Sierra Norte: dain ro'w

Size: 60x100cm; 2x3ft

Weaver: Toña La negra 🏳️‍🌈

Materials and methods: Fine merino and angora blend yarns for the background and criollo sheep wool for the details. Hand dyed with aniline dyes in an exhaust method for color fastness. Handwoven on a Zapotec style loom of the 16th century adapted from European styles. Woven using a 7 threads per inch reed and wool rayon blend for warp.

Design, patterns and symbols.

This rug starts with rows of the rain pattern, just as we go through our rainy season right now and as we start to plant milpa (corn, beans and squash) and getting ready for the main festival our our village, we always weave a smile pattern with the rains and the mountains, they joy to see our landscape transform from dry golden yellow to lush greens and teal mountains in the distance makes our spirit happy. Toña wove a rown of mountains, the sacred elders of the landscapte, the ones that remember all the stories since even before we were here as humans. We hike our sacred mountains to elevate our prayers and to thank for the blessings of the land. 

The diamonds shaped seeds represent the ladies of the market, the pleiades, the ladies that provides us with guidance in the patterns of the cosmos and the seeds that built our civilization. 

Toña La negra, is the nick name of the weaver, she may identify as an indigenous two spirit or LGBTQIA+. In Dixzaa (zapotec) language we have the word Biraash to denote the spectrum of gender and ssexual orientation, it literally translates as lazy/slow wind, maybe denoting the fluid nature of gender and sexuality. I do not know her so well and I certainly cannot speak on behalf of a community but I can assert that just like in all of Oaxaca, we have a culture that understands the fluid nature and wide spectrum of sexuality, that it is part of our ancient culture, and actually in Zapotec culture, markets are a safe place to live and express your gender and sexual orientation freely, maybe because they are mostly run and organized by woman and matriachs that love all their children. However, in spite of that, there is also a toxic degree of machismo, ignorance and homophobia that still permeates in our streets and comminuties. The challenges are still here but as long as we are guided by love and diversity, just like the ladies of the market (pleiades) teach us, we can live in happy and healthy communities. The market is the heart of our village. 

Customize fringes.

Twisted: traditional zapotec look, sturdy. 

Bundled: boho look; secured and soft.

Tucked in: secured and tidy. Looks neat for hanging and easy vacuuming on the floor. (Allow two days for processing).