Migrant Beings: ‘Re-membering’ Through Crafts-Design-Arts, More-Than-Human Kin and Rituals

• In Event: Latin American Migrations to Asia Pacific Countries

Abstract

“Migramos con nuestras raíces” reflects the enduring connection migrants maintain with their homelands. My experience of migration across continents has shaped a life lived in-between, where multiple homes coexist and identity is continuously reconfigured. This liminal condition aligns with Anzaldúa’s concept of Nepantla, a space of transformation where subjectivities navigate fragmentation and possibility.
Crafts-design-arts and ritual practices have become pathways for reconnection and healing. These embodied forms of conocimiento allow for the reassembly of self in response to the Coyolxauhqui imperative, which calls for the creative work of “re-membering” after dismemberment. Through symbolic relationships with more-than-human kin, such as the monarch butterfly, I explore how migrants cultivate belonging and memory across borders.
The monarch butterfly, a migratory being that transcends geopolitical boundaries, offers a powerful metaphor for transformation, continuity, and ancestral connection. Its presence in both México and Aotearoa New Zealand becomes a symbolic bridge between homes, guiding ritual and reflective practices that support the negotiation of identity and place.
This work considers how creative and ritualistic practices support the reconfiguration of home and self, highlighting Nepantla as a generative space and the Coyolxauhqui imperative as a framework for healing.

Author

• Diana Albarran Gonzalez, University of Auckland