Amealco, living and fertile land.
When we think of Amealco, it is common to relate it to the Tuesdays of mole de guajolote, the fields of mirasoles, the cabins in the forest, and of course with the iconic Lelé.
However, Amealco is more than that surface. It is countryside, it is tradition and faith; it is knowledge of the earth, of the sky and it is what is learned in each new harvest.
Amealco exists in every stitch of an embroidery and in every flower collected. Amealco is cosmovision, it is ñhöñhö.
Welcome!
Between ribbons, music and prayers
Höky "Made with my hands" and Dyx'a'i "Para que te cures / Para que te levantas" are a group of indigenous Otomi artisans who have decided to preserve their traditions and their worldview, while sharing it with the world. They seek to show the tourist a deeper image of what the land where they were born is and that for generations has been home to their families, although it is worth mentioning that, for them, home is everything that is under the stars.
Your visit begins with a warm welcome, but not just any welcome. The Dance of the Shepherdesses and the Dance of the Arch are present, making you part of them.
Between striking costumes, and rhythmic music, the entourage enters, to receive visitors. They dance to greet, ask, thank and offer.
The woman wears her traditional o'pąni on a daily basis, and becomes a Shepherdess when she wears her hat replete with ribbons with tinsel eye flowers of various colors and her staff. The men, with their embroidered sash, also join the celebration, they with a bow that has the same eye flower as the shepherdess's hat; everyone always dances to the sound of a violin and a drum.
Evolving heritage
These dances have evolved over the years, making their meaning even stronger. The shepherdess adorned herself to give color, to be a living and colorful offering, to have a different way of presenting herself.
In the past, the Dance of the Shepherdesses was called the Dance of the Staff. Over time, a spoon was added as an ornament to the simple bass with which the rhythm of the music is followed, the hat was added, and it was decorated with multiple ribbons. In the past they only wore blue and yellow, now they carry with them a party full of colors on each ribbon that honors the work of generations.
The flowers made of bright and colorful tinsel, represent that wherever you go there is an eye that observes you.
The ribbons that dress the hat symbolize family, history and a generation that worked hard. To obtain each of the ribbons, the family saved and worked hard to be able to buy one a year. Each hat has 22 ribbons.
Despite the elaborate trousseau, the indigenous woman who wears it does not stop being a shepherd because she does not wear it. An indigenous woman knows how to read the weather, the sky, knows how to sow, knows how to create... Even without her costume she is still a shepherdess.
The roads bless each other and find us.
The Dance of the Arch is performed by man, it represents him and his social role. While their wardrobe is more modest than the women's, the embroidery on their shirts is full of meaning. They wear a red stripe also beautifully embroidered, which in the past was an accessory to distinguish themselves from the Moors. This stripe represents the indigenous men, who fought and perished. Little by little, that clothing and its meaning are being rescued.
The arch is also decorated with metallic shiny paper flowers made of crepe and tinsel. In the past, blue, pink and silver were the original colors, now, there is no limit.
After the dance and the precise explanation by the hosts, Silvia, Isabel and Marco bless the path that led us to them, promising a reunion, because now without knowing it, we are connected.
Heritage dolls
Origin, meaning and identity
Although Lelé is the most popular doll in Amealco, she is not the only one. Dönxu, of a more pre-Hispanic origin, belongs to the community of San Ildefonso Tultepec. At more than 135 years old, Dönxu embodies women in all seasons of the year. It was originally made with flowers and herbs collected from the field, now it is made with embroidered fabrics and stamens. Her upright figure honors the strength of the ñhöñhö woman and every woman born into a family. It represents her standing, despite the circumstances. Dönxu also carries in herself the indigenous men who did not return home, she carries them venerated in her braided hair.
The embroidery that Dönxu wears and that women and men also wear on their clothes, have different meanings; They can be what they admire about their homes, such as caves, mountains, flowers, stars, or even cave paintings and animals such as a rooster, deer, cat, etc.
Give it identity
Craftsmanship has an identity, if not just a craft.
In Höky, one of the most beautiful experiences and the one for which travelers make their way to them, is the possibility of assembling your own Lelé doll.
The particularity here is that each doll is different, original, unique. Höky is ahead of the visitors, and assembles the bases of these dolls, with skins of different colors: brown, white, yellow, blue and even purple. With equally colourful hair, but also straight or curly.
The tourist who visits them can find one with whom they identify, pamper them, dress them, braid their worsted hair with crowns of ribbons, flowers or hats.
A doll made entirely by these artisans has a minimum processing time of 4 hours and can extend up to weeks, depending on the size and details. The experience that Höky puts together for its visitors is only a taste of what they do, but it is enough to show them the value of their work.
Traditional medicine
The rescue of our knowledge
In addition to meeting Höky, Dyx'a'i coexists in this same space.
To heal with plants is to honor the memory of the first ways of alleviating, of creating a remedy. With the plants, the Enxe (soul) is cured.
Dyx'a'i is committed to taking up the challenges of traditional medicine, to take advantage of the resources that the countryside, the cornfield, the stream give us. For the same reason, they do not miss the opportunity to bring tourists closer to medicinal herbs.
In several containers they show dehydrated plants ready for their purpose, such as calendula, stevia, rosemary, rose of Castile, chamomile, horsetail, lemon verbena, lemon balm, etc. And you are invited to touch them, smell them and crush them between your fingers, to become familiar with the aromas they emit, with their colors and flavors.
It is a way of knowing them and understanding that each of them fulfills a different function for our body and mind. Dyx'a'i explains the medicinal and healing properties, their function in teas, ointments, talcs and essences of each leaf and stem you see.
They also open the doors to their workshop so that you can see where the magic happens, with bunches of chamomile hanging from the ceiling, shelves full of jars, and pots in the middle of cooking to get that week's medicines. A safe space, erected with pride, which little by little rescues and invites you to look with different eyes at traditional medicine, the medicine that the lands of Amealco give us.
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