Experience the allure of the Southwest Desert with the Desert Bloom American Mahjong Set by Mod Mahj. This American Mahjong set was designed by Shela Yu, a Chinese American artist born and raised in Mesa, AZ. This beautiful set gives homage to the tradition of Mahjong while blending the imagery of the Arizona desert. The color palette expresses the vibrant colors of the sunsets in the desert as well as the depth of colors found scattered across the land. Shela lovingly designed each suit and piece and describes her choices below.
The Bams celebrate the giants of the desert— the saguaro. The one bird bam includes a beloved little cactus wren, commonly seen perched within saguaros.
For the Craks, a fun discovery about the origins of the Chinese character “万” (wàn) was utilized. The oracle bone script (ancient Chinese writing) for this character which means ten thousand was symbolic of the scorpion. Scorpions where said to be found in the rocks by the thousands. Given the prevalence of the scorpion in the desert, this felt like a great opportunity to connect Chinese history to this Southwest set.
The Dots pay tribute to citrus plants, which have become a staple in the sun drenched Arizona fields. During the peak of citrus seasons, the scent of their fragrant flowers illuminate the air.
To be Chinese is to have Dragon mythology baked into your veins. In the desert, there are also numerous mythologies about the rattlesnake from various Native American tribes such as the Tohono O’odham, who originate in Phoenix. In many ways, the rattlesnake feels like the dragon of the desert.
The flowers were a great opportunity to highlight the many wonderful plants that our desert has to offer. Included in this set are agave blooms, creosote flowers, desert mallow, desert marigold, desert primrose, desert sage, night blooming cactus, ocotillo flowers, saguaro blooms, and torch flower cactus.
Similarly to the flowers, the jokers provided a chance to showcase the plethora of desert animals. Showcased for this set we have bobcat, cow skull, coyote, desert big horn, desert toad, Gila monster, jack rabbit, javelina, roadrunner, and tortoise.
The winds were kept fairly simple by maintaining the Chinese characters for the cardinal directions.
- Complete Set Of 160 Tiles:
- 36 dots
- 36 Bams
- 36 Craks
- 12 Dragons
- 16 Winds (N, E, S, W)
- 10 Flowers
- 10 Jokers
- 4 Blanks
- Tiles 2.54 x 3.65 x 1.11cm
