The electromagnetic field: buuli guíi

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 is an acient pattern that is seen in many huipiles and garments found in archaeological sites. From my understanding of it, this design pattern represents the energy fields of life. Our ancestors understood that the reality is more than what we can perceive with our senses, they discovered that we have an energy field around our physical body similar to the magnetic field of the earth described by modern day science. Our ancestors spoke about energy lines that weave together all living beings on earth, they knew how to read and understand those subtle energy flows that connects all living beings to the spirit world. 

When one gets the shivers not for cold physical reasons but due to a deep psycological conection, something called an easthetic shiver, we are using those subtle ways of perceiving, this is what we call Repi Scha'à which translates as energy rise (as in electricity). One could feel aesthetic shivers when one deeply agrees with someone, when one realises and feels aligned with a collective goal, during ritual, while listening to music or when watching a film. Before street lighting was widely deployed in our village, everyone relied on this way of perception much more than we do today. Biologically, this stimulus makes us puff up our hair to look bigger and face ny danger in order to survive but this same mechanism was used to communicate collectively with all living beings when the dark of night reigns or when language fails to serve us a the medium to communicate.

Besides this subtle energies, the zig zag snake pattern represents the snake, the way energy moves in waves. From the cosmic snake that descends from the sky in the form of lightning to bring down the rains, to the way rivers meander and zig zag around the landscape, shaping the earth and sowing life along the way, until it makes its way into the rivers of the under world and down to the Ocean, the immense and sacred waters of Daou (great spirit) where the water cycle will start again. No wonder why Coatlicue, the mother earth goddess wears her skirt of snakes, the snakes that shape the world, rivers. 

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).