The rabbit in the moon

Size: 80x150cm; 2.6x5ft 

Weaver: Francisca Hipólito

Materials and methods: Criollo sheep wool hand dyed with colorfast aniline dyes in an exhaustive method. 
Hand woven on a Zapotec walking style loom using a 7 threads per inch reed. 

Patterns and symbols.

The design has the smile pattern that reminds us that smiling and laughing is the source of all healing and we carry that medicine within us. We also have dots that represent the seeds we have been planting to nuture our body and spirit, we do not plant monocultures we make the milpa (corn, beans and squash) food systems embedded in local agroecosystems.

There are many ancient stories of wise turtle people that kept ancient knowledge alive and had the power of vision. The earth's crust is often represented with the turtle shell that brings music and thunder that announces the rains. The ancient ritual calendar was also represented with a turtle because many species have 13 hexagon like shapes in its back as there are about 13 moon cycles in a year.

The center of this rug has the eye of the feather snake as a symbol that helps us reach a much needed balanced view of the world: spiritual and earthly awareness. 

This rug has the rabbit in the center of the design to represent fertility and the moon cycles. The story of the rabbit on the moon can be summarised as follows. Quetzalcoatl was wandering in the desert doing a pilgrimage to a Tollán (sacred site), at some point in their jourhen they ran out of food and could not find water. They sat under a cactus and there remained, sad and silent, contemplating imminent death. Then suddenly a Coyote walked by and ask Quetzalcoatl what did they look so sad, Quezalcoatl told Coyote of their misfortune running out of food and water. Coyote promised to help and tryed to find some food but failed in its hunt. Days passed and Quetzalcoatl remained there weak tired, then a rabbit appeared to Quetzalcoatl and asked why did they sat for so long under that cactus, Quezalcoatl spoke about their misfortune and the rabbit understood, so to save Quetzalcoatl the rabbit offered itself to Quetzalcoatl to feed and nurture their body. As a gesture Quetzalcoatl lifted the rabbitt high into the sky before sacrificing it so high that its shape got imprinted onto the moon. This is the story of why we see a rabbit into the moon. This story teaches us the ancient principle of hunting, it is not so much how good a hunter is, but the animal choosing to give itself in the first place. It also shows the tremendous sacrifice that the environment has to do in order to feed us, so it is our duty to give back and help maintain the delicate balance of nature. Our sole existence on this plante calls for active tending of the lands we thread.