Valles Centrales: laatz rao'u
$ 10,250.00
Size: 80x150cm; 2.6x5ft
Weaver: Dionisio, San Miguel del Valle
Materials and methods: criollo sheep wool spun in the mills of the Batalla family in Tianguistengo. Hand dyed yarns by Leonor Lazo using natural dyes: Yagshií (seep willow), Yauhtli (tagetes lucida), Xiuhquilitl (indigo) Cempasuchitl (Marigold). 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. Fringes tucked in by Rusio Gutierrez and family.
Design, patterns and symbols.
The dragonfly in the center of the ruyg represents the equilibrium of energy in conciousness, te purity of water that makes life possible on earth. In the Mayan mythology, dragonflies helped the sun keep parts of the moon together when it was hit by a lighning. For the Meshika people dragonflies could be hosting powerful air beings (Tzitzimimen). Dragonflies helped the cloud people navigate the swampy lands created by the glaciar melts in the central valley of Oaxaca as represented with a blue diamond in the center. The center of this rug is framed by mountains with the seeds of life and agave plant figures, the mountains represent the natural altars of the earth that carry our spirit towards the sky and let us gain perspective of the landspace for surviving and understanding the energy flows of an ecosystem. During the Paleolithic ephoch most native peoples practiced sky burials as is in the case with the Sacred Peak Quiea Lliea Beats in our village. The agave plant was a great ally and plantcestor to our people because it provided nutrients and tools before agriculture and still to this day it is the source of spirtual drinks that help elevate our spirt to the heavens. The stripe patterns represent smiles, our inner source of medicine and healing. The staired spiral woven into this rug represents the path of the warrior, that inner journey towards our fears and insecurities that we have to go through to discover our true face and true heart. The ancient migrations that took place during the last Ice Age forged the ancient knowledge transmited in the toltecayotl, the living wisdom of the native communities that settled into the Anahuac territory known as 'Mesoamerica'.
