©2005 by Christine Kolowith

In the twentieth century, Señora Petra and many other women of Las Placitas, New Mexico, participated in village labors and made crucial efforts for its livelihood: “The people who built Las Placitas made their village of the material they found on the ground and they put the material together with their own hands. Likewise all the food they ate and the clothing that they wore were the results of their own efforts, and they possessed nothing aside from the fruits of their own labors.”1 Weaving was one of Petra’s greatest efforts, for she was an “expert weaver of wool.”2 She was known for her weaving skills throughout the village and supported her family with commodities earned through trade. Petra wove on her homemade treadle loom every day, passing her weaving knowledge and traditions to other village women and to her own family.3 Her skills were reflected in her art, while also showing purpose. Petra clothed her entire family using her exceptional weaving skills. But, one might ask, what influenced Señora Petra’s weaving techniques? When did weaving traditions begin and who introduced the art of weaving to villages like Las Placitas?

Dating back as early as the seventeenth century, the craft of weaving has been recorded as a pastime, art form, and necessity of everyday life for women of the Pueblo and Navajo Indian peoples of New Mexico. Throughout this time, traditions and techniques of weaving took several different forms and changed both design and process. Spanish life in New Mexico influenced the indigenous cultures in the region. The Spaniards introduced European weaving techniques in the late 1630s, manipulating the progression of this native art form in New Mexico. As time passed, this Spanish influence also shaped the development of Hispano weaving techniques. The introduction of Spanish technique, equipment, and resources sparked changes in weaving, mimicking Spanish style and form while employing the neighboring indigenous visual art forms. A new style emerged, referred to as Chimayó weaving and named for its village of origin. The village subsequently became the “center of Hispanic weaving,” and has remained so for the last two hundred years.4 Similar to Navajo weavers, Chimayó women, such as Señora Petra, have been crucial participants in the weaving process since Chimayó’s establishment. The development of Chimayó weaving can be traced back centuries, labeled as the culmination of multiple cultures and time periods, progressing independently into a desirable hybrid craft that is still practiced and respected in the twenty-first century.

In the late sixteenth century, led by the infamous Don Juan de Oñate, the Spanish began their journey to the territory known today as New Mexico.5 These settlers searched for land and the labor of the Pueblo Indians. The Spaniards who came north from what is now Mexico brought with them European treasures that would influence the lives of those men and women living in the territory of New Mexico. Upon arrival, the Spaniards formed a settlement in San Juan in 1598, but the colony was abandoned shortly after, resulting in the settlement of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1607. As the Spanish settled Santa Fe, it “quickly stepped into the modernity of the 17 th century.”6 The Spaniards enslaved many native peoples in the region because of the settlers’ desire for labor to support their industrial, agricultural, and social needs. The Spanish and Pueblo Indians became linked by the repartimiento system. In this Zuni Pueblo woman weaving a belt on upright loom. (B.A.E. report, 1882.)

system, the Indian population paid tribute to the Spanish landlords in exchange for the Spaniards’ protection. These payments, which were often made with woven textiles and clothing, began the legacy of Chimayó weaving as it is known today. The Classic Period, dating from 1598 through the 1870s, began with the arrival of the Spaniards in the territory of New Mexico, combining the weaving techniques of the natives and the Spanish settlers.7 The Pueblo Indians developed a unique weaving style for religious ceremonies.8 The loom, or telar , that the Pueblos used was very straight-forward in form and function. The Indians constructed the looms upright, with fixed tension made possible by a simple, single warp. The warp created “the longitudinal threads of a textile” that formed openings into which thread was inserted.9 The weavers fastened the warp at each end and pulled it taut to create the desired rigidity. They often tied one end to a central beam in a room or to a nearby tree. The opposite end fastened onto a smaller stick often held in the weaver’s lap, or attached to a belt or garment the weaver was wearing. The native peoples used this ancient weaving technique to make garments and textiles as payment to the Spaniards.

