Guií baà: the cradle of fire (sky)

Size: 130x200cm

Weaver: Omar Mendoza

Materials ans methods: criollo sheep wool hand dyed with colorfast aniline dyes using an exhaustive method. Handwoven on a Zapotec style loom of the 16th century adapted from European styles. Woven using a 7 threads per inch reed. 

Design patterns and symbols. 

This rug is inspired in the colors of Abuelo fuego (grandfather fire) as reverenced by the Wixárika people. Our word for sky, Guií Baà, can be understood as the craddle of fire and the source energy for most life on earth. The lines represent the sun rays (Shchaà Gubiìsh) and aludes to the understanding that all life can be perceived as pure energy in heightened states of awareness. We can say quite literally that we are made by sunlight and star dust, from the foods that we eat that grew with sunlight or fed on sunlight to the the iron in our blood that was created by the explosion of a supernova millions of years ago. The ancient nahuales of the Anawak (Northamercian continent) are able to perceive the energy field of life and communicate with it beyond our logic understanding through language, for the ancient Nahuales the refinement of intuition and dreams was equally important as the logic and language form of perception. 

The Diamond pattern in the bottom  reminds us of the balance of the four states of awareness and purpose in life. On the left side of our bodies we have the Nahual awareness; on the right the tonal for music, language and mathematics. From the Navel to the head we have organs that help us lift our spirit to the heavens and from the navel below we have organs that help us to ground with mother earth and ensure survival. Fire is the elder of the elements, the great teacher of transformation that shows us the way to enter the spirit world.