[Click here to view the video in this article]
While many people finds insects to be repulsive, the Maya women on the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico actually wear living beetles as jewelry.
The Makech is a large beetle with a broad shell that can be decorated with gemstones—it is then attached with a golden chain and worn as a pendant. When they are not used as jewelry, these six-legged creatures are kept as pets.
This bizarre fashion statement originated from a legend about a princess whose true love was transformed into a beetle. It is now a dying custom, and it being very rare to see women wearing this unusual piece of jewelry.
Mike Powell and Juergen Horn of Yucatán For 91 Days managed to track down a shop that still sells Makech—watch the video below to find out what they saw there.
Would you like to try wearing this living piece of jewelry?
[via Neatorama, images via Yucatan For 91 Days]
While many people finds insects to be repulsive, the Maya women on the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico actually wear living beetles as jewelry.
The Makech is a large beetle with a broad shell that can be decorated with gemstones—it is then attached with a golden chain and worn as a pendant. When they are not used as jewelry, these six-legged creatures are kept as pets.
This bizarre fashion statement originated from a legend about a princess whose true love was transformed into a beetle. It is now a dying custom, and it being very rare to see women wearing this unusual piece of jewelry.
Mike Powell and Juergen Horn of Yucatán For 91 Days managed to track down a shop that still sells Makech—watch the video below to find out what they saw there.
Would you like to try wearing this living piece of jewelry?
[via Neatorama, images via Yucatan For 91 Days]