Weaving was not only a Pueblo Indian skill. Europeans wove as well. On their ships, the Spaniards brought the blueprints for the European treadle loom, one of the most magnificent textile devices ever constructed. The Spaniards introduced the treadle loom to the Pueblo Indians shortly after their arrival. With the help of the native peoples, the Spanish constructed these looms and procured Pueblo Indian labor. Not only were the Indians expected to weave on their own looms for the Spaniards, but the Spanish also forced them to weave on treadle looms. The colonists exploited the Indians in order to supply Spanish shops with textiles. The treadle loom was more complicated and bulkier than the upright, fixed-tension loom, but it did have weaving advantages. It allowed the weaver to reach further on the loom, making the standing position less stressful on the weaver’s body.

The treadle loom itself is a piece of artwork, demonstrating craftsmanship and quality design. According to Lucero and Baizerman, “the (treadle) loom is a device for holding warp threads under tension in order to interlace weft threads.”10 A treadle loom has two beams, the cloth beam and the warp beam, and the actual warp is stretched taut and held in between the two. The cloth beam holds the fabric once woven, while the warp beam holds the unwoven warp itself. With a technique called “winding the warp,” the weaver measures the length of the threads to create a uniform warp.11 The weaver then threads the warp into the reed, a comb-like device, and then through the heddle frame, which creates the textile’s design. At this point, the warp is attached to the previously mentioned warp beam, introducing tension. Once the warp is taut, the weft yarn is prepared. This yarn is placed on a bobbin, as it is removed from the swift, on which it has been stored since spinning. The bobbin is then put in a shuttle, which allows the yarn to pass easily through the warp.

p>At this point, the weaver can begin weaving the warp. The treadle loom, or walking loom, was named for its function.12 While weaving, the weaver must continuously shift her weight on the treadles. By stepping on the treadles, or foot pedals of the loom, the warp creates openings, or sheds, through which the shuttle is passed to begin the design. As the weaver passes the shuttle through the warp, she must use a beater. The beater appropriately lines up the weft after each pass. After the shuttle passes through, the weaver pushes the beater against the weft to tighten the design. This process may be repeated hundreds and even thousands of times to create a single woven textile

or garment. When the artist finishes the process, she removes the garment from the loom as a finished product. On upright, fixed-tension looms, only one piece is woven at a time. When the warp is complete, the textile is finished on all sides. However, the treadle loom allows for multiple pieces to be woven on the same warp. A space is left between pieces, and when removed from the loom, the warp is cut and knotted into fringes. The native peoples did not develop or use this method; it is a hispano technique.

Despite the fact that the Pueblo Indians learned new weaving skills, they soon resented the Spaniards and the forced labor system. Shortly after the Spanish arrival, the Pueblo Revolt in 1680 ended the repartimiento system. The revolt drove the Spaniards out of New Mexico. But intermarriage between the Spanish and Indian populations prior to the revolt gave birth to the mixed hispano population. In addition to marriage, Spanish families began to capture, adopt, and trade Indian children, thereby initiating another cultural connection. These children continued passing on their indigenous weaving traditions, while adapting the Spaniard’s weaving techniques. They were often required to weave garments and goods for their adopted families. Interethnic marriages and family integration affected the shared indigenous and Spanish cultures and their respective weaving techniques.

After a short time, in 1692, the Spaniards reestablished colonies in the area and initiated the reintroduction of weaving as a popular art form. The new settlement prompted the formation of sheep ranches in the northern New Mexican village of Rio Abajo. The sheep, called churro sheep, were a hardy breed that lived longer and produced more wool than other breeds. Accordingly, the nomadic Navajo Indians encountered the Spaniards as a result of the Navajos’ perpetual raiding of the Spaniards’ churro sheep ranches. Living in close proximity to each other, the Spanish and Navajo began to exchange their respective weaving techniques and traditions. This exchange combined the three essential weaving forms found in Chimayó weaving, the Pueblo, the Spanish, and the Navajo: “Chimayó weaving [became] a unique synthesis—a distinct, regional weaving tradition in the New World.”13

The Navajo Indians learned weaving techniques from the Pueblo Indians, mimicking the use of the upright, fixed-tension loom. The Navajo adopted the craft in the seventeenth century, and eventually their weaving techniques became considered exclusively as a Navajo craft. They adopted the techniques and made them their own.

