Atop the Zapotec world and about 15 minutes from the historic center of Oaxaca is the great Meso-american archeological site of Monte Alban, named by the Spaniards after siting the mountaintop covered with the blooms of the white morning-glory tree (left photo below).
The Spanish Conquistadores named Oaxaca for the plant, called in Nahuatl huaxyacac, which they could not pronounce (pictured above right). The pods contain edible green seeds used to flavor soups and stews. Today, we see them nondescriptly bundled and sold in local and regional markets rarely remembering the important origins of this humble pod.
The Zapotecs of Monte Alban believed that the higher they built, the closer they would be to their gods to whom they prayed for rain and corn, for protection from earthquakes, for sun to yield more crops, and for other essentials of daily life. Here, the sun, moon and stars determined life and its future. The observatory, the geometry of the buildings, the size of the plaza were all determined by the solar calendar. The record of conquests were carved in the ancient rock — named swimmers and dancers by archeologists.
You can read much more about Monte Alban in archeological and history books or visit the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago where Monte Alban is cited among the great civilizations for its advanced organizational and government structure.
Sacred elements are carved into the stone. The tiny steps were designed to hold the colored plaster that covered the temples, observatory and ball court. Here is where the elite lived, closer to god, their ears pierced with plugs and their foreheads sloped as infants to signify their stature. There were no human sacrifices at Monte Alban, according to our knowledgeable guide Pablo Gutierrez Marsh, only the offering of animals.
According to the Zapotec calendar, each day begins at noon. The writing system is pictographic and has not yet been deciphered. The plaza, which could hold 13,000 people, is flanked by two tall pyramids that visitors are allowed to climb. They each lead to a high plaza where you can get a 360 degree view of the Oaxaca valley below.
During the Monte Alban I and Monte Alban II periods, farmers lived below and provided food for the ruling class who lived on the high terraces. Ornamented pottery vessels were crafted in the village of Atzompa at the foot of Monte Alban. Ceramics are still made there today.
I managed to climb the steep steps to the top of both temples flanking each end of the plaza. At the top, humans appeared as if in miniature and the magnificence of place was astounding. At the time when Monte Alban was first inhabited and construction began, around 700 A.D., there were no wheels or draught animals here. Only human labor carried huge slabs of stone up the mountain from the valley below. Our group spent over two hours here capturing a sense of place. The day was clear, sunny and brisk. Perfect for climbing and walking. I was on top of the world and so were our workshop participants!
Pablo, Deanna, Carey, June and Carole at Monte Alban
A curl of smoke rises from the valley below.
Potter of Santa Maria Atzompa: Irma Claudia Garcia Blanco
The daughter of Teodora Blanco squats on her knees at the small potter’s wheel as if in prayer at an altar holding an offering. Her legs are tucked neatly under her. She is dressed in embroidered white cotton, white on white. Behind her is a gray stucco wall. She is framed in the expanse of memory.
The earth gives forth blessings: tamales to eat, atolé to drink, clay for the vessels that hold them. A distant village, San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, is ancient source. Then, clay was hauled by burro. Now, husband Francisco drives the truck. The work is always heavy: dig the hard substance from pits deep in the earth.
The yield is terra-cotta red or deep gray like rain clouds or taupe like Isthmus sand. The recipe is historic: Mix together clay and water. Use a long pine paddle hewn from a mountain log. Assure the consistency is pliable, exact. Scoop it into smaller portions from which to create shape, form, structure.
Irma Claudia Garcia Blanco holds a portion of clay the color of steel. It is malleable and she presses her finger deep into its center.
She holds it like an infant, tender yet firm. She caresses the clay body and a figure emerges.
The daughter of Teodora Blanco sets the cone figure aside and begins to roll a clay cigarette to shape one arm, then the other.
Her fingers are nimble. Perhaps she will add an animal or anthropomorphic decoration: bird, eagle, snake, lightning. A chicken playing a fiddle! A dancing cow!
The daughter of Teodora Blanco has six daughters and one son. She remembers this as she works: After childbirth the midwife covers her with a cloak of orange leaves, fragrant and soft, so her milk will come in sweeter.
Her husband takes the birthing water and discards it far from the house. This is his role. On the third day, her first sip will be clear chicken broth. For 40 days, she will be confined to bed with the infant, drinking only unsweetened atolé to escape death. This is mystical, in the old traditions, says Irma Claudia, as she works the clay that becomes a woman holding two chickens.
Lulu, the youngest daughter still at home, stands to the side. She is quick with math and checks the transactions.
Years before a Rockefeller came here and anointed Teodora Blanco with fame. Centuries before, her antecedents fashioned pots, fired in deep pits with wood ignited by dung. This was their tribute to Monte Alban rulers who lived closer to god, high above Atzompa. The vessels and figures offerings to embellish tables and tombs.
Now, the function is obscure. We call this sculpture and decorate our homes, offices, gardens. The potter, daughter of generations, sits before her wheel. It is metal, not clay. The currency is pesos, not tribute. The kiln is concrete, not adobe. The fuel is still wood.
Irma Claudia signs her name for tourists, not royalty. The beauty endures.
Irma Claudia Garcia Blanco Artesanias, Av. Juårez, #302, Santa Marîa Atzompa, Oaxaca, Mexico. (951) 558-9286.
Upcoming workshops: Photography/Collage/Painting, Portrait Photography, Women’s Creative Writing + Yoga Retreat.
As mentioned in The Barra de Navidad Daily.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Photography, Travel & Tourism
Tagged Atzompa, blogsherpa, ceramics, clay, Irma Claudia Garcia Blanco, Mexico, Oaxaca, postaweek2012, pottery, Teodora Blanco