El Morralito: My Medicine Bag

My medicine bag from Rufina of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

"In the everyday life of the inhabitants of rural communities, one cannot miss an article that is totally linked to the native traditions ... the pouch. ...It is destined to be used to transport seeds to sow, to store food, and, in some cases, for beer or other spirits."

-- Juan Manuel Aguirre (2013)

Some time ago, Rufina, a good friend from Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, gave me a morralito made by a Oaxacan artisan. The word, "morralito," comes from the diminutive of morral, or pouch. It's one of the few venerable items adorning my home, and I appreciate it so much from this special person that I rarely take it outside my home. It contains symbolic items from dear friends and other items that the universe has loaned me.

For use in the field I have another morralito, made of leather. It's a little sturdier, and because it's not linked to anyone I know, I use it in the field. I picked it up from a young artisan who had spread his wares on a blanket on the ground, somewhere near the Faculty of Sciences, on the campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. I use it when I to carry a lunch with me, deliver something to another caminante, to collect seeds or herbs, or to take my paliacate (bandana) and shorts to the temazcal.

When I don't have either of the morralitos, a paliacate (bandana) also serves as a small makeshift bundle to carry herbs or other items that the universe shares with me. I actually I use more than either of the morralitos.

The Origin of the Word, "Morral"

I'm unsure of the origin of the Spanish word, "morral," which in the diminutive, becomes "morralito." Searching online Spanish dictionaries did little to uncover the etymology of the word.

By a quirk of the Google search engine, I did come across the Spanish word, "moral," (Etimologias.dechile.net 2001-2016) which, like our own English word, "moral," has to do with values and beliefs. Saint Isidoro de Sevilla (2007), in Etymologiarum Libri II, suggested that it the Romans borrowed the word from the Greek word, "ἠθικός," ‎(ethos or ēthikós), which, in turn, is rooted from "mos." Mos refers to manner, custom, or way. The Romans used the word, "moralis" to refer to customs.

Considering the etymology of the Spanish word, moral, and its references to "customs," it seems likely that it may have come from the idea that people used the morral for customary things or activities. That's just a guess, though.

In English, we use the word, "morral," to refer to "a fiber bag usually used as a food bag for horses" (MerriamWebster.com 2016) ... no confusion there. The Nahuatl language translates the Spanish, "morral," as, "xikipili" or "kayamasotl" (Aulex.org 2016), ... no obvious relationship there!

Basically, a morralito refers to a small bag, pouch, or bandolier bag, like the Anishinaabeg aazhooningwa'igan(ag), or bags used by the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Ojibwa, modern Aztecs and Mayas, and today still, in much of northern Mexico, Mesoamerica, and South America.

The Significance of the "Morralito"

The morralito may, ... or may not, ... hold a special meaning for its bearer. I guess that the meaning of mine has to do with friendship, cultural affinities, and practicality. I especially like the colors of the woolen pouch. They remind me of my native brothers and sisters, and they carry with them reminders of a friendship.

Indigenous Americans have given special significance and even a sacred status to bundles and medicine bags. The bundle or bag may contain items associated with spiritual healing or sacred personal or tribal objects of symbolic importance. In some of these cultures, the wearer may occult it and keep it with great secrecy.

"One Called From A Distance" (Midwewinind)
of the White Earth Band, 1894.
He is shown here wearing a Bandolier bag,
 with the strap across his chest.
Source: Wikimedia

The bandolier, of the more northern American tribes, may be used more for munitions. Decorated one may be presented to a warrior as an honor. Black Elk, of the Oglala Lakota, spoke, when discussing the keeping of the soul, to Joseph Epes Brown of a sacred bundle: "...there should always be a woman who has been chosen to care for the sacred bundle; the first woman to fulfill this sacred duty was Red Day Woman." He described the bundle as "a specially painted buffalo-hide box."

Farther south, in Mexico and Mesoamerica, one commonly sees men with morralitos, especial in rural areas and small villages. They're also popular as souvenirs among tourists in touristic regions.

The Temazcalero's Morralito

Not all temazcaleros use a morralito, and those who do, do so with varying degrees of reverence. Some, may carry their goods in a completely utilitarian bolsa de camiseta, (literally, t-shirt bag ... referring to its similarity, before opening, to a sleeveless t-shirt or tank top) or plastic grocery bag, like those from Walmart or the Mexican Soriana. Others, especially ancianos (elders) and caminantes (those who walk the red road) very dedicated to the red road, often have more traditional weaved bags (like that shown above) or other elaborately decorated pouches.

What kind of bag does the temazcalero need? It's not a need or requirement, really. It's a personal thing. Use the bag that fits you and your practice in the temazcal.

Tell Me about Your Morralito

Morralitos, interestingly, generally have some sort of history or meaning behind them. You'll often hear a temazcalero ask another about his or her morralito. Where did you get that? What does that symbol mean? Who made it? Is it wool? What's in it?

Tell us about your morralito. What's its story? How did it come to be the morralito that you use for special things? What does it mean to you? 

If you think about your morralito, I bet there's something to it that tells us something interesting about yourself! Let's hear it!

...con todas mis relaciones! Aho!

References Cited

Aguirre, J. M. 2013. Morral, artículo indígena. In El Sol de Tulancingo, El Occidental (http://www.oem.com.mx/eloccidental/notas/n3142793.htm), Reviewed 26 November 2016.

Aulex.org. 2016. Diccionario Español - Náhuatl. Online in AULEX (http://aulex.org/es-nah/?busca=morral&idioma=en), Reviewed 17 November 2016.

Brown, J. E. 1989. The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk's Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux. University of Oklahoma Press.

Etimologias.dechile.net. 2001-2016. Moral. On Etimologias.dechile.net (http://etimologias.dechile.net/?moral), Reviewed 26 November 2016.

MerriamWebster.com. 2016. Morral. On MerriamWebster.com's website (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morral), viewed 27 November 2016.

Saint Isidoro de Sevilla. 2007. In Etymologiarum, Libri II. Online at (Èulogos, ed.) Isidorus Hispalensis Etymologiarum sive originum libri XX, I IntraText CT (http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0706/5/F8.HTM), Reviewed 27 November 2016.