The Medicine Wheel: An Incarnation of the Mother |
Memory of the Mother in and through the Body
This series explores the ancestral practice of the Medicine Wheel, in order to investigate the knowing system of the woman's body and its relationship with the knowing system of the Earth. The practice of embodiment, shamanic ritual, and indigenous methodologies of working with wild clay informed the manifestation of this series.
I created this series in San Marcos Tlapazola, Oaxaca because they are a pueblo known for only indigenous women artisans who work with barro rojo. I worked alongside a dear teacher of mine who is a Zapotec artisan, Rosario Cruz. She showed me her indigenous practices of sourcing wild clay as well as the ancestral firing process.
The Medicine Wheel originates from the indigenous people of the Americas, to embody restoration and healing inside oneself and with all relations. The Wheel represents the process of how life evolves, the interconnectedness of all relations and the 7 directions. My meeting with the Wheel is through the Andean lineage, when I began my shamanic path in Ecuador, in order to restore my relation to my ancestral memory.
Through journeying in Ayahuasca ceremonies I was inspired to create a uterus, the placenta and the umbilical cord, because it was revealed to me that a woman’s womb carries the same records as the earth and is the bearer of ancestral memory/trauma. These two sculptures represent the South and the West. The sacred heart represents the North and the animal skull represents the East. I performed an offering to the Dainzu Ruins, in order to repair my relationship with my own body and to reclaim being a daughter of the Earth. This ritual was a reclamation of the knowledge in my womb, of self autonomy and sovereignty, and was to honor the Sacred feminine that is the Earth Mother and I.
Videographer/Photographer: George Volpe
Photographer: Reyes Cruz
The Medicine Wheel at the Dainzu Ruins in Oaxaca, Mexico. 2023.
The South. My Uterus. Red clay, mamey seed, copal, coral, jicama, and a tree branch. 2023.
The North. Mi Corazon. Red clay, mamey seed, and copal. 2023.
The West. The Mother's Placenta and my Umbilical Cord. Red clay, bones, stones, copal, coral, and a tree branch. 2023.
Reverence to the West. Performance Shot. 2023.
Reverence to the South. Performance Shot. 2023.
Reunion through the Umbilical Cord. Performance Shot. 2023.
About the Artisan
Rosario Cruz
Rosario Cruz is a Zapotec artisan native to San Marcos Tlapazola in Oaxaca, Mexico. She has been working with barro rojo for over 30 years. Her artisanal tradition was passed down to her by her mother and continues to be a female tradition in her family lineage. She has had the opportunity to travel to the states to share her artisanal craft in Washington, Illinois and New York. She continues her artisanal practice in her home welcoming people from all over who are interested in being a student of barro rojo.
