
A friend called my attention to a Wikipedia entry about Textiles of Mexico. I haven't had a chance to read the article yet but I did notice a major error in the identification of this costume (traje) from the Nahua community of Cuetzalan, Puebla. In Wikipedia this is described as "Tzotzil garb..." The Tzotzil are a Maya ethnic group from Chiapas Mexico. Tzotzil clothing is quite varied from community to community, but this is clearly from Cuetzalan. The quechquemitl cape is not made nor worn in Chiapas. Mis-identifications of Mexican indigenous clothing are all too common, even in Mexico. I recently visited the lovely Belber-Jimenez Museum in Oaxaca which has a collection of very fine regional costumes. Unfortunately, about half of the ID cards were switched around and therefore did not identify the correct garments.