Altar Cloth with Double-Headed Eagles

Finely woven cloths covered altars in Catholic churches in Maya territory, and this example with ancient Maya animal motifs highlights the ever-present syncretism (overlap) between the two religious systems. The vibrant purple was likely achieved by extracting pigment from sea snails (Plicopurpura pansa [see technical note]) that live along the eastern Pacific coast from Mexico to Perú. Easily gathered at low tide, the snails eject a small amount of purple liquid; approximately 300 snails are needed to dye the threads for a woman’s wraparound skirt.

The central figure on this Chichicastenango altar cloth is a double-headed eagle. Most commonly found on textiles used for festive occasions or cofradía wear, the double-headed eagle in Chichicastenango is referred to as k’ot: “one head looking at the sky and the other looking at the earth.” This embodies the Maya concept of our world as the “skyearth,” or kajulew. The two bands of zigzag lines represent the sky and earth, unified by the bird. For the Spanish, however, this emblem represented King Charles V and the ruling Habsburg family. Thus, this altar cloth bridges the Maya and the Spanish by using a shared motif from the two different cultures.