The Amazing One and Only Nim Pot

There is no other store in the world quite like this marvelous emporium of all things handmade and Guatemalan with an emphasis on all things textile

What Cargo is to Portland, what ABC Carpet and Home is to NYC, what Watson Kennedy is to Seattle,  Nim Pot, which is also the name of a full length Mayan ceremonial robe, is to all of Guatemala. Like all these stores, Nim Pot appears to be a la labor of love by a visionary owner who also has a little bit of the maximalist hoarder gene. 

At first glance you might think you’ve stepped into a giant  souvenir shop (which it is) but you’d be missing the probably single largest collection of Mayan textiles ever assembled in one place. And it’s not a museum,  you can touch and buy them too!   

This wall shown above, all organized by regions and very tidy, went on for a while. Be still my beating heart. Mostly huipiles but also ponchos, stacks of red and white striped handwoven men’s pants, children’s clothes and yardage. Everything is used but in good condition. Don’t have a photo but there were also two huge tables full of torn, extra worn, and stained pieces. Here’s a link to a video that presents a different side of the used textile business in Guatemala. Full disclosure  - I need to educate myself more about this sensitive subject. No one wants to be exploiting these talented weavers when buying huipiles so take a look and see what you think here  

Then two aisles of the best of the best, vetted, vintage huipiles, dancers outfits, and belts - all very tidy and hanging on display rods. Again, most of it was organized by community so you could really study the nuances and variations on a theme but get a sense for the overarching style. Yes we died and went to heaven. Frankly, it was more than I could take in. Heaven was exhausting. Went back the next day too. 

The whole back wall was filled with these beaded, sequined Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band meets Napoleonic French soldier in the highlands of Guatemala ceremonial outfits (photo above) which they described as warlocks outfits. I wanted to buy ALL of them in the worst way. If I still had the store at least one would have been coming home with me.

Then there were two floor to ceiling walls of masks almost all vintage. 

Then trinkets galore including this bowl of slingshots,

an old canoe full of hacky sacks,

and even hand rolled tobacco cigars. Plus kites, worry dolls, beaded jewelry and pretty much any kind of

souvenir ever made in Guatemala. Nothing about this store says restraint. Another notable thing about Nim Pot was that despite the fact that it looks like it takes a veritable army of elves to fold and stack everything, the salespeople were inconspicuous and low key. This is the opposite if the extra attentive sales pressure you find in so so many places here in Guatemala and a somewhat welcome relief  It was a great place to start our textile adventure. 

What Just Happened? On travel and Corona

My friend said, “Textiles?”, and I said, “Guatemala?” 

Well actually I said, “I’d love to go to Michoacán but there’s that dreaded state department warning and if textiles are the driving force then Guatemala it is.”  Plus I did have that old huipile I wanted to find out more about.

So there we were - three weeks overland from Guatemala to Oaxaca City and then 10 days in Oaxaca before I started a tour.  We never took the infamous chicken buses although I couldn’t get enough of their funky vibe and great names like La Princesita above. 

But we took loads of tuk tuks and the time

in the gorgeous Lake Atitan involved lots of boat rides which alwayas feels like a special adventure to me. 

Still who would have guessed that in just a few months the world would be shut down, my tuk tuk drivers would be texting me desperate for food and help, and the slow realization that I would be out of the tour business for a couple of years was creeping up on me  

Not going to lie. It’s been pretty traumatic. I had to cancel my Oaxaca Art tour at the last minute which involved a flurry of emails, phone calls, cancellations and rescheduling. Technically it’s been rescheduled and we shall see. Then the state department said “Come home now” and so another flurry of uncertainty and stress. But at the end of the day, I fell in love with Guatemala, learned some of the Maya and their ways and generally had a fantastic trip. I’ve used my time in quarantine to read a slew of books on textiles, unpack and savor everything I bought, and do some writing. It has felt good to have the time to reflect. I know all of us are questioning what it means to have a life without travel. And I know many who depend on tourism for their income are suffering. For me, it’s hard but I know it won’t last forever and it’s making me savor the memories more. 

It’s Good to have a Mission

 

Okay morning glories, here’s the story - I bought this beautiful huipil shown above about eight years ago in a shop in Oaxaca. I bought it mostly because it looked good on me, it felt good to wear it and the handfeel was nice as it was used and had clearly been washed many times.  This was one of those pieces of clothing that felt like an old friend.

It was only after I had owned the piece for several months that I started to notice some things. First I saw there were letters and numbers woven into the design. When I looked more closely I noticed the letters USA and tuyo were woven into the shoulder panels. Whoa!!!  This was some skillful weaving in that the designs were almost hidden, barely visible. The weaver had used color as camouflage. But once you started looking, you just kept seeing more and more. The piece was revealing itself to me but slowly. It was striped red, white and blue (with the faintest shot of silver thread through it as is the fashion in some communities).  And then, and I couldn’t believe my eyes at first, I saw dollar signs woven into the center panel of the garment. What? American flag? USA? $$$ ?  Made on a backstrap loom in Guatemala?  What exactly was going on here?

I asked some anthropologists friends and textile loving friends including the shopkeeper I bought the piece from. We all had our theories but they were just that. No one really knew.

With a little bit of research and a false start or two and mostly the help of Deborah  Chandler’s 2009 book Guatemalan Woven Wealth, I was able to identify the place my piece was made as coming from San Juan Atitlan near Huehuetenango. There  appears to be a custom here of weaving words into their clothing. Chandlers book had an example that said “Feliz” And “Corazón” And even one that said “Estados Unidos”.  I have also seen pieces that said “Japan” and “Pepsi”.  But none of the examples were as skillfully woven as mine, a real masterpiece. 

I mean what exactly is going on here? Is there some longing for faraway places and things? Or have they always woven items of desire into their clothing? Do they put prayers for things they want and places they want to see into the garment? It used to be a good harvest and health now it’s Pepsi and dollar signs? Has literacy replaced age old symbolism or is this innovation? And what’s with those commercial round red flower pieces sewn on the shoulders?  You’ll notice I’m using a lot of question marks.

And so this, dear reader, is what  is propelling me to leave the comforts of my little home in Oregon and venture into the outback’s of Guatemala. Maybe, and it’s a big maybe, if I venture out to this village of which I know pretty much nothing, except it will take me an hour to traverse the 15 mile road from the state capital to its town square, just maybe I can find someone who can tell me more about what’s happening in this work. The huipil is definitely talking to me.  I’m just not sure what it’s saying. And San Juan Atitlan may be the only place I can find a translator. So wish me luck. And fingers crossed I won’t take a wrong turn and I’ll stay open to whatever happens.