TRADITIONAL GUATEMALAN CHACHALES (NECKLACES)

These beautiful long necklaces are hard to find. They were the spectacular adornment to a native Guatemalan woman’s beautiful handwoven huipil. They were worn by the elite Mayans who could afford them. The large medallion on most of them is an old large coin or a re-cast of an old coin surrounded by small round réales and animal charms, called dijes (pronounced d-hey) soldered to the large coin. Most have two larger dijes on the left and right side of the medallion at the top. The few chachales that one is able to find in Guatemalan markets tend to be strung on cheap monofilament which can break. The metal is not silver. (As a matter of fact, old Guatemalan coins from after about 1896 were minted in nickel and marked “niquel.”) I have re-strung these chachales on nylon cord with traditional red beads and added better large dijes that I was able to acquire in one of the villages. They are very special collectible pieces.