Meaning of Alebrijes in North American Culture

Alebrijes have become a very popular and interesting cultural phenomenon in the United States, and it couldn’t be otherwise. Mexican alebrijes conquer everyone with their explosion of color, spectacular designs, and curious and whimsical shapes, achieved with a fine-tuned art of handcrafting and painting.

In a very short time, they have become a type of craftsmanship in a wood, carton, or mud. also very sought and have come to stay in American culture. These friendly, cheerfully colored animals have blended naturally and almost unintentionally, with the beliefs of many North Americans and Mexican festivities in English. How is this possible?

There are several answers and we will talk about them in this article. If you want an explanation about this strong cultural connection between these adorable zoomorphic creatures with the American legends and traditions, keep reading us.

In addition, we will explore various myths of native tribes. As well as the influence of Mexico’s alebrijes within American culture, considered representations of “spirit guides”. Guardians that help and protect humans.

What Do Alebrijes Mean in English? ​

To refer to the alebrijes in America is also to speak of similar cultures in Mexico and the United States.

While for Mexicans, these curious figures of real or imaginary animals are hybrids. And has been seamlessly integrated into their idiosyncrasies and cultural heritage. Since the middle of the 20th century, in the US, the word “alebrije” means “Spirit Guide” or “Spiritual Guide” in English.

Since the 60s, the hippie movement and the open-mindedness reinforced the belief in the existence of those spirits. That guides the living and the souls of the dead through the spiritual world.

Mexican alebrijes Traditional alebrije crafts, made by artisans from San Antonio Arrazola, Oaxaca, Mexico.

Many of the stories, myths, and legends of Native Americans and the rescue of their traditions helped drive this idea that took on the biggest boom in the ’80s and ’90s, with many of the new age movements that proliferated at the time.

Tradition Does Not Discriminate Borders

Alebrijes were already gaining international fame between the ’70s and ’80s. When the world began to be intrigued by the creative work of the artisan Pedro Linares López.

Linares is the official creator of these fantastic animal figures. The Mexican cardboard master – which is the art of making figures in cardboard and mache paper, such as piñatas – had begun to create alebrijes since 1936 and used these materials to represent the strange animals that appeared in the dream revelation when fell into a state of coma.

Linares credited these animals with saving him from death and named them that because it was the word the little animals were yelling at him in his feverish sleep.

Although he had been building creatures such as dog-headed lions. Also cat-tailed owls or roosters with bull horns for a few decades. And it was not until 1975 that a documentary about Linares’ life, which was made by artist Judith Bronowski, gave projection to the humble craftsman.

Before the alebrijes, he sold Judas, piñatas, and skulls made out of paper maché and wire at La Merced Market in Mexico City.

Over time, owning and buying alebrijes became more popular. The collective psyche has associated these great animals with the figure of spiritual guides. Which are very important in the culture of North America

The belief in spiritual guides was related to more familiar concepts. For example, the “Dreamcatchers”, are linked to Native American stories, and also boomed during the 1980s, with pop culture.

What is a Spiritual Guide in English?

In the stream of spiritualism, a spiritual guide or counselor is an entity devoid of flesh and bone. A spirit with the mission of protecting. And also helping a person to conduct themselves in life.

The theosophical doctrine defends the concept of divine wisdom. Spiritual guides can be energy, also beings of light or stay in the cosmic plane, or be evolved beings.

These can be people who have settled their karmas after living several lives. So they may also have been chosen in another dimension. When someone who is about to incarnate asks for protection and help.

From Coco, Alebrijes, Halloween and a Little More

The film Coco produced by Pixar and Disney in (2017), reflects the concept of alebrijes used as spiritual guides. In this film, these fantastic and showy creatures are the protectors and allies of the protagonists on their journey through the underworld.

The film Coco has had a major influence on the promotion of alebrijes in the United States. Many people found out about their existence and thanks to that, Mexican culture is more present than ever in the United States. Alebrijes have become a phenomenon that has captivated North American culture.

These fantastic monsters, whether carved or in carton figures, have earned a reputation for being home protectors and scaring off harmful spirits, nothing new as these characteristics were attributed to them in the ’80s and ‘90s.

Many artists, such as teacher Christian David Méndez. Relate that there is a mysticism that surrounds the alebrijes. He says that having them at home is considered an omen of very good luck. Likewise, wood carvings of tonas and nahuales represent animals with human parts or not. For example, this is a nice gift for Americans in San Miguel de Allende.

