Abstract

RIVERA GARCIA, Mariana Xochiquétzal. Wefts and warps: The Textile Universe in the Ethnographic Audiovisual Archive films. Iztapalapa. Rev. cienc. soc. humanid. [online]. 2021, vol.42, n.91, pp.93-119.  Epub Nov 01, 2021. ISSN 2007-9176.  https://doi.org/10.28928/ri/912021/atc4/riveragarciam.

Textile arts are part of Mexican identity and collective worldview. They have captivated many anthropologists who have studied this universe and how it renders meaning to Mexican indigenous people. What kind of analogy is there between the language of textile work and that of film? Our standing point is that textile work is a way of seeing the world and representing it. It is therefore a means through which knowledge and experience of both natural and cultural environment is conveyed, but it is also a common ground on which this collective worldview is ‘weaved’. Is it possible for audiovisual ethnographic language to understand and convey such knowledge? This article analyzes films produced by the Ethnographic Audiovisual Archive, that explore textile practices among different indigenous groups in Mexico.

Keywords : filmic memory; women; film experiences; indigenous people; anthropology.