WOOL OF THE COTTON DEER
The wool we use at Madda Studio is spun by hand with the pre-Hispanic spindle, by roughly 60 indigenous Chamula women from different villages in the highlands of Chiapas. The Chamula people are a Tzotzil Maya group residing in the highlights of Chiapas. They have resisted cultural assimilation for hundreds of years, maintaining their language - Tzotzil - and customs.
Sheep were first introduced to Latin America by the Spanish following the conquest. When the Chamula people encountered one for the first time, they named it ‘cotton deer’ - 'tunim chiji' in the Tsotsil language - because it resembled a deer, but with a soft fleece. Today, these sheep - now known as the 'Chiapa sheep' - are considered sacred and are cherished like beloved pets.
The Chiapa sheep have fleece with natural hues ranging from dark coffee to beige, and from dark grey to white. We worked with the Chamula women to develop our four tones of wool, by blending the natural fleece of the sheep during the spinning process. This subtle mix of nuanced color lends itself exceptionally well to a minimalist aesthetic and makes each piece
we produce unique.
Wool of the Cotton Deer: Raul Perezgrovas Garza “La Lana del Tunim Chij, el “Venado de Algodon”
Universidad Autonoma de Chiapas Instituto de Estudios Indigenas, 2005.