Porcupine Alebrije

You are about to learn something new today. 

In my culture, Mexican, we have these amazing beings called Alebrijes, they are beings with the physical features of one or more real or imaginary animals.

Maybe you have seen the movie "Coco" by Pixar, if you did, then you have an idea, if not...

Let's have a little history lesson...

The nahual is a belief of several pre-Hispanic cultures, especially the Mayan, Toltec, and Mixtec. They are beings that can transform themselves into animals, which allows them to communicate with nature.

This ancient belief inspired the Alebrijes of Oaxaca (a place in Mexico), representing people’s animal counterparts. These Mexican spirit animals appear in dreams or describe the character traits and abilities. An alebrije is bound to protect you and scare away evil spirits.

According to pre-Hispanic traditions, everyone has a spirit animal from the moment of birth, and it depends on the day and year of birth. These guiding spirits’ name is toná.

In the Zapotec culture, the ritual to recognize the toná of a newborn was to place a circle of lime. The following day the footprints that appeared were the animal that would become their toná, telling the child’s personality.

And so here it is, a Porcupine Alebrije :D

Those with a Porcupine Alebrije have a childlike personality. They’re forever inquisitive, sweet, energetic, and happy. 

This is who I am. 

Which Alebrije are you?