The Navajo rapidly excelled at weaving and became known as the most skilled weavers in the Southwest. They often obtained their weaving materials from wool stolen from the Spaniards’ sheep. Later, Navajo weaving became more desirable than Spanish or Pueblo woven textiles.

The Late Classic Period, at the turn of the nineteenth century, brought about the decline of Pueblo and Navajo weaving due to an increased demand for commercial weaving. Spanish techniques of weaving became more popular because, with the Spanish treadle loom, weavers produced weaves more rapidly. Due to the commercial appeal of Spanish woolen textiles, the sheep industry expanded. As the need for wool grew in demand, the breeding of Churro sheep also increased. The Spanish managed to create quite a lucrative trade.

At the same time, the hispano population of New Mexico popularized hispano weaving styles. Their weaving reflected their culture and “the families’ tie to heritage and ethnicity…self-reliance, pride, self-sufficiency, versatility, and skill.”14 According to Lucero and Baizerman, the hispano population grew by an unexpected 86 percent by the 1850s. As the population grew, so did the interest in weaving and textile design. Unlike the Pueblo Indians, hispano weavers “wove textiles for clothes, for warmth, and for utilitarian use.”15Hispano weaving did not reflect religious or ceremonial purposes in the same way that Pueblo weaving did, but it was recognized as a functional and viable art medium and form. This growth prompted the hispano weaving trade. Hispanos proved to be organized and successful art dealers, often producing and

selling Navajo-influenced textiles and authentic Navajo blankets. They also created their own weaving communities in family units and as commercial weavers. In these communities, the women were integral players, both processing the wool and weaving garments and other textiles. They refined their weaving skills in these communities, and continuously educated each other in the art for decades to come.

Hispano women, similar to Pueblo Indian women, prepared wool from yarn preparation to spinning. The process began with sheep shearing, most likely by a man. After the men sheared wool fibers, the women began preparing the wool. The first step in preparation was to comb the wool. By combing the woolen fibers between two large combs, the fibers became aligned on a parallel plane. After alignment, the fibers were drawn and spun with the help of a drop spindle. This spindle is “a tool used for spinning yarn, consisting of a weighted stick or rod.”16 The spinning action of the spindle twists the wool fibers into yarn, collecting it on a spool. After being wrapped around the spool, the yarn is ready to be used. This method dates back to the early Pueblo Indians and was used in Spanish homes by the native Pueblo slaves. Like the Pueblo Indians, hispanos used these methods to process their wool.

During the Classical Period, colored yarn was limited to natural tints and shades, mimicking the colors of the sheep themselves. Browns, blacks, and whites were most easily attainable. Natural dyes were also used when available: indigo, a blue dye derived from shrubs and herbs from the pea family, and cochineal, a red dye made of the dried and milled bodies of female cochineal insects. Other dyes came from various indigenous plants in the area. Later, commercial products started to replace handspun and naturally dyed yarns.

The Transitional Period, from 1870 to 1920, introduced commercial textile products from England and companies in larger commercial textile regions, such as Pennsylvania. England offered chemically produced dyes for tinting spun wool as early as the year 1856, and the market for them grew shortly afterwards. These dyes offered the hispanos and the Navajos more diversity in their woven materials. They provided more colors in each piece, saved weavers valuable time, and allowed for the reproduction of wool colors. By the 1880s, the use of these synthetic dyes spread throughout the Southwest. These dyes exuded magnificent colors, including lavenders, pinks, blues, reds, and oranges that were otherwise unattainable with most natural dyes. In addition to dyes, a Pennsylvania company in Germantown introduced commercial yarns, pre-dyed and ready to use. These yarns and dyes also caught the interest of hispano and Navajo weavers, and the demand soon began to grow in New Mexico.

