An ancient ritual from the Sierra Madre, the trueque at the tianguis

Tlacolula Oaxaca has a very peculiar market or “tianguis”, every Sunday since the XIV century, an assorted group of Indians from the nearby villages as far as 2 hours walking, come down to the market to do a very ancient practice the “Trueque” which is a tradition of trading goods.

This market, the largest on the Oaxacan Valley and unique with this ritual.

The locals have this ancient practice; very early every Sunday morning you will see these peasants mostly woman dressing with different and dazzling colors, because they know their precedence from the dye and embroidery of their dresses, set their products on a top of a cloth on the floor and start to trade this merchandise between each other, you will see a variety of herbs and spices, multicolored vegetables and fruits from the region, cocoa, coffee, cactus plants and , prickly pears, bread and tortillas, goats, hogs, crickets and chickens, textiles, knitted bags and blouses , leather bags and hats, woven straw baskets, red, black and green handcraft clay, cooper or iron cast pots and pans, wooded carved or painted figures, beautifully designed and handmade, colorful candles, all of this they will trade between each other until seven in the morning, before the market is open to the local community, sometimes they trade everything they brought from their village and go away, the ones that still have some goods stay and sale it to the regular customers and tourist that pack the market to see this beautiful colors, smell those ancient flavors and hear the murmur of different languages blended with the music of bands and lonely performers singing to the crowds.

Handmade art crafts from Oaxaca , álbum at Flickr.

Santa Maria de la Asuncion of Tlacolula its the religious name, or Tlacolula de Matamoros, the official name. The town is located about 20 miles from the state capital of Oaxaca. An ancient settlement, is home to the Zapotecan Indians, the mezcal and the shrine of the Assumption, erect in tribute to the holly Lady of Tlacolula. The Church is from the XVI Century but don´t get confused the market and its traditions go way back in to the past of this Zapotec region.