Halloween and Day of the Dead

In Coco, alebrijes are related to the Day of the Dead. But actually, in Mexico, these spiritual animals are not linked to the origin. Or the customs of such celebration, in recent years these representations of fantasy animals increasingly coincide on the altars of the dead.

Also, at Halloween festivities in the United States, along with the figures of the catrinas, alebrijes have made their way.

The Day of the Dead celebrations are the most important festivities in Mexico. They were held between the 28th of October and the 3rd of November. But November 1st and 2nd are the key dates of the celebration.

Those days, the streets, cemeteries, and houses are full of allegorical figures. We find such as Mexican catrinas, altars of the deceased decorated with marigold flowers, the bread of the dead, sugar skulls, and candy in the shape of coffins.

How do Halloween parties in the United States relate to Mexico’s Day of the Dead and Alebrijes? Although neither is historically related, time and exchange between the two cultures have brought these traditions together.

Today you can establish similarities and parallels between The Day of the Dead celebrations and Halloween in Mexico.

Halloween in Tijuana, for example, includes catrinas, altars of the dead, and alebrijes in a fusion full of fun, color, and folklore.

Protectors From Afterlife

Tales of the Alebrijes as spiritual guides relate that these animals act as protectors and guides, but they are also tricky and playful. In fact, there is a widespread belief that they prevent dangers and misfortunes from coming and they may also be associated with the person’s date of birth.

This is closely related to the beliefs of Zapotec cultures. Attributed to a toná or animal based on the calendar and date of birth of each child. The “tonás” are protectors that manifest themselves by leaving footprints on the entrances of the houses, on the day a newborn arrives.

To discover it, Zapotec parents, based in the regions of Oaxaca, still practice this tradition of marking a circle with limes and mezcal at the entrance of the house. The next day, they check which animal tracks appeared. This will be the tona that will protect the baby throughout its growth.

We’re Not That Different After All

At the Chamizal National Memorial, a park located in El Paso (Texas) that celebrates the peace treaty between the United States and Mexico, it’s some unique creatures that attract attention. These are the wooden alebrijes, originating from the Valley of Oaxaca (Mexico).

This colorful exhibition reveals how Mexico and the United States share a border. But also those mystical ties between the two nations. And we can see how several legends of the native tribes of the USA are intertwined. With more than the stories of alebrijes and myths of nahuales and tonas of the ancient pre-Hispanic cultures.

Halloween is an American holiday that many in Mexico celebrate.

Let’s look at some beliefs and legends of North American tribes:

Dreamcatchers

For some people, it is a recently created decorative or magical object. However, dreamcatchers (dream hunters or scarecrows) are actually ancient amulets of protection.

They come from the shamanic traditions of North America and simulate spider webs. According to legends, they were taught to humans by beings turned into arachnids.

“Dream-catchers” are placed at the head of beds. This is to drain negative dreams and bad thoughts. They are made with wooden circles. Also web-shaped yarns, feathers, seeds, grains, and beads as decorations. In the center, there is a gap or “Great Mystery”. There is where bad energies are drained.

For it to work, the dreamcatcher must receive the morning sun to dissipate all energy. It was the Ojibwa tribe’s idea from the U.S, to market among non-native people the first asabikeshiinh or “spiders”. This was in the ’60s and caused great upheaval and criticism among the tribes.

The legend of the Sioux says that they learned to make dream catchers after old master Iktomi transformed into a spider. Another legend relates that the spider woman Asibikaashique, who watches over the sleep of all humans, taught the indigenous people how to make dream catchers.

Skinwalkers Navajo

Among the Navajo tribes, there is the legend of dangerous witches who become or disguise themselves as animals. They are called “skinwalkers” or “yeenaaldlooshii”, which translated from the Navajo means “with her, he goes on all fours.”

The Navajo include the Apache, Hopi, and Ute peoples, among others. They all have their version of the Skinwalker. Some are evil, others went from being healers or spiritual guides who helped humans transform into evil beings.

They may be women or men in the daytime, but they secretly transform into animals that can be wolves, coyotes, cougars, bears, or dogs. The Navajos refuse to wear skins of predatory animals for this reason.

Feather Butterfly of Arizona

For the Pima Indians, who settled in Arizona, the creator of all animals and men was Cherwit  Make, or “earth maker”. He was a butterfly and they called him a father. Legend has it that after fluttering from the clouds, he reached the cliffs where the Green and Salt rivers meet. There he made men from his sweat.

