may be made a source of different shades of reds and 
purples (see Standley, 1920-26, p. 419). It is for 
the latter color that it is most used in Momostenango. 
12 A wool weaver of Momostenango, José Barrera (pl. 33), explained 
that sacatinta is put in the water first, then, 2 days later, indigo, pow- 
dered on a metate, is added. It is left to stand, usually a week, some- 
times 2, until it becomes dark green and odoriferous, giving off bubbles 
of carbon dioxide. 
103 The price of cochineal was said to have decreased since about 1920, 
from 17-25 cents an ounce to 10 or 12 cents for second-grade, and 20 
cents for first-grade (whole insects). According to Ernesto Lang, prior 
to 1920, approximately 2,000 pounds was sold annually in the Momo- 
stenango market; now not over 100 pounds. Cochineal is still called 
“grana,” the name applied by the Spaniards after the Conquest, from 
the inferior predecessor, a related oak scale, kermes (hence, ‘‘crimson’’) 
originally thought to be seeds of plants. Dried cochineal (female scale 
insects) also resemble small grains or seeds. 
204 Mrs. Osborne (1935, p. 54) gives 30 as the number used, but she 
refers to limes as “lemons,” and a wool “pound’’ as an avoirdupois 
pound. (Limes are called limones in Guatemala and most of Latin 
America). 
The low-growing tree is common from Mexico to 
Colombia, apparently having its major abundance 
along the Pacific side. It is from Huehuetenango 
that Momostecos said they obtained their greatest 
supply. 
Green.—A mixture of cempeche (6 or 7 oz.) and 
palo amarillo (4-7 oz. for 5 lb. of yarn) is the usual 
formula for green, with indigo occasionally added to 
lighten the blue. 
Brown.—Bark of alders (aliso, Alnus spp.) which 
grow in the Momostenango region serves to dye yarn 
a deep reddish brown. 
Tie dyeing.—Jaspe effects are not uncommonly 
obtained on wool yarns in Momostenango, the bind- 
ings being made with tightly wrapped cotton cord 
(see p. 63). 
CANTEL ELECTRIC COTTON MILL 
Because of its importance to Indians and Ladinos 
throughout Southwest Guatemala, in supplying 
great quantities of cotton cloth, thread, and yarn, 
certain basic data regarding this textile factory will 
be given here, although it is not a hand industry. 
The mill was established in 1885, with 15 water- 
power looms. At the time of my visit (July 1936) 
there were about 500 laborers employed, most of 
them Indian women of Cantel, operating looms 
driven by hydroelectric power developed from the 
nearby Samala River (pl. 39, d). The machinery 
was all of English make, and the foreman of the 
mill was from Manchester. Of the raw cotton used 
in the mill, about 50 percent was said to be of local 
origin, mainly from the Pacific Lowlands between 
Mazatenango and the Mexican border; 15 percent 
from the United States; and approximately 35 per- 
cent from Nicaragua, a source which had become 
important only within the previous 3 years. Most of 
the cotton used was white, but some was the natural 
brown, employed only in the weft, brown-dyed white 
cotton being substituted for it in the warp. (See p. 
62, ftn. 96.) 
In those municipios where no characteristic cos- 
tumes are worn, practically all the basic white huipil 
cloth is Cantel material. Sometimes it is worn 
plain, sometimes elaborately embroidered, as at San 
Andrés Xectl and San Cristébal. Striped material 
is also produced on the Cantel looms, however. The 
manufacturers have made a careful study of native 
weaving patterns, and have imitated many of them 
with such success that much of their manufactured 
cloth was being sold to Indians in such municipios 
as Solola, to be made into costumes virtually in- 
