Maya Chuy (Morgan)

Chuy is the Mayan word for embroidery. The traditional hupil, a dress worn by Mayan women, can be seen throughout the region. This indigenous technique has been wonderfully preserved over the years, and is today a thriving business that allows female artisans a step into the otherwise male-dominated world of entrepreneurship. Embroidery is perhaps the most striking of the crafts in the Yucatain. The bright, intricately woven floral patterns certainly catch the eye. Other local products include bags and baskets made from hennequen, sisal and palm leaves (all local raw material), delicate paper flowers and butterflies, silver jewelry, wooden jars and bowls, hammocks, wax figurines, paintings and wooden toys for children.

I recently had the opportunity to visit a local non-profit organization that works with local craftswomen. Tumben kinam encourages female entrepreneurship by helping individual women and cooperatives develop their products by coaching them on what type of merchandise sells in the modern market. They encourage women who have a skill for embroidery to produce handbags, coin purses, eyeglass cases and t-shirts in addition to the traditional hupil. Such products tend to appeal to the western tourist market present in the Yucatan, and allow the merchandise the flexibility to be exported to the United States and Europe, where they bring a higher price. Tumben kinam, directed by Sra. Sylvia Teran, also helps link the women with venders, one of which is the government-backed Casa de las Artesanias. Established in 1978, the project seeks to rescue and preserve indigenous craftsmanship by maintaining a market for traditional crafts. The organization stocks large stores in most major cities in Mexico with ware from local artesans. Casa de las Artesanias keeps two shops in Merida, one in the Centro and another on the Paseo Montejo. Featured in several guidebooks, these stores are the ideal starting point for those interested in artesanal crafts.

The work of local craftspeople is a daily sighting in Merida. From hupil-clad Mayan women on the bus to hammocks swinging on porches to woven Sisal shopping bags in the Supermarket, one is constantly reminded of the presence of Mayan culture in the Yucatan. Indigenous crafts therefore is one of the essential points of culture in the Mexican Yucatan.