Xigie (Zapotec name for Teotitlán del Valle, "under the stone")
A wool-weaving tradition on the Spanish-introduced two-pedal treadle loom, fusing colonial European technology with a Zapotec design language over 2,500 years old — geometric patterns drawn directly from the stone mosaics of the nearby archaeological site of Mitla — and dyed with natural cochineal, indigo, and marigold in a nearly 6,000-resident town where almost every family weaves.
Risk level: Vulnerable · Not currently inscribed on a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list; Mexico ratified the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage on 14 December 2005 and could nominate this technique in the future
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