Day Sixteen - Amantenango del Valle

Today was a relaxing day. Some Fulbrighters ventured back to the Center for Mayan Medicine to undergo a spiritual cleansing ritual, but I opted not to go. From what I heard, it involved candles, basil, eggs, and Mayan prayers.  Cool, but not for me.

Around noon our group set out on an optional 3-hour trip to Amatenango del Valle, which is a small village specializing in the production of pottery. It was about an hour bus ride from San Cristobal. This time it took so long because of construction and because our bus was behind a funeral procession. The funeral was interesting in that the hearse was in front with all the attendants walking behind it carrying white balloons (Jacques thinks the significance is that it was a child’s funeral).

When we finally arrived at our destination, there was a row of small houses on one side of the street and an empty valley on the other (hence the “del Valle” or “of the Valley”). With the stopping of our bus came many children and most adults to see what was going on. Jacques spoke with a few of the locals and arranged for us to visit one of the family’s workshops. I was amazed at her hospitality, as she’d never heard of or seen us before. We walked to her backyard where she set up a small mat and sat down to mold a pot in the shape of a dove.

As she used sand, clay and water to design the beautiful bird, she explained that she has been making these particular sculptures since she was a child. It took her about fifteen minutes to complete the project, during which time she told us about the details that go into her work, like that she makes both small and large doves; it takes her about 3 days to finish a large dove; only girls in the family learn this trade...the boys work in the field or have a more labor-intensive job. When she was finished shaping the dove, she added eyes by poking it with the top of an eye drop container and she put small details in with her fingers. It was beautiful! If she’d had one for sale, I would have definitely bought a dove from her. But since she didn’t I bought a few other things (of course!).  Here are some pictures as she worked on the pot:

Once we got back to San Cristobal, a few of us ventured off to the local market which was filled with all types of Chiapas souvenirs. I bought an amber bracelet and necklace (since amber is a local specialty), a t-shirt, and a couple bookmarks. It was definitely a big shopping day!