The back-strap loom is a tool used by women since ancient times to create textiles and other objects. It is built with two wooden poles or circular beams, where the warp thread (vertical strings) and the weft thread (horizontal strings) are placed. One of the circular beams is tied to a post or a tree, while the other is attached to a band or strap that goes around the weaver’s waist, creating the necessary tension; that is why it is called a back-strap loom. The loom measures between 60 and 70 centimeters (23.62 to 27.56 inches), a length that allows the weaver to move her arms easily and which also defines the width of the textile.
The thread is woven manually with heddle rods, which lift up and separate the even threads, while the step rods lift up the odd threads. The strands are brought tightly together with a long piece of wood called a “weaving sword” (it’s called tzotzopatztli in Nahuatl, or cuamachete). This tool is associated symbolically with meteorology, where some goddesses of water carry it to cut into the clouds and produce rain. In the same vein, the tzotzopatztli was used as sacrificial tool during Prehispanic festivals dedicated to the rain gods; this sword was used to remove the hearts of the tlaloque tepictoton, amaranth figures shaped like taloque-mountains.
Other auxiliary elements include combs to tighten the weave; the shuttle or bobbin to pass the thread through the warp; spines, bones or needles to adjust the thread; and spindle whorl and thread pot to tangle the thread. A simple back-strap loom can be used to make smooth and brocade canvases, whereas a more complex loom can make gauze blankets and warp brocades.
Spinning and weaving have been associated directly with the life cycles of women. Girls are taught this art at a very early age, and when women die, many are buried with their weavings and tools. This knowledge is passed from one generation to the next, and is a source of income for the weavers. Nevertheless, in spite of the beauty of the task, textile work carries negative health effects, since the prolonged use of the loom can wear down the bones in the lumbar vertebra.
In the Codex Tro-Cortesianus we find representations of masculine deities weaving and examples of the continuity of ixtle weavers in the Mezquital Valley region in Hidalgo. Currently several young men and adults have become interested in learning, practicing and spreading the tradition of back-strap weaving.
A good weaver is always given recognition in her community. Among the Mexicas, weaving was associated with the nobility and female virtue, as seen in speeches on morality given to daughters. The symbolic dimensions of weaving can be appreciated in myths, sculpture, codices and in the textiles themselves that women create and wear. Currently, several traditional Mesoamerican cultures believe the Virgin Mary is the patroness of female weavers, since she showed the first women the technique, and how to make figures and decorations, thereby granting them the gift of weaving. Setting up a loom and beginning to make a textile means to be connected to the ancestors and with the creation of the world.