The framework of woven materials also changed during the Transitional Period. Cotton warps replaced handspun yarn warps. Although neither Navajos nor hispanos used cotton warps exclusively, they supplemented many woven textiles, due to their strength and pliability.

Despite the introduction of new and advanced weaving materials, commercial goods began to replace the hard work and efforts of hispano and Navajo weavers. The changes during this period resulted in another decline in hand-woven textiles. Fortunately, hope was restored when entrepreneurs such as Jake Gold began to market woven textiles to tourists in the Southwest.17 The market for these goods took off, and hand-made woven materials found a new niche.

As this transition occurred, the practice of weaving increased because of its artistic value. Hispano families, unaware of the value of their products, often sold Chimayó blankets for money to local merchants. In turn, these textiles soon became collectors’ items of increasing value by the early 1900s. Within the next twenty years, the market for hand-made hispano textiles reached its peak, becoming important commodities in the tourist trade.

For decades to come, the hispano population demanded respect from the art world. During the Modern Period, beginning in the 1920s, there was a heightened emphasis on the aesthetic value of the art form. The trade expanded because of high demand, and hispano weavers worked under contract for trade dealers. This ensured the desired product for the dealers themselves and kept up the competition between trade shops.

The Modern Period also saw an increase in women weavers. For hundreds of years, men had been the visible artists behind weaving. Navajo and Pueblo women commonly wove garments and goods for their families. Unfortunately, the men were the only members allowed to weave for trade and, therefore, pushed hispano women out of the scene. According to Lucero and Baizerman, “even though women were involved with production weaving behind the scenes, it was a picture of a male weaving industry that was portrayed by Anglo(s).”18 Women did most of the work in preparing the materials, but they rarely received any credit. In this era, women weavers began emerging into the spotlight. In the past, women had been limited to weaving in the home, making clothing and goods for the family. Slowly, women began to put their faces on production weaving.

As a native of New Mexico, born in 1898, Agueda Martínez became an expert weaver. At age ten, she began weaving under the instruction of an elderly neighbor, and she refined her skills during her marriage to a well-known Chimayó weaver, Eusebio Martínez. This marriage combined centuries of weaving knowledge and technique. Agueda Salazar Martínez’s history is linked to the Navajos by her great-grandfather, a Navajo weaver raised by a Spanish family. Eusebio Martínez descends from generations of weavers from the Chimayó region. Together they developed Agueda’s weaving skills, and today she is known as the “matriarch of Hispanic weaving.”19 Her weaving skills made her known worldwide, and supported her financially and motivationally for decades. To continue the passage of Chimayó weaving skills, she taught each of her daughters and granddaughters the important skill and art of weaving. Agueda Martínez also continued her weaving legacy through a 1977 weaving documentary, entitled Agueda Martínez, Our People, Our Country. This video captures the art of weaving and the inspiration

behind Agueda’s work. The video also increased the demand for her work, and today many museums display her work in their permanent collections. Along with Agueda Martínez, many other women made their mark in weaving: Juanita Jaramillo Lavadie, Teresa Archuleta Sagel, and Irene López, to name a few.

As time passed, women continued to increase their visibility in the weaving market. Lucero and Baizerman concluded that by 1983, 76 percent of hispano weavers in several New Mexico counties were women.20 Women also began to incorporate weaving into their everyday lives as the Navajo women had centuries before. These women created weaving communities, and taught each other the craft. Oftentimes, apprentice relationships formed between family members or community members to learn the trade. Today these types of relationships are still visible in New Mexican communities.

