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The Xolo:
An Unappreciated Treasure of Love and Meaning by John McFadden
Why did Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera,
and so many other smart, sensitive people love a dog that many people at first
glance, because it is hairless, don’t like at all. Why did they love the
Xoloitzquintli [pronounced, show-low-its-queen-tlee]. Called “Xolo” [show-low]
for short, cuddling this dog is like cuddling an infant. Unless its skin is once
daily treated with human skin cream, its back can feel dried and rough.
Nevertheless, these dogs do feel human, because they are very warm to the touch
and their bellies are very soft. They were so warm that ancient humans used to
use two or three of them each night in bed to keep warm. And they are very
affectionate. One of the most touching photos ever taken of Frida shows her in
pain in bed near the end of her life with a Xolo draped across her neck.
People love this dog also because
of what it represented in ancient cultures and still does in remote tribes of
Mexico. Earliest pottery figures of these dogs date more than 3,000 years ago,
making it likely the oldest breed in the Americas. For the advanced Aztec
civilization, this dog represented the god, Xolotl, whose mission was to guide
the souls of people who have died through treacherous territories to their
final, rewarding resting place. Thus, this dog represented undying, boundless
love and salvation from danger. Put differently, they represented some of the
humanity’s most enlightened humanizing feelings. Moreover, the Xolo was thought
to be a healing dog, capable of healing some of the most terrible diseases.
That’s because, I think, Xolos do feel so good when you cuddle them or they lay
against a sore part of the body.
In the 1500s, the Spanish
conquerors of Mexico couldn’t understand and relate to these dogs. Dogs without
hair seemed repugnant to them, and they believed that the spiritual significance
of these dogs was a sign only of the Axtecs’ backwardness. So they prohibited
even any mention of the Xolo. Partly because of the diseases the Spaniards
brought with them, the Aztec population fell dramatically from about 16 million
to 1 million, and with them, this breed almost completely died out.
Fortunately, particularly
sensitive and culturally aware people like Kahlo and Rivera encouraged this
breed. They helped those of us who are less artistic to notice that many of
these dogs body shapes are amazingly graceful and, well, beautiful; the proper,
erect dog show posture of some of these dogs reveals that their bodies are
shaped very much like the bodies of deer. Before Frida’s and Diego’s rise to
prominence, a few, intrepid dog lovers trekked to remote villages of Mexico to
recover Xolos. Their breeding had been preserved owing to their isolation from
mainstream Mexico and Spanish influence.
These efforts on behalf of the
Xolo have been fulfilled partly by the Mexican government. It designated the
Xolo Mexico’s national dog. Although this breed faltered in the middle of the
1900s, it just last year was, for the second time, accepted by the American
Kennel Club; it recognized the breeding of the Xoloitzcuintli Club of America.
Here’s to continuing to revive
this oldest Americas breed, to restoring it to its former honored place both as
cherished, life-giving pet and as representative of some of the most humanizing
spiritual sensibilities of the ancient Americas. Viva Xolo!!!
The facts alluded to above are taken from the book,
Hairless Dogs—The Naked Truth, by Amy Fernandez & Kelly Rhae. For reprints of
this article or additional information, e-mail
johnhughmcfadden@hotmail.com or phone 415-722-5860
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