Size: 80x150cm; 2.6x5ft
Weaver: Doña Elia
Materials and 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 ancient understanding of the tree of life common to many cultures around the world. The ancient believe system of the cultures in the Anawak teaches that the universe was split in two parts to create the current world. The goddess Cipactli was pulled appart by the twin brothers Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca to make the earth and the sky and in order to keep these realms from collapsing again onto each other, they planted four trees in each corner of the world with a central tree in the middle.
For the Mayans, this tree is called Ya'ax'che which is a ceiba tree that has nine levels in the branches of the sky, four directions in the existential plane of the earth and nine levels in the underworld.
In Benizaa cosmology we have also have a Ceiba species of tree from which our spirit is tethered to in the sky before we are born and under which we are buried to start our journey back to the sky after our mortal dream. My grandfather used to say that on the earth we should walk the path of the warrior, always doing our best to uplift our spirit and transform the earthly matter into beautiful art. The only true time to rest is when we are resting under the shade of the Yaag Chei; the sacred tree of life.
The tree of life was represented in Ancient times with a cosmic bird sitting on top of it and a snake or crocodile in its roots at the base of the trunk. This duality represents the original two aspects of creation, the sky energy and the earthly one. In his book the Cosmic Tree, Frank Desmedt describes the 'Astronical' explanation of this duality. The Mayans made precise observations of how the galaxy appeared in the Sky, to the south it points to the Serpent constellation and to the north to the Canis Major which in our cultures has the shape of a bird.
Our grandparents always observed the night sky. I remember, my grandmother always making predictions about the rain pattern by looking at the position of the stars and the tilt of the milky way. In fact, the word for Milky way in Benizaa language is the same word for corn plant, this is because the growth of our corn plants is intimately joined with the subtle astronomical phenomena in the sky.
So in this light, we cannot ever just talk about the earth alone, we must remember that the tree of life has its branches in the heavens and roots in the underworld. When you see the Serpent descending on the steps of Chichen Itza, the sacred site, it is announcing the beginning of the rainy season; in the same way that lightnings has snake like shapes and appear in the beginning of the rainy season. The rains will fall and mandee in the four directions like a snake, the water will permeate the earth and sprout the seeds of life. Some of this water will travel to the depths of underworld, Mictlan, where it will turn into underground rivers and water tables. Most of the rivers meander until they meet the Ocean, what we call Niis Dou, the great sacred waters. Interestingly, Dou, is the word that we use for calmness. Once in the ocean, the water evaporates into the sky world again to dance the water cycle.
Every aspect of the ancient world was cyclical and had a reason to be; from the heavens, the surface world and the underworld. With respects to the current world situation, we have come at a time in history where we need to radically transform our way of life to respect and restore the life support systems of the earth. What aspects of our lives need to be buried underground and be transformed into a new way of life? We are in the year 5,147 of the 5th sun, may we transition from an ecocidal modernity to a restorative society that seeks the elevation of the human spirit. We need to focus more on the immaterial aspects of life that make our lives more worth living. During the great slowdown of the industrial and economic machinery we are turning back to slow, small and sustainable living. We are seeing a great rebalancing of nature's energy flows. The Covid19 virus was doing some work for the underworld, like the great crocodile monster that takes our dead bodies to the lord and lady of the underworld. Like the composting of nutrients that will allow other seeds to be reborn and live the mortal dream once again. May the earth heal and may the cosmic awareness of our higher purpose in life illuminate our governors and society for the great rebalancing of the forces of life.
You can live in an earth house, grow your own food and help restore the ecosystems by tending the land, by planting wild foods and enriching the ecosystems where you live. When we do that, our impact of living on earth becomes positive. Most of our modern ways of life are ecocidal in principle and must change now.
Being this sacred tree of life into your house and let it remind you of our conection to the cosmos, the earth that nurtures us and our roots in the underworld.