Over time, people became selfish and he told them, through the whisper of the north wind, to change or drown them with a flood. And when they killed a demon named Hauk, everything was calm again.

Since then, the people have avoided crossing the so-called Mountains of Superstition (Mount Superstition) where Cherwit  Make hopes one to one day to unleash a powerful sea contained behind the mountain range.

Death Valley Palace

In the Valley of Death (Ground Afire, for the Shoshone tribe) the stories of spiritual guides or spirits that appear with human forms, animals, and even objects are very prolific.

An old Shoshone legend speaks of an unfinished palace that appears in the valley on the hottest days. They are said to be the ruins of the palace of the ancient people of Timbisha. Made in marble and quartz, it was the obsession of a queen who envied the mansions of the Aztecs.

The queen, who had enslaved the village for this construction, was punished and the valley ceased to be fertile. The Indians say the white rocks of the valley are the ghosts of their ancestors.

Death Valley National Park, California, USA.

Oral Traditions of Elves

Among the native tribes of North America, including the Sioux, Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Crows, there are legends about small people, similar to goblins or fairies. According to the stories that have been told for centuries. These creatures are only between 20 inches and 3 feet tall.

They are called “the tiny people eaters”. Some relate them to healers and spirits. In the state of Wyoming, the Shoshone Indians told the children the stories of the Nimerigar, a race of small people who attacked nomads with poisoned bows and arrows.

Pedro, Wyoming’s Pygmy Mummy

In 1932, during gold-seeking excavations in the San Pedro Mountains (in Casper, Wyoming). They found a 14-inch mummy very well preserved. His fingernails and jelly-like black brain could be seen. They called it the Mummy of Pedro Mountain.

When subjected to studies, certified by the American Museum of Natural History. Harvard University and the University of Wyoming. It was found to be a human skeleton and it died violently.

It was exhibited, but since the 1950s they lost track of it. The Indians assure that the mummy causes death and desolation to its possessors.

The Mother Spirit of Arizona

This legend is set at the well-known Superstition Mountain or “Mount Superstition”. A geological heritage 20 miles from the capital of Arizona.

The legend, collected by researcher Charles Skinner (1852-1907), says that two centuries ago, a peaceful and hardworking tribe of people who were no more than a meter tall, came out of the interior of the mountains to till the land and raise herds. Ruled by the “Pale Face Lightning”. A tall white woman with brown hair.

In a war with the Apaches, the dwarves and Mother Spirit fled into the mountain. They are still there. The mountain is the focus of strange electrical events (due to the presence of iron, copper, and salt) that cause the Indians to be suspicious of passing through the place.

Apache Legends

Among the Apaches is an old myth that speaks of a man who lived and cared for the eagles in his nest. He flew with them and faced the hornets.

Another myth speaks of the transformation of an Apache man into a cub with black obsidian eyes. This transformation served to find enough buffaloes so that the Apache tribe did not starve. Aided by spirits led by bats, crows, and rattlesnakes”.

Totem and Spiritual Beings

A totem is an animal guide or guardian, a sacred symbol, or a spiritual being that relates to a tribe, family, clan, or person. In many of the tribes native to North America, totems correspond to nine animals and each person connects with one of them until he dies (very similar to the tonás of Mexico).

Each personal totem accompanies this individual in the physical world and upon reaching the spiritual world (in death). Everyone can have multiple guide animals in their entire lives, although one is only the one who acts as the lead leader or guardian.

The totem chooses the person it will protect. It is not the person who adopts the protector being.

Mexicans in the United States may find these totem stories very similar to their ancestral cultures. Same for foreigners in Mexico, when talking about alebrijes, tonás, and nahuales as animals or protective beings.

If you celebrate Mexican festivities in the United States and you’re a curious person, it wouldn’t hurt to know what your animal totem is. Ask yourself these questions:

• To which animal are you attracted more than any other?
• What animal or creature appears to you the most in different situations in your life? This includes your dreams, symbols, drawings, physical form, on television, etc.
• Are you afraid of any particular animal?
• Have any animals attacked you?
• You can’t resist collecting a certain figure or animal?

Recognizing your spiritual guides requires understanding your past and present, as well as exploring your inner world. The idea is that you can identify special connections with certain animals, shields, emblems, stone shapes, or any other kind of physical or mystical manifestation.

Use these same questions to help you identify your tona, nahual, or alebrije that is your Spirit Guide or protector.