We honor ancestral, traditional, and
contemporary Colombian handmade art.
This collection is a decolonized examination and honoring of the fierce resistance towards colonization that Tolima region tribes such as the Pijao and Panche led. The region was called the “Valley of Spears” due to the use of large spears by these groups as part of armed resistance. The Spanish colonizers labeled these groups evil, levied accusations of cannibalism, and used these accusations to manufacture consent to destroy them through warfare, burning leaders alive, and kidnapping women knowledge holders. A common tactic used in colonialism to justify horrific genocide.
Archeological evidence shows that the Panche had secondary funerary practices, wherein a certain period after burial or cremation the bones of the dead loved ones were then placed in decorated clay urns with facial markings and accessories like golden septum rings. These handmade products are a homage to these ancestors.
NEW
COLLECTION
In the Valley of Spears
In the Valley of Spears Collection
This collection is a decolonized examination and honoring of the fierce resistance towards colonization that Tolima region tribes such as the Pijao and Panche led. The region was called the “Valley of Spears” due to the use of large spears by these groups as part of armed resistance. The Spanish colonizers labeled these groups evil, levied accusations of cannibalism (wikipedia still writes this as a truth), and used these accusations to manufacture consent to destroy them through warfare, burning leaders alive, and kidnapping women knowledge holders. A common tactic used in colonialism to justify horrific genocide.
Archeological evidence shows that the Panche had secondary funerary practices, wherein a certain period after burial or cremation the bones of the dead loved ones were then placed in decorated clay urns with facial markings and accessories like golden septum rings. These clay urns were then placed in sacred underground “masoleums’.’ The Loved Ancestor” beaded earring is a homage to this, and introduces this collection.
Materials: Seed beads, Gold beads, Gold plated hooks, Gold plated triangles
In the Valley of Spears Collection
This collection is a decolonized examination and honoring of the fierce resistance towards colonization that Tolima region tribes such as the Pijao and Panche led. The region was called the “Valley of Spears” due to the use of large spears by these groups as part of armed resistance. The Spanish colonizers labeled these groups evil, levied accusations of cannibalism (wikipedia still writes this as a truth), and used these accusations to manufacture consent to destroy them through warfare, burning leaders alive, and kidnapping women knowledge holders. A common tactic used in colonialism to justify horrific genocide.
Archeological evidence shows that the Panche had secondary funerary practices, wherein a certain period after burial or cremation the bones of the dead loved ones were then placed in decorated clay urns with facial markings and accessories like golden septum rings. These clay urns were then placed in sacred underground “masoleums’.’
This specific earring represents the life-giving sun, and resistance.
Materials: Seed beads, Gold beads, Gold plated hooks, Gold plated triangles
Symbology and Meanings- “Tolima” Shirt
This shirt features a representation of a zoomorphic figure from the Tolima region. Gold zoomorphic figures composed of various animal parts were worn as pectorals and is believed to have been used by mohanes (spiritual leaders) to harness aspects of different animals during meditation as part of ceremonial transformation.
In the bottom Tolima is written, Tol is the Pijao word for snow, and Ima is land/earth. This name was most likely given due to the “snowed ones”, snow covered volcanoes that overlook the Tolima region.
Material: 100% Organic Cotton
NEW COLLECTION
La Sabana y Paramos
This collection honors the Cundinamarca region, from the wetlands, savannah of Bogota, to the high-alpine paramo ecosystems which bring life-giving waters to all beings below. In this collection, some items contain the native language of this region, Muyscubun- the language of the Muysca, which is in the process of revitalization. These select special items will fund a children’s book project written in the native language.
Symbology and Meanings - “World Beyond I” Shirt
In the design, I call “World Beyond I”, the man is communing with the moon. The inscription says “The world beyond! something enters my consciousness..” in the native Muysca language, Muyscubun. All profits from this shirt will go to the children’s adventure book I am developing in Muyscubun, the native language of the Cundiboyacense region in Colombia.
“Under the moonlight that blankets the land and unveils the cosmos, I am beckoned to perceive, understand, and be witness to creation of everything beyond I. As others have done before me for eons”
Materials: 100% Organic Cotton
The Andean bear lives high up in the mountains in the life-giving paramos, and spread seeds to maintain the health of those ecosystems.
Materials: 100% cotton twill, pigment dyed.
This earring was inspired by the savannah snake (Atractus crassicaudatus), a high elevation being that dells in wetlands and enjoys the chill air. It is endemic to Colombia.
Materials: Seed beads, Gold plated triangles and beads.
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