Meeting the Mochila
Once upon a time I could have only ever dreamed that a bag that holds the greatest honour to own would make its way into my life.
I have always had a deep love and passion for clothing and accessories, seeking items of quality that will rest on my body each day. As I choose what will walk with me each morning, I strive to shine a bright light into the world, to inspire joy, creativity, connection, a point of difference. An art form I believe.
As I travel on this road experiencing new phases of life and the desires to further my self discovery, I seeked to ask the divine to show me her love. I wished to embody this love and to share it with my loved ones and with the world. When my quest began, the mochila appeared. She appeared in a way that could only be described as a synchronicity. Not yet knowing the love I would fall into meeting this bag I welcomed the mochila with open arms, with ears ready to listen and heart full of excitement.
My dear friend Lucia would be the connection between myself and this bag. Lucia and I met working in a bakery together some years ago, this bakery was not just any ordinary bakery, this bakery has a soul, a vibration of love, a meeting place for community and connection. Iggys bakery in Bronte, such precious memories, beautiful times and wonderful people.
Lucia and her family living in a region in Colombia near by to the sacred sites of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Lucia and her family have been working with the indigenous communities, supporting the artisans and their families. Lucia being inspired by the lands and rivers of this region she founded her business Mirla de la sierra to express her creativity and share her appreciation to the indigenous communities of her home country.
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta translates to “The Heart of the World”. The Serra Nevada is located to the northern end of Colombia and is the tallest coastal mountain in the world, It is a home to complex and unique ecosystems and 4 indigenous communities. Life for the indigenous communities is to live in reverence to the great mother creator and to serve as guardians of the world. Their job is to maintain balance, peace and fertility for all of the world. This land and it’s communities hold invaluable ancestral knowledge for all of humanity.
The Arhuaco (Iku) people are the creators of the Arhuaco Mochila. The Arhuaco mochila is a mindfully weaved bag which holds great significance. It is a spiritual symbol and is a connection to the ancestors. A bag weaved by women, as a rite of passage with techniques and teachings passed down to her from the generations before her. A useful everyday tool made from natural fibres of wool, cotton or fique and dyed with natural dyes. The unique geometric patterns symbolise the land, shapes of snowy mountain peaks or pathways. They have shapes and patterns representing animals and supernatural beings. The cylindrical shape represents the feminine and the creative force of fertility, the mochila is believed to be like the womb.
As each artisan spins her mochila it is a moment of connection to her ancestors, to the ecology of her home and the sacredness of life. It is a deeply spiritual process which holds great value and significance. Just as the great mother brought this world into being, the woman weaves her prayers and dreams into her mochila. The Arhuaco mochila is a representation of each woman’s capacity to give life and of the great Mother Earth. Both men and women can wear the mochila.
I feel deeply thankful for the Arhuaco mochila for making its way into my life. A beautiful gift from the ancestors, a treasure that walks along side me each day and a reminder of the sacredness of life. I thank the indigenous communities of the Sierra Nevada for their prayers and spiritual work to protect the fertility of the sacred lands of Sierra Nevada and for all of the world. With this mochila I feel guidance to new ways of being and living on this earth, a further awakening to the importance of how much work we modern day humans need to do to create peace and harmony in this world.
Thank you to my Arhuaco mochila for meeting me here, right in this moment, right at the perfect time. With deepest gratitude I bow in honour.
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