Maya Headdresses

The Maya must have worn some of the biggest headdresses on the planet! 

Not only were their headdresses huge, but they were often shaped like animals. They were also very colorful. That’s because they used feathers from a beautiful bird called the quetzal. The quetzal lives in the rain forests of Central America and has a green body with feathers that are up to 26 inches long.

A quetzal bird. Wikimedia Commons.

The bigger the headdress, the more important a person you were.  Kings wore the largest, most colorful headdresses.  The elite wore smaller headdresses.  Everyone spent a lot of time and effort to create their head gear. Valuable items such as jade and shells were used for decoration.  Large, colorful feathers were used to finish the piece. Feathers were the most treasured part of a headdress. Feathers were also probably the most expensive part, too! Only royalty could wear feathers. Often, a Maya headdress would look like an animal that was important to their culture—jaguars, snakes, or birds.  An ordinary person was not allowed to wear a fancy headdress. 

A reproduction of an ancient Maya headdress. Photograph - Thor Janson

Today, the Maya continue to keep alive the tradition of wearing elaborate headdresses.  Now, everyone who can afford the materials can wear beautiful head gear.  If you want to see some of these incredible pieces in Houston, visit the parade celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe. It takes place every year in downtown Houston around the time of the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe in early December. You can find out more information about the date of the parade by contacting the offices of the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.  Join the celebration!  You will be amazed by the craftsmanship that you see and the fantastic dances honoring the Virgin.    

The Feast Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Houston Texas, 2017.

Here is a coloring sheet for you. Now you can create your own copy of a Maya headdress!