The garment has pre Hispanic origins and has been worn by some indigenous women for about 2,000 years. It is most likely that the garment originated with the Totonacs on the Gulf coast. It was brought to the Mexican highlands by the Otomis. In the pre Hispanic era, the quechquemitl was worn with huipil and a wrap around skirt, generally only for special occasions and by high-ranking women. It may even have been reserved for use by goddesses and those portraying them in ritual in the Aztec era. In this era, it was particularly associated with fertility goddesses possibly due to the origins of the garment in the Gulf Coast region and its fertility. These garments when worn by the nobility were made of cotton, sometimes with rabbit fur or feathers woven in for warmth and/or decoration. There was another variation in which the cloth was twisted before the edges sewn, resulting in a shape that conformed closer to the body. The name of Mixtec princesses often had the word “quechquemitl”. The garments were woven on backstrap looms, which can still be seen today, and dyed with natural colorings such as cochineal, indigo and other plants, animals and minerals.