Guatemala and Ecuador: Not So Native Dress
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In Guatemala and Ecuador, both home to large indigenous populations, we often admired the elaborate and regionally distinctive dress of native women.
Guatemala:
Ecuador:
At the same time, we’ve been reading Eduardo Galeano’s epic “Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent”, a sort of people’s history of Latin America. Galeano also takes note of indigenous dress: “Tourists love to photograph altiplano natives in their native costumes, unaware that these were imposed by Charles III at the end of the eighteenth century. The dresses that the Spaniards made Indian females wear were copied from the regional costumes of Estremaduran, Andalusian, and Basque peasant women, and the center-part hair style was imposed by Viceroy Toledo.”
Reflection
For better or worse, we haven’t taken many pictures of altiplano (highland) natives in their native costumes, even though indigenous people are all around us. But we love the handmade fabrics and different styles (especially the hip Ecuadorian hats). We’ve also been told repeatedly that indigenous women, especially those who wear traditional dress, are marginalized and denigrated by latinos (people of European or mixed ancestry who don’t identify as indigenous). Perhaps as a result, many younger indigenous women are adopting more Western dress, such as jeans and t-shirts.
It seems that the Spaniards’ approach was at least somewhat effective. Because indigenous women were dressed in exotic peasant outfits, they were and are visually marked as different - and in the eyes of many, as inferior.
Question
If one of the main purposes of ‘traditional’ dress has been to maintain ethnic segregation and inequality, should it be maintained, let alone celebrated? Are blue jeans and t-shirts a step towards equality… or a new form of externally dictated dress… or integration into Western forms of consumption… or…? What do you consider the purpose of your dress?
In Guatemala and Ecuador, both home to large indigenous populations, we often admired the elaborate and regionally distinctive dress of native women.
Guatemala:
Ecuador:
At the same time, we’ve been reading Eduardo Galeano’s epic “Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent”, a sort of people’s history of Latin America. Galeano also takes note of indigenous dress: “Tourists love to photograph altiplano natives in their native costumes, unaware that these were imposed by Charles III at the end of the eighteenth century. The dresses that the Spaniards made Indian females wear were copied from the regional costumes of Estremaduran, Andalusian, and Basque peasant women, and the center-part hair style was imposed by Viceroy Toledo.”
Reflection
For better or worse, we haven’t taken many pictures of altiplano (highland) natives in their native costumes, even though indigenous people are all around us. But we love the handmade fabrics and different styles (especially the hip Ecuadorian hats). We’ve also been told repeatedly that indigenous women, especially those who wear traditional dress, are marginalized and denigrated by latinos (people of European or mixed ancestry who don’t identify as indigenous). Perhaps as a result, many younger indigenous women are adopting more Western dress, such as jeans and t-shirts.
It seems that the Spaniards’ approach was at least somewhat effective. Because indigenous women were dressed in exotic peasant outfits, they were and are visually marked as different - and in the eyes of many, as inferior.
Question
If one of the main purposes of ‘traditional’ dress has been to maintain ethnic segregation and inequality, should it be maintained, let alone celebrated? Are blue jeans and t-shirts a step towards equality… or a new form of externally dictated dress… or integration into Western forms of consumption… or…? What do you consider the purpose of your dress?
2 Comments:
At 4:39 PM, Jen said…
How neat - you learn something new every day! I never thought to question the 'traditional dress' of a group of people like that. . . that it was forced upon them. That's very interesting, and creates a whole new dimension to it.
I would imagine, in some circumstances, that the indigenous dress that is forced upon a group can then become something empowering to them - they can re-interpret the meaning behind it.
I don't think it's up to us to decide if the look should be encouraged or maintained - I think the group themselves can make that decision. And of course there will be dissent. And if they choose to embrace it, then by all means, let's all celebrate it. If they don't embrace it, then we shouldn't . . .
And our question of this implies that similar things do not dictate our own dress. Of course they do, but no one is FORCING me to wear something. I think it's more subtle than that.
Since the dawn of time, people have chosen to wear certain things and adorn themselves with different decoration to show hierarchy, wealth and power. Whether we like it or not, we're a product of our own society.
It is sad though, that everything tends to move towards the 'western' clothing, like you mentioned people wearing tshirts and jeans. Just for the sake of something different, I'd love to see someone create something new when they move away from the traditional dress.
At 3:16 PM, lernerm said…
interesting to learn about what the Spaniards did (if indeed his account is accurate - I'd like to get confirmation). For me, clothes are mainly functional - the purpose of my dress is to keep me warm or cool. Unfortunately, I'm not free to dress exactly as I'd like (doctors in sneakers aren't respected by patients, or so says the research). But the American way of shopping for clothes to express who you are is to me just another manifestation of American materialism. If I want to use my clothes to express who I am, I can do that with a button, a handmade accessory, or by where I choose to get my clothes- from WalMart vs a union store. A question that I've always wondered about is why indigenous peoples sometimes wear clothes that look like that require a lot of upkeep and a lot of time to make, when they could be wearing something that is cheaper/easier to make, lasts longer and is easier to care for. I agree that tshirts and jeans may not be as pretty as some of the clothes you've taken pictures of, but they are easy to make and last a long time. Regarding your comment on the use of clothes to maintain ethnic segregation and inequality, that assumes that the clothes were imposed upon the minority - might it not be the case that a minority wears identifying clothes in order to maintain a sense of identity and to prevent assimilation - like the AMish perhaps?
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