an indigenous woman’s blouse or shift (loaned to Spanish as huipil)
This garment could have feathers woven in. (see attestations)
"plumis preciosis, ita vocatís inter nos, quetzalli, numero, centum, et etiam frumento cum oneribus centum quadragínta, et vestibus viginti et centum, quadraginta vestibus sic dictis vipillí, et totidem vestibus sic etiam dictis, Cueitl, quibus vtuntur mulieres indȩ." = the precious feathers that among us are called quetzalli, a hundred in number, and also with a hundred and forty weight of grain, a hundred and twenty garments, forty of the so-called huipils, and the same number of the so-called cueitl as well, which Indian women wear." (a Latin text written by a Nahua from Tlaxcala for litigation regarding land in Tula, 1541)
Vitztecolcujtlalpic vipilli, xoxoloio ujpilli, quechnenecujlhoazio vipilli, xuchimoiaoac ujpilli, pocujpilli, veuj tlamachtli itozquj, toltzaianquj, potoncaio vipilli, quappachio vipilli, coioichcaio vipilli, xomoiujvipilli, tlapaltochomjtica xicalnetzollo vipilli, acocoxuchimoiaoac vipilli, ixquauhcallo potoncaio xoxochiteio vipilli = The orange colored shift gathered at the waist; the shift [decorated with] yellow parrot feathers; the shift with the stamp device at the neck; the shift with flowers overspread; the shift of smoky color; [shifts] with large embroidered [figures] at the throat, with [designs] of cut reeds; the shift with feathers; the tawny colored shift; the shift of coyote fur; the duck feather shift; [the shift] with dyed rabbit fur; the shift with the gourd and thistle [design]; the shift overspread with dahlias; [the shift] with the eagle head in a setting, done in feathers; the shift with a border of flowers (central Mexico sixteenth century)
huipilli = "If it was a girl, a huipilli and cueitl, girls' clothes, as well as a case, a distaff, and a spindle--all things concerned with sewing--would be given to her." (Central Mexico, 1571–1615)
in ticueye in tivipille in pilli tiçivauh tiçivauh in tequiva tiçivauh in achcauhtli tiçivauh = you with the skirts, you with the wives of valiant warriors, you the wives of the constables. (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
Huipilli was a basic and universal upper-body female garment, a closed-sewn and sleeveless shift, reaching to the top of the thighs. It often had a specially decorated rectangle over the chest that probably strengthened the neck slit (Anawalt 1981:45–52).
ce huipilli yztac tonaltecayotl yhuan ce cueitl mexicayotl xoxouqui = a white huipil in the Tonallan style and a green Mexica-style skirt (Saltillo, 1627) tlilpitzahuac huipilli = the shift with fine lines listed in this section of the Primeros Memoriales or xochitlapo huipilli, the flower bordered shift xomoihuihuipilli = duck-feather shift, and hence their identification was possible only in that other way (though it seems difficult only on the basis of images). nicmaCatiuh y noxhuiuhtzi ytoCa mechiora de los reYes nicmaCatiuh Centetl huipili tlamacho ystac yhuan centetl metlatl = I am giving my grandchild named Melchora de los Reyes a white embroidered huipil and a metate (1673, Mexico City) yn itoca Juan diego nechhuiquilia çentetl tzomihuipili yhuan çenSotl tzomicueytl = One named Juan Diego owes me a huipil of wool and a skirt of wool of one standard length. (San Miguel Aticpac, Toluca Valley, 1707) in tecueye in tivipille in pilli tiçivauh in tecutli tiçivauh in tequiva tiçivauh in achcauhtli tiçuvauh (central Mexico, sixteenth century) auh njcan tonoc, njcã tica in tiquauhtli, in tocelotl: aviz ie tehoatl, in ticueitl, tivipilli = And here thou art settled, here thou art present, thou who art the eagle warrior, the ocelot warrior. And here art thou who art a woman (central Mexico, sixteenth century) Auh in cihoapiltontli, qujcencavilia cuetontli, vipiltontli, ioan in jxqujch cioatlatqujtl, tanatontli, malacatl, tzotzopaztli = And they prepared for the baby girl a little skirt, a little shift, and all the equipment of women, the little reed basket, the spinning whorl, the batten (central Mexico, sixteenth century) Auh yujn ynnechichioale catca; ixtlauhxaoale, amacale, axochiavipile, axochiacueie, no poçulcaque, tonalchimale, tonatiuhchimale. = And in this manner was she adorned: her face was painted with red ochre; she had a paper headdress; she wore a shirt {ornamented with} water-flowers and a skirt {ornamented with} water-flowers; also she had foam-sandals; she carried a sun flower shield, a sun shield. (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
Ihuan ma yecuel ticmocuitlahui tiquelehui in cueitl, i huipilli; teahuilquixti, teizolo, tecatzauh, tetlahuelilocatili = Cuídate todavía de desear la falda, el huipil, porque infama, deshonra, ensucia, pervierte (centro de México, s. XVI)