Aguacatan Cinta, Traditional Hair Wrap or Head Dress
The women's traje has as it's focus a beautiful single-faced weft- brocaded cinta (hair ribbon) woven on a backstrap loom on a traditional base of red cotton with two white warp-edge stripes. It is generally between six and eight feet long, richly brocaded, and finished with a set of three large tassels at each end. The motifs employed include stylized bird, plant and human forms, as well as geometric registers. The brocaded figures in the antique cinta were sparser, revealing the red base. New cintas in the antique style are still woven and are generally worn by older women. The newer style features a dense brocade that virtually covers the base cloth in a cool green and blue palette, although in the last few years a red-biased warm color scheme has been emerging. The cinta is first wound around the ponytail, covering it and taking up most of the cinta's length. The ponytail is then wrapped halo-like around the head with a section displayed across the top of the head, protecting the nahual spot. The arrangement of the cinta is calculated to leave the pompoms hanging beside the ears.
Description
The women's traje has as it's focus a beautiful single-faced weft- brocaded cinta (hair ribbon) woven on a backstrap loom on a traditional base of red cotton with two white warp-edge stripes. It is generally between six and eight feet long, richly brocaded, and finished with a set of three large tassels at each end. The motifs employed include stylized bird, plant and human forms, as well as geometric registers. The brocaded figures in the antique cinta were sparser, revealing the red base. New cintas in the antique style are still woven and are generally worn by older women. The newer style features a dense brocade that virtually covers the base cloth in a cool green and blue palette, although in the last few years a red-biased warm color scheme has been emerging. The cinta is first wound around the ponytail, covering it and taking up most of the cinta's length. The ponytail is then wrapped halo-like around the head with a section displayed across the top of the head, protecting the nahual spot. The arrangement of the cinta is calculated to leave the pompoms hanging beside the ears.