Oaxacan Alebrijes
Since 2017 we have been personally directing the process of Zapotec figures whose original name is “tonas” or “nahuales”.
This special selection of Oaxacan Alebrije commissioned by Marakame to the best authors of modern alebrije, is hand painted on wood carving of the copal tree (Bursera, spp), which grows around the community of San Martín Tilcajete, locality from the Zapotec region of the State of Oaxaca, in the South of Mexico.
In this place, for generations the inhabitants have developed the artisan work of pieces with this wood. The manufacture of each work can take up to 15 months (depending on its dimensions and details) in its completion from start to finish, using simple tools such as machetes, gouges and knives for its finishing; The drying of the wood is the step that makes the entire process more patient and detailed. Later comes the detailed symbolic implicit of the ancient Zapotec worldview that tells about iconic animals representing their culture, raising the elements that sustain the life of this people.
