Women Weavers, Warrior Goddesses: Textile Tradition in the Zapotec Region of Southern Oaxaca

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to understand in an integral way the role of the waist stick looms in stories from Zapotec communities in the south of Oaxaca, where characters like virgins and naguales use these sticks as weapons to fight and defend the people. We reviewed images from Aztec codices where goddesses appear and they are associated with fabric and war. Other important sources for our analysis are scenes of Mixtec codices, as well as archeological objects from the central valleys of Oaxaca. The main goal is to provide elements that support the approach of the symbolic relationship between the tissue and the war in Mesoamerica.