PAHTLI
The human relationship to the land is a deeply interwoven one that surpasses our ideas of time, our understanding of history and spirituality. Knowledge, ritual, and belief systems dance together to create the world of medicine and healing. Xochipilli, prince of flowers, and his brothers Ixtlilton, god of medicine, and Macuilxóchitl, god of games - serve us as a clear example of the moving parts that play into our overall well being. We see this again in Curanderismo, medicina del campo, our traditional folk medicine. Folk healing shows us that the mind, the body, and the spirit work together and with assistance from our spiritual paths and our plant remedies, our PAHTLI, we can cure ourselves through wisdom.
Most of us have been pulled from our native lands and our ancestral teachings, and so our responsibility lies in merging our ancestry with our current environment - honoring our lineages while respecting the land we currently inhabit. At Tlalli, we focus on the land that is now called Texas and the rest of the American Southwest. By mainly foraging native species that grow abundantly, taking only what we need and solidifying our otherness to the nature interwoven within our being - we are reawakening a dormant relationship between the human spirit and the spirit of the natural world.
What humans know about plants today has been gathered throughout time and careful observation of the ways in which animals interact with their different parts. We have documented knowledge from the medicine men and women who have helped our communities heal throughout the times. The ancestral energies around us continue to show us exactly what we need.
In another effort to redirect our consumption and chip away at our dependent ties to the capitalist model, we choose to make our own medicines and hygiene products. Our medicinas are hand-crafted in small batches. Essences are captured in oils, alcohols and vinegars, concentrated for topical applications and diluted for internal ones. We are not “experts” or “licensed”, nor will we probably ever be. This conscious decision to be autonomous in our learning, to truly trust that the wisdom of our ancestors lies deep in our DNA, propels us into our actual power. We chose to trust in the properties of the plants we use, we speak to them, ask them for their healing powers and protection. The fear of failure is eliminated when we embrace mistakes as the teachers we need.
On this path, the land becomes our pantry, medicine cabinet, altar & shelter.