Dimensions (height x diameter) : 4 x 15 cm
Weight : 35 g
Origin : Baniwa ethnic group - Amazon (Brazil)
History : The Baniwa (read Baniuá) live on the border of Brazil with Colombia and Venezuela, in villages located on the banks of the Içana River and its tributaries Cuiari, Aiairi and Cubate, in addition to communities on the Upper Rio Negro. They are excellent at making baskets using the stem of the arumã (an herbaceous plant), vines, dyes and natural fixatives. Basketry is rich in graphics, and this ancient art has been passed down through generations.
The baskets (waláya in the native language) are made with arumã straw. In the forest, they select only the stems in good condition and perform the first scraping to remove the green skin. The dyeing is done with gray, which gives the black color, and annatto, the reddish color. The tones are fixed with cumati juice. After dyeing, the arumã still needs to be shredded and opened into thinner rods for braiding. For each piece, 150 to 200 splints are used, which are braided into the most diverse patterns.
The waláya appear in the mythology and initiation rituals of Baniwa girls and boys. Traditionally, boys learn to make baskets of this type and offer them to their ritual friends at the end of the period of seclusion. The Baniwa use waláya makapóko (= large baskets), to collect the cassava dough (before and after squeezing it into the tipiti) and to serve beijú and flour at meals, and it also serves as a support for presenting fruits and other foods.
This basket is considered by Baniwa artisans to be the most laborious, especially due to the finishing required for the eaves. There are several types of finishing: in natural arumã or just scraped without dyeing, with colored or inlaid graphics on one or both sides.
