THE WOMEN POTTERS OF AMATENANGO

In the Teopisca valley of Chiapas, Mexico, among cornfield-lined roads that lose their way into the mountains, sits Amatenango del Valle. A tile and adobe village with only seven thousand inhabitants, located 38 kilometers east of San Cristobal de las Casas. It is said that the women potters here are born with terracotta souls and hearts of baked clay that are as fragile and pure as the region's soil.

Text and photos by David Díaz Gómez

The hill east of town, on the road to Comitan de Las Flores, has a view of the Amatenango valley and village. From there you can sight plumes of white smoke rising from town trees, proof that the women potters are at work.

    The women from Amatenango learn the art of pottery by an oral tradition that has remained unchanged for centuries, a tradition that began long before molds were created, and pottery was baked in ground-level, open-air bonfires. The secrets of their craft have been handed down from mother to daughter for generations.

    The first thing one notices upon entering Amatenango is the lack of men. Women are everywhere, in the streets, at the doors and windows—even children are mostly girls. You might see a man on the edge of town or a few talking in the plaza, but that's it. Later one learns that the men are either working in the fields or in the neighboring towns of Teopisca, Comitan or San Cristobal

    Households in Amatenango are potter's studios, where several generations of women, young and old alike, work at molding, painting and firing clay. There is not a single woman in Amatenango who ignores the art of making pottery. Meanwhile, most of the men are dedicated to farming. Early on when boys are shown the machete, the girls are introduced to their first chunk of clay.

    Women forage for clay in a place called El Madronal, which can prove to be quite a difficult task. They often must dig a ditch—up to two meters deep—to find a good deposit. The clay collection is carried out once a year, at the end of winter, before the rainy and spring sowing season (February to May). They simultaneously collect river sand and stones called bash, which is used to strengthen the clay.