Tejiendo Nuestras Historias
Somos un grupo de mujeres Maya Mam y miembras de Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), una organización que ayuda a la transformación personal y política de mujeres inmigrantes de Latinoamérica. A principios de este año nos juntamos en las oficinas de MUA en Oakland a compartir saberes de telares y emprender nuevos proyectos como cortes, huipiles, bufandas y morrales. En este espacio compartimos estilos propios de telar de las diferentes regiones donde pertenecemos. Hay 33 municipios en Huehuetenango, y dentro de ellos, hay 14 municipios donde se habla el idioma Mam. Guatemala tiene variantes de la lengua Mam así como sus diferentes estilos de telares.
En esta exhibición estarán representados tres municipios: Chimb’al (Santiago Chimaltenango), Torasant (Todos Santos Cuchumatan) y Xjan Xwan (San Juan Atitan). Fuimos testigas de nuestros logros personales con un gran poder de liderazgo para nuestra comunidad. Gracias a este proyecto, las mujeres Mam auto-gestionan transformación personal y comunitaria para crear fuerza y unidad en este país diferente a sus lugares de origen; entretejiendose y compartiendo sus historias personales.
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Photo: Fox Nakai
Nqo Chmon ja jun o b’aj qij
A qoy jun K’loj Xuj Maya Mam, b’ix jun k’loj Xuj q’il Twitz Aq’unt (MUA), nqwo’ne ti’j jun ch’ixpe’b’il ti’j kynab’il qe xuj in chi je’x oq tuj junt tnam tu’n tknet jun amb’il te aq’unt b’ix mo te tchwinqlalqe. Te t-xi’ qe ab’q’i luw, o tz’ok qchmon qib’e tuj jun ja MUA max tuj tnam te Oakland, tu’n etzal ti’j que nab’il ti’j chemj b’ix tu’n tch’iy a’k’aj aq’untl ti’j: amj, klob’aj, potzb’il tzib’aj b’ix pa. Tuj amb’il jlu, o qo yolni ti’j jun tumlal ti’ ten nb’ant jun chemj tuj jun tnam jatum in chi chmon qe xuj. At junk’al lajox kojb’il te kawib’il (municipio) tuj tnam te tchnab’jul, tujtzin tnam te chnab’jul at kyajlaj kojb’il te kawb’il jatum in chi yolin tuj qyol Mam. Tuj Tnam Paxil at nim ch’ixpeb’il yolb’il tij yol Mam, jatum nya junxta yolb’ilte, b’ix at jun ch’ixpeb’il ti’j jun aq’unt ti’j chemj, teyle’x junju b’an aq’unan ti’j chemj. At qnab’il b’ix at qipune tu’n t-xi’ qmane at min xuj q’il twitz nimxix aq’unt tuj jun kojb’il.
Tuj jun ye’ky’b’il jlu, chi tel ox kojb’il te kawb’il (municipio): a tnam te chimb’al (Santiago Chimaltenango), tnam te Torosant (Todos Santos Cuchumantan) b’ix tnam te Xjan Xwan (San Juan Atitán) jatum qe xuj te jun tnam kxe’l kye’ky’in a jun kye kyxilen, tu’ntzan ten kymojb’ab’il kyib’ tuj kytanm qe Me’x’, b’ix tu’n tok ti’pun kyanq’ib’il.
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Photo by Fox Nakai
Weaving our Stories
We are a group of Maya Mam women who are members of Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), an organization that supports the personal and political transformation of immigrant women from Latin America. Starting at the beginning of 2023, we began to gather at MUA offices in Oakland to share our knowledge of weaving and undertake new weaving projects: skirts, huipiles, scarves and bags. Weaving together in this space, we shared the distinct weaving styles from the different regions where we are from. There are 33 municipalities in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, and the Mam language is spoken in 14 of those. There are many different variations of the Mam language, just as there are different styles of weaving.
Three municipalities are represented in this exhibit: Chimb’al (Santiago Chimaltenango), Torasant (Todos Santos Cuchumatan) and Xjan Xwan (San Juan Atitan). We witnessed our personal accomplishments and the great power of leadership development in our community. Through this project, we continue to take charge of our own personal and community transformation to create strength and unity while living in a country that is different from our places of origin, interweaving and sharing our personal histories.
Installation photos by Scott Tsuchitani
Since 2022, we have been working with a cohort of women weavers originally from the following municipalities in Huehuetenango Guatemala: Todos Santos Cuchumatan, Xjan Xwan (San Juan Atitan) and Santiago Chimaltenango. Tejiendo Nuestras Historias is an opportunity to learn from the women about their weaving practices while uplifting and centering emerging women leaders and cultural practitioners of Maya Mam Backstrap Weaving.
A collaboration between Mujeres Unidas y Activas and NAKA Dance Theater
Exhibition on view August 12 - September 9, 2023 at East Side Arts Alliance
Tejiendo Nuestras Historias is a collaboration between Mujeres Unidas y Activas and NAKA Dance Theater and is generously funded by City of Oakland Neighborhood Voices Grant, the Women’s Catalytic Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation, a grant from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, in partnership with the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the California Arts Council Impact Projects Grant, the Rainin Fellowship and the Latino Community Foundation PoderArte Grant. NAKA Dance Theater is a fiscally sponsored project of Dancers’ Group. Many thanks to EastSide Arts Alliance for their support of this project!
Photo by Fox Nakai