Hand Painted Seismic Dinosaur

This “Seismic Dinosaur” and others like it are born in rural southern Mexico in villages of the North American Native Nahua. As a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, these little creatures began their lives as gourds, grown to become motion filled mascots, pets and pals.

The artisans who make them speak Nahuatl. The Nahua call these creatures “Tlalolini”, which means earthquake. They believe these creatures are endowed with the super power of telekinetic earthquake detection. In the Nahua villages, these delicately balanced zoomorphics are kept under glass and used to detect temblors or seismic activity. Popular with children, they were soon taken to the town and city markets, where Spanish is spoken, and where they were renamed “Sismicas”.