Two bowls made by a member of the Dagua family, Canelos, Ecuador | ||
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Posted 8 years ago
ho2cultcha
(5051 items)
I sent an email to a friend of mine whose mother is a potter in Puyo, Ecuador and she said that these bowls were made by a member of the Dagua family in Canelos. Mystery solved!
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It's Ashuar pottery, from Ecuador.
thanks CanyonRoad.
i still don't understand why this isn't considered native american pottery? the native people throughout central and south america DO consider themselves native american, despite what anyone says, and rightfully so. i worked w/ them for 11 years throughout the americas and there was never a doubt amongst any of them.
It's weird - I agree with you, but for some reason they are only 'Native American' in the U.S. In Canada they are 'First Nations', in central & So America, 'Indigenous'.
these are the Americas, regardless of what some people say. people i know in latin america are quick to point out that they are americans as well, and our border is a relatively new concept.
Since there is dispute about where the term "America" itself originated, (most often credited to a cartographer who assigned the term to the new land he mistakenly thought had been "discovered" by an Italian, Amerigo Vespucci) many indigenous people prefer to be known by their own name for their own people or their own territory, in their own language.
When it is applied to anyone perceived not to be a recent immigrant to this continent (after 1492?) or to Central or South America, the term Native American becomes basically meaningless. Cultures that have nothing in common with one another are lumped together under one general "Native American" designation. One could be referring to an Ashuar from Ecuador, or a Zuni from New Mexico. If you are talking about Native American craft work or cultures, it is important to be as specific as possible. It's as meaningless as "Asian art" or "European art."
As an entirely separate issue, however, when it comes to the marketplace, the term "Native American" is defined by federal law (Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, Public Law 101-644) in the United States, to apply only to enrolled members or artisans of federally-recognized U.S. tribes. Individuals can self-identify however they want, but to sell something as Native American Indian, in the United States, it must be made by an enrolled member or artisan of a U.S. tribe.
thanks for responding CanyonRoad. However, i disagree on several points. It was Indigenous leaders from throughout the Americas who taught me this. I worked with/for Native peoples from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego for 11 years. The most important meaning of the term 'Native American' is that it indicates those people who have been in the Americas for thousands of years. There are connections throughout the Americas. For example, I lived with the Tawahka people from the Honduran and Nicaraguan coast. Their lineage goes down through Central America and into the Amazon. Several years after i returned, i went to Costa Rica where i met the Boruka people and i could understand some words, and many of their legends and crafts are almost identical. Apparently, there is a group in Brasil who share the same roots and I heard that there were also many similarities w/ them - even though they've been isolated from one another for hundreds of years. As far as crafts, art and design, there are many, many similarities throughout the Americas - although the differences are often emphasized on a local level throughout the Americas. Although the term 'Native American' is not used very often below the border, it still means Indigenous to this land - the Americas.
And since this is not a commercial site where we are buying and selling, why should American law supersede the desires of people who want to emphasize the similarities vs. the differences? Frankly, these laws were made to value some groups over others, and i think that it is a very narrow understanding of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
It obviously was important enough for you to mention, specifically, Shipibo, from Ecuador, in your first post. Which indicated that you had an interest in who, specifically, made the bowls. If someone had just replied that they were "Native American," that wouldn't have meant much. Right? And if you ever should decide to sell them in the United States, it's a good idea to know their origin, as well as the federal laws that govern offering them for sale.
I realize that you have some sort of philosophical reasoning going on, which is fine. Just be aware, however, that there are cultural and individual differences, and some tribal members object very strongly to the term "Native American." They would prefer "Indian," even, over Native American, but their first choice would be their historical, cultural name in their own language.
I admit I haven't had close personal contacts with Central or South American peoples, so there may be differing opinions there, but I certainly have dealt extensively with Canadian, Pacific Northwest, Southwest, and Plains tribal members. And that has been my observation over the years. Especially in the last 10-15 years, there has been a steadily increasing demand to reclaim their cultural tribal identification, and reject the European names imposed upon them by another culture.
that is true Canyon Road, but we are just talking about the categories here on cw. i'm very aware of both the rejection of the name 'Indian', as well as the movement to reclaim it [similar to the embracing of the word 'queer' by some members of that community]. i know people in all the cultures you've named so far, plus a couple hundred more.
Sorry, I should have placed quotes around your mention of "Shipibo pottery from Ecuador." When I first answered, I thought you just had just mistaken the name of the tribe.
The Shipibo live in Peru, on the Ucayali River, near where it joins the Amazon. Their pottery features a distinctive, maze-like, black line decoration, which is derived from their traditional body painting and textile patterns.
i lived/worked in the amazon for short periods in both ecuador and peru and i'm sorry i can't keep them all straight. it's been quite a few years now and there are lots and lots of Indigenous groups down there. i appreciate your encyclopedic knowledge CanyonRoad.
Great solve by CanyonRoad !! Mystery solved !! Nice piece !!
i've seen pottery w/ these same designs produced by the Canelos Quechua in Puyo, Ecuador. they also make pottery which looks like Shipibo pottery.
i sent a photo of these bowls to a friend in Ecuador. He showed them to his mother who is a potter in Puyo and she said that they were made by a member of the Quechuan Dagua family in Canelos, Ecuador.