MAQUECH-SERANGGA PERMATA

mygs_blossom84 · Post time 27-3-2012 04:53 PM

Serangga Maquech adalah kumbang hidup yang dihiasi batu permata dan dijadikan hiasan untuk wanita.ia akan dipin kan di baju sama seperti brooch biasa.namun menariknya ia akan merayap seperti brooch hidup.bukan sahaja sebagai penyeri dan elemen fesyen tetapi Maquech juga merupakan serangga peliharaan yang menjadi pilihan wanita di Mexico.actually, Maquech permata ini ada kaitan dengan mitos mexico pada zaman dahulu.untuk keterangan lanjut, bacalah info yang disertakan.;))

Live beetles covered in jewllery are all the rage in Mexico.

These bling covered pets are part of a centuries old tradition.

It's the ultimate in fashion jewellery in Mexico - maquech beetles have been worn by Mayan women as decorative brooches for centuries.

According to legend, a Mayan princess, in love with a soldier, was banned by her father from marrying him. The local wizard, feeling sorry for her, turned her lover into a maquech, so she could wear him close to her heart forever.

That legend has lived on and since the 80's artisans have added a modern twist to the ancient trend by glueing stones to the hard backs of the beetles and attaching a tiny chain so that they can be pinned to jackets and blouses.

Originally from the Yucatan Peninsula in the south east of Mexico, the beetles feed on a fungus that grows in Chimay trees.

Locals scour the forest near Huhi looking for the beetles, which they then sell to tourists for about US $10 a piece.

Back in the eighties, Gervasio Couoh Chuc was able to make enough money to build a a house - which cost 4,000 Mexican pesos at the time ($315 USD) - by selling maquechs.

He says: "Americans, for their curiosity, and many other foreign tourists like this type of animal, because these little animals are, how would I say it, they are very tame, you can hold them, they don?t bite."

And it's not just tourists fuelling demand. In the bars and cafes of Mexico City is not unusual to see beetles crawing on the lapels of fashionable ladies.

Natalia Medina says they not only look pretty, but also make good pets:

"A maquech is good because it doesn't need a lot of attention, you can take it for a walk and pin it down and that's it, sometimes I put it in my pocket if it's very cold, and?it's nice to see it walk, and see how it behaves."

But animal rights activists are appalled by the trend and say the practice should be banned.

Mendez also warns that attempting to take a maquech out of the country - especially to colder climates -
is not only illegal, but could kill the beetle.

Calls to ban the practice continue in Mexico, but for now these tiny beetles continue to carry the burden of fashion.

sumber:APTN news

Artemesiaa · Post time 27-3-2012 05:12 PM

Kumbang pun dipakaikan bling2 bagai tak berat ke dia nak carry around

mygs_blossom84 · Post time 27-3-2012 05:18 PM

kesian kumbang tu.tak pasal je.mesti dia menyumpah2 sebenarnya.aduii

mygs_blossom84 · Post time 27-3-2012 05:19 PM

kadang-kadang terfikir, dah tak cukup sgt ke aksesori kat dunia ni.tapi kan,dah nama tradisi derang.so kita sebagai masyarakat dunia, leh tengok jela;(