There are numerous stories concerning weaving in the many traditions of the world. For instance, among the Maya of Mesoamerica, weaving imitates the creation of the world by the gods. The act of creation or the "stretching out of the earth" by the four gods of the Chilam Balam has been conceptualized within a weaving paradigm for many of the Mayan people since Precolumbian times. The stretching out of time and space "evokes an image of the weaver who readies the warp cords on her loom." The undulating topography of the Mayan mythos is composed of tangled nets, twisted threads, and matted folds. This cluttered conception of the earth and the crowded and disordered under world is contrasted to the orderly, heavenly weave of vertical and horizontal elements in the sky. Where heaven and earth meet, there is a "giant cosmic seam" that is further envisioned as a giant spindle.
The Symbolism is carried a bit further as the textile that is being woven mimics the growing child within the womb. Contemporary Mayan women continue this "weaving" of culture and life. As the Quiche Mayan Nobel laureate, Rigoberta Menchu, has stated weaving imitates "the form of the ancestors." Together with the Mayans, the Andean peoples weave their stories and myths into their clothing. They attire themselves in their myths, legends, and folk stories which, at times, are displayed in their clothing. Histories merge with these tales, augmenting a powerful tradition. The visual metaphors that evolve link these indigenous peoples through their ancestors and varied cultures to the beginnings of time forging an identity and creating a sense of security and order. The daily dress cultivates this harmony. Thus, it can be said that weavers are bearers of tradition and are representatives of the Archetypal Feminine.
Within Greek mythology, such a woman is Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus, who resists the many suitors during Odysseus's ill-fated journey home. For three years, she removes threads from a shroud that she is weaving for Odysseus' father. If Penelope finishes the shroud, then she must marry one of the many suitors. Her resistance proves successful upon the return of her husband.
Within modern mythology, Arwen presents Aragorn with a banner symbolizing the resurrection of an ancient kingdom. In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Arwen personally weaves the banner as a fulfillment of hope and the defeat of a creeping anarchy represented by Sauron, the lord of the rings. Walt Disney replicates this important casting of weaving in his adaptation of Charles Perrault's Sleeping Beauty except that the spindle or distaff assumes an evil characteristic. Maleficent prophesizes that Princess Aurora will die upon pricking her finger upon a spinning wheel's distaff. Therefore, the princess's father forbids spinning on spindles or distaffs within his kingdom. Upon pricking her finger, she falls into a deep sleep rather than dying only to be awakened by the kiss of her true love. The story of Sleeping Beauty imposes a negative value upon a long symbol of feminine productivite.
Weaving has a long and valued tradition. The weaver should feel that she or he is a part of a long and divergent process that mimics the diversity of the human race. For almost every population, there is a story of weaving.
Tish Doan
http://www.weaveyourloomstore.com/
Mr. Block has written about some history of weaving that might have been looked at as living everyday life.
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