Women who embroider: What is traditional Rarámuri clothing like?

Get to know the clothing worn by the women of the Sierra Tarahumara.

I recently chatted with Raúl Jiménez, a cultural manager who lives in the Sierra Tarahumara in northern Mexico. During our conversation, we realized that not many people are familiar with the traditional textiles from this region, so I asked him to write a piece to shed some light on the traditional clothing of Rarámuri women. Here's what he shared.

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Text by: Raúl Jiménez

From a young age, most Rarámuri women learn how to sew, since they wear the clothes they make themselves in the Sierra Tarahumara.

There are different types of textile work, like using sheep’s wool, embroidering with yarn, or weaving sashes with thread. But let’s focus more on traditional women’s garments.

Historically, there aren’t exact records of how the Rarámuri dressed before the Spanish arrived, but it’s believed that, like many other ancient cultures, they used natural fibers like agave, feathers, and animal skins like deer and rabbit.

When the Spanish brought machine-made fabrics, the Rarámuri started using materials like cotton muslin for their clothes, though they didn’t stop handcrafting their garments. They used natural dyes from tree bark, flowers, and minerals. Synthetic fabrics like poplin became popular in the early 20th century.

Rarámuri women traditionally wear a skirt called sipuchaka—it can be plain or printed, and is usually wide with pleats—and a blouse known as napachaka. Depending on the municipality, the design, size, and fullness of the clothing vary.

In the Baja Tarahumara, the skirts are shorter, pleated, and lighter, with ruffled blouses, while in the Alta Tarahumara, skirts can be up to 15 meters wide, with lots of pleats. These differences are mostly due to the changing climate and terrain in different areas.

Making these outfits can take Rarámuri women months, especially since modern designs feature lots of details like triangles, zigzags, and diamond patterns. These extra touches show off the seamstresses' creativity and skill.

One interesting thing about the blouses is that the sleeves are usually three-quarters in length—this is so they don’t get in the way when making tortillas or doing other daily tasks.

The women take a lot of pride in creating their dresses, as it takes weeks, even months, to make something truly beautiful.

These days, some women are learning to use sewing machines, which makes the process a bit faster. But most still sew by hand, keeping that connection to their roots, history, and culture alive.