Dimensions (height x width x depth): 17 x 51 x 18 cm
Weight: 3.8 kg
Origin: Waurá Ethnicity - Amazon (Brazil)
History: The Waurá indigenous people (also known as Waujá) are one of the traditional peoples of the Xingú River, in the Brazilian center-west, living in several villages in the Xingú National Park. They speak the Maipure language, from the Arawak family, and constitute, alongside the Mehinako, Yawalapiti, Pareci and Enawene Nawe, the group of central Mairupe.
The Arawak-speaking people of the Xingú (Waurá and Mehinako) are direct descendants of several populations originating in the southwest of the Amazon basin who established the first Xingu villages in the 800s and 900s. Archaeological research shows that between the years 1,000 and 1,600 these people they were much more populous and inhabited huge circular villages interconnected by roads and surrounded by ditches, palisades and elevated land paths.
The Waurá are well known for their ancient ceramics, and many other items of their material culture continue to be manufactured, including those that could have easily been replaced by industrialized objects, but for symbolic reasons they continue to play their role in reproducing the Waurá culture. This is the case of wooden benches, prepared and used for traditional festivals and rituals, and which follow an animal-shaped aesthetic (zoomorphic aesthetic), with the head and tail of the species represented on each side of the seat. The benches are called Xepí and among the most represented animals are the anteater, tapir, jaguar and birds, carved from a single tree trunk. They are decorated with natural pigments taken from pequi (yellow), annatto and mãwatan wood (red) and iurilo wood and charcoal (black).
In addition to wood carvings and ceramics, the Waurá are known for the graphics on their baskets, their feather art and their large ritual masks. One of the most traditional festivals of the Waurá is that of the apapatai, spirits that cause evil and make people sick. At the party, these spirits are personified by large painted straw masks, and they are offered food and entertainment, in exchange for healing mediated by the shaman. In general, the festivities require the manufacture of various ritual objects, which can be beijú shovels, oars, masks, flutes, clarinets, cassava unearthers, pestles, baskets, pans, arrows, etc.
Note: Because they are produced by hand, each piece is unique, with no two being exactly the same. There may be small variations in dimensions (more or less), colors and tones between the pieces and between what is perceived on cell phone or computer screens and the real pieces. If you have any questions about any details, send us a message and we will be happy to resolve them.
