Carriers of Tradition

Description

Ceramics is an art linked to Aboriginal culture and beliefs, who created images of their deities in clay; they made musical instruments; They make vessels and utensils to preserve food, prepare potions and drinks, as well as vessels for ceremonial uses.

Since time immemorial, potters or potters as they are called. They have maintained the tradition of making utilitarian clay vessels, with pre-Hispanic techniques. They make pots, tableware, vases, jars, stoves, vases, mucuras, casseroles, budares. The pieces are made by hand, without using a lathe and the burning is done over an open fire.

The production centers are located in almost the entire national territory. The most important places being those in the States of Lara Mérida Trujillo and Táchira with areas rich in pottery lands.  In the east of the country, the productions of Isla Margarita, Caigua in the State of Anzoátegui and Manicuare stand out.

In the Guajira Peninsula, Wayuu women make funerary urns called “julá a”, vessels where bones of the deceased are deposited, a type of secondary burial, according to ritual practices.

The technique preserved by the potters is of pre-Hispanic origin. A brief description will be like this:

The clay is crushed, sieved, incorporating the degreaser, then water is added. Let it rest and knead; The traditional rolling method is used, overlapping strips of clay are placed on a base, joining together with water, like rings or spirals. With a piece of totuma (hard fruit of the totumo tree) it is smoothed and burnished. It is dried, painted with slip and polished again with a stone. They decorate them by tracing lines in high relief of white or red clay, with geometric and arabesque designs.

Although the vessels lost their use value, they continue to be produced to meet the demand for being highly decorative pieces with high cultural value.

EnglishPottery

Pottery is an art linked to the culture and beliefs of the aborigines, who created images of their deities in clay; they made musical instruments and made pots and utensils to preserve food, prepare potions and drinks, as well as pots for ceremonial uses.

Since time immemorial, the potters or "loceras" as they are called, have maintained the tradition of making utilitarian vessels in clay, using pre-Hispanic techniques. They make pots, crockery, vases, jars, flower vases, "múcuras", casseroles, "budares". The pieces are made by hand, without the use of a potter's wheel, and the firing is done over an open fire. The production centers are located almost everywhere in the country. The most important places are in the states of Lara, Mérida, Trujillo and Táchira, which are rich in pottery-producing areas.  In the east of the country, the production of Isla Margarita, Caigua in the state of Anzoátegui and Manicuare stood out.

In the Guajira Peninsula, Wayuu women make funeral urns called "julá", vessels in which the bones of the deceased are placed, a type of secondary burial, in accordance with ritual practices. The technique preserved by the potters is of pre-Hispanic origin. A brief description will be as follows:

The clay is crushed, sifted, incorporating the degreaser, then water is added. It is left to stand and then kneaded. The traditional rolling method is used, where strips of clay are placed on top of each other on a base and joined together with water, like rings or spirals. A piece of "totuma", the hard fruit of the totumo tree, is smoothed and burnished, dried, painted with slip and polished again with a stone. They decorate them by tracing lines in high relief in white or red clay, with geometric and arabesque designs. Although the pots have lost their value in use, they are still produced to meet the demand as decorative pieces with a high cultural value.