Tierra Wools, located in the Chama River Valley, is a weaving cooperative in New Mexico that understands the importance of community. The company, started in 1982, teaches hispano weaving techniques, including dyeing, spinning, weaving, and production marketing.21 Tierra Wools employs over twenty-three families from the community and continuously supports local ranchers, keeping wool in demand. This company practices “centuries-old wool-growing and weaving traditions,” turning these traditions into “money-making ventures.”22 Their efforts at weaving revival also include sheep breeding, reintroducing natural dyes, and reviving dying weaving art forms.

The Rag Rug Revival is another attempt at the restoration of historical weaving techniques. The revival began in Santa Fe in 1988, attracting women that could not afford to purchase expensive commercial wools and allowing them to create their own techniques.23 The initial development of the hispano rag rug was in the late nineteenth century. Although this craft was not hispano in origin, the hispano weavers used the rags as yarn, unlike any other culture of rag rug weavers. Instead of introducing the rags directly in the weft, the hispanos first spun the rags, like yarn, producing a tighter weave. The Rag Rug Revival celebrates this century-old craft, emphasizing the importance of the community and promoting the cultural bond that the craft offers. Not only does this festival celebrate its own hispano culture, but it also encourages women from all cultures to get involved and learn about its history and weaving techniques.

Over the last two centuries, weaving has made great strides and undergone many transformations. Despite the progression of products, materials, and techniques, many still employ original weaving techniques. Companies such as Tierra Wools and festivals, including the Rag Rug Revival, are beginning to influence the use of older, traditional weaving styles. Natural, homespun yarns and pure, organic dyes once again have become desirable. Also, a historical and cultural community bond has reemerged through weaving.

Chimayó weaving developed as a result of multicultural exchanges. The Pueblo Indians, the Navajos, and the Spaniards each contributed to the development of the process, from shearing to weaving. Each culture introduced native and learned techniques, affecting the methods of the others. Chimayó weaving is an amazing art form that developed over the centuries, transforming the traditions of New Mexican culture, heritage, and ethnicity.

1. Tey Diana Rebolledo and María Teresa Márquez, eds., Women’s Tales from the New Mexico WPA ( Houston: Arte Público Press, 2000), 332.
2. Ibid, 332.
3. European-influenced loom that the Spaniards brought to New Mexico.
4. Helen R. Lucero and Suzanne Baizerman, Chimayó Weaving: The Transformation of a Tradition (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1999), 6.
5. The Spanish king, Phillip II, sent Oñate to take possession of New Mexican territory in 1595.
6. Andrew K. Gregg, New Mexico in the Nineteenth Century: A Pictorial History (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1968), p 2.
7. For the dating system for Hispano weaving, see Lucero and Baizerman, Chimayó Weaving, x.
8. Warren Honaberger, “The Threads of Culture,” Santa Fe New Mexican 9 Sept. 2002, C1.
9. Lucero and Baizerman, Chimayó Weaving, 210.
10. Ibid., 161.
11. Ibid., 162.
12. Marian Goad, “Woman Weaves Business Around Textiles,” Santa Fe New Mexican, 8 Oct 1996, D1.
13. Lucero and Baizerman, Chimayó Weaving, 183.
14. Ibid., 179.
15. Honaberger, “The Threads of Culture,” C1.
16. Lucero and Baizerman, Chimayó Weaving, 208.
17. Gold was a collector of Indian goods and antiques, and a specialist in curios.
18. Lucero and Baizerman, Chimayó Weaving, 97.
19. Ibid., 148.
20. Ibid.,100.
21. Goad, “Woman Weaves Business,” D1.
22. Nancy Plevin, “Time Looms Heavy,” Santa Fe New Mexican, 9 July 1995, A1.
23. Tracy Dingmann, “Rags Form Fabric of Tiny Community of Weavers,” Albuquerque Journal, 6 July 2000, F4.

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