The design, color, length, width, and material of the fajas, as well as the manner of wearing them, differ from town to town. The design varies from simple stripes to elaborate animal, flower, and geometric forms, with each town displaying a specific motif. The ends of the fajas are finished with either fringe or braids, and occasionally with ball-shaped tassels. Fajas range in length from eight feet to as long as seventeen feet. The average width is between six and eight inches; young women wear narrower belts, while older women prefer wider ones. Cotton, wool, and maguey are the primary fibers, and fine embroidery is added with cotton, wool, or silk. In general, the women tend to wrap their belts neatly, tucking in the fringes or ends, while men tie their belts in the front so the ends hang loose.
Photograph by Travis Doering
San Juan Sacatepequez fajas are made of black wool wefts with white warp stripes in wool or cotton, finished by braids with dangling balls. The woman's faja in Chajul has a red ground with supplementary weft designs, with the warp ends finished with knotted threads and tassels. Though in many towns the women make their own fajas on backstrap looms, men also weave them by using belt looms. In Chichicastenango, professional male weavers make fajas, adding geometric or flower design embroidery with cotton, silk, or wool. The fajas from Chichicastenango area are sold all over the highlands (Schevill 1993).
The faja may have Prehispanic origins. It is a particularly important component of the men's costume, and it is one of the few items that men continued to wear after adopting Ladino-style outfits. In many towns, the faja is the last garment to be abandoned. There is some indication from Classic period depictions that a belt may have supported kilts. Altman and West (1992) also notes that the length of the belts and the way it is wrapped around the body follow the Prehispanic pattern for loincloths.