INVESTIGATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

The Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Dress not only exhibits textile pieces from its collection, its commitment goes far beyond that: It is dedicated to the rescue of a living tradition.

This implies conserving the indigenous costumes, and documenting and investigating them in the communities where they are still used.  These activities are the “soul” of the museum: they transform it into a dynamic entity that continuously returns to society the intangible heritage hiding behind this millenary tradition.

The program of scientific investigation commenced in 1983, aiming to analyze the evolution of indigenous dress in diverse communities and the techniques used in its elaboration from the end of the 19th century.  The results, which served as the base for the montage of the textile exhibitions, are found in publications that contribute to the study of Guatemala’s ethnography, in particular that of Maya culture.