THE WOMEN POTTERS OF AMATENANGO

A WARM WELCOME

The favorite figures of the Amatenango potters, and also those most in demand, are the doves.

Amatenango del Valle is one of the most interesting native Maya villages in the state of Chiapas. The woman are cheerful and genuinely friendly. Little girls offer what appear to be gifts to travelers, usually small clay animals. But the catch is that you are expected to buy something from his or her family in return. At other times the kids offer the object, then as you reach for it they ask for a peso or two. They are just children, and their charming animalitos (little animals) are the figures they practice on. As a sample of —and a way to encourage—fledgling creativity, a few pesos seems a bargain.

    Amatenango is a peaceful little village accustomed to tourism, which it seems to genuinely appreciate. If visitors like to watch the potters at work they need only to ask; the women will cheerfully lead them through their houses to their work areas. Cameras however, are prohibited. These folks rarely like their picture taken, and visitors are asked to refrain from doing so. Travelers able to establish that special rapport, or those making an exceptionally large purchase from a single family, may get the women to agree to a picture—if they are lucky.

    Land of the women potters, citadel of tradition, Amatenango del Valle is a village filled with creative women whose work is a form of art that combines the four elements—earth, wind, fire and rain—to create objects that reflect their culture and individuality. They are the living guardians of traditions centuries old, and to spend time among them is to enter a space of such purity and simplicity that one finds it hard to leave.