By: Ayleen Cabas Mijares
Produced & Edited By: Megan Laird
Traditional
artisans strive to keep their unique cultural expressions alive in the modern
market
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© Courtesy of: Artesanias de Colombia
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A Historical Art
His hands dive into boiling water and
take out a mass that looks like gum at first glance. He stretches the mass with
his hands and mouth, then smashes it with a hammer, and puts it back into hot
water. Eduardo Muñoz will repeat this
process at least thirty times to distill impurities from the material, which he
will later use to impregnate plates, vessels, canvases and sculptures with
indigenous culture. The “gum” are the leaves of the mopa-mopa tree transformed
into varnish, and Muñoz has devoted to this material for more than fifty years.
To witness Muñoz work with mopa-mopa is
to lay eyes upon a craft whose origins trace back to the 10th
century A.D. Inhabitants of Pasto’s indigenous community—established in the
current capitol of south western Colombia’s Department of Nariño—used the
material to craft and decorate water resistant objects. The technique appealed
to the Spanish conquistadors, and throughout the colonial period, Pasto
artisans decorated utensils with characteristic images of European culture.
“This is an example of how an
extraneous influence can kill a culture,” Muñoz says. “The varnish didn’t
reflect indigenous legends and cosmovision anymore. I try to bring it back by
working with the same materials and techniques the indigenous used. I always do
research on Pasto culture to accurately represent it.”
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| © Courtesy of: Luis Angel Arango Library |
Muñoz is among many whose ultimate goal
is to rescue ancient Colombian traditions. The conservation of traditional
artisanship techniques and the culture behind them has been part of Colombia’s
governmental policy for decades. However, the preservation of cultural
patrimony is an intricate task and many artisans still fear the disappearance
of their traditions in the midst of the sector’s modernization.
Perishing Through Adaptation?
Artesanías de Colombia (Artisanships of
Colombia)—the government corporation that coordinates Colombia’s craftsmanship policies—celebrated
its 50th anniversary this year.
“We hope to keep helping the artisans
improve their quality of life and promote their craft in the modern market,”
says Ariadna Padrón of Artesanías de Colombia. This year, 8,000 artisans have
taken advantage of the company’s services.
The corporation offers programs to
develop artisans’ skills in making and marketing their crafts. Iván Moreno,
also of Artesanías de Colombia, works side by side with artisans to see how
they can improve their products by incorporating sophisticated materials and
design technology, to a degree.
“A multidisciplinary team of
professionals meets regularly with artisans to think about new and sustainable practices
that can reduce the production costs and make their products better, more
eco-friendly and profitable,” Moreno says.
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| © Courtesy: Eduardo Muñoz Lora |
However, as Artesanías de Colombia
advocates for the improvement of artisanship, many of its essential features might
be getting lost in the process. For UNESCO, the special
nature of artisanal products derives from their distinctive characteristics, which
can be utilitarian, artistic, culturally attached or socially symbolic. The
last two are the most important and difficult features to preserve.
Muñoz says many traditional artisans
perceive the government and Artesanías de Colombia as trying to save something
they do not fully understand. “It’s impossible for them (as people born and
raised in another culture) to apprehend the ancient traditions that make every
piece of artisanship unique. They cannot reach the heart of cultures. Despite
of their good intentions, the essence of our work is fading.”
Even within the government there are different
opinions about how to safeguard artisanship. “The efforts are currently focused
on improving the artisans’ quality of life from an economic perspective,” says
Juan Henao of the Ministry of Culture. “Policy makers fail to prioritize the
fact that these crafts are manifestations of our cultural identity as
Colombians.”
Henao works in the Ministry of
Culture’s Division of Immaterial Patrimony, which develops policies to sustain the
survival of traditional arts. The goals of the division are to ensure the
proper documentation and diffusion of artisanal practices, and encourage
artisans to keep teaching their craft to new generations.
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| © Courtesy: Eduardo Muñoz Lora |
“Entering
the list means the community has to work harder for their traditions, which can
be discouraging for some people who think of the list as a mean to get State
funding.”
Despite of these preservation
mechanisms, the continuity of many crafts is still compromised since the
activities do not have the necessary followers. Some ethnic groups just fail to
recognize artisanship as part of their cultural heritage.
Henao remembers an Antioquian community
that denied the cultural value of their hand-made baskets. Some scholars, based
on sound archeologic findings, tried to include the community’s craft in the
national Representative List of Immaterial Patrimony. “While visiting the
community, we discovered it didn’t recognize baskets as an expression of their
ancient culture,” Henao says. “They made baskets for utilitarian purposes. We couldn’t
do anything to support the craft.”
Muñoz knows this kind of frustration
well. “I try to teach my son the importance of Pasto tradition,” he says. “He
helps me do some pieces, but this isn’t his passion. He studies design and he’d
rather spend his hours in the computer… This world is not made for people who
work for months to create something special and don’t receive the proper
recognition or income for it.”
The private sector also attempts to
make its contribution to the preservation of traditional crafts. The School of
Arts and Crafts of Santo Domingo offers embroidery and carpentry courses in
order to avoid the disappearance of these occupations.
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| © Courtesy: Eduardo Muñoz Lora |
“Students don’t have enough resources
to continue their education,” said Laura Mejía, the school’s director. “It is
difficult to contribute to their crafts and business models in the long run.”
Colombia strives to assign a just value
to artisanship, since its competitive advantage in the market lies in something
intangible: the craft’s cultural background. For Moreno, “the challenge is to make
the activity profitable so artisans can dedicate their lives to the
conservation of their traditions.” Despite the government’s accomplishments, Muñoz’s
anxiety remains. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to ensure the survival of my
craft. We, the artisans, represent the cry of all cultures that are being
slowly crushed by modernity.”
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