Art helping the culture of an indigenous people and their rain-forest resources.
Skilled women artisans of the Wounaan and Embera people take pride in their fine baskets. These traditional baskets are made of fibers from the leaves of rain-forest palms and dyes from rainforest plants and earth. Income from sale of baskets and other fine arts and crafts is vital for maintaining the Wounaan and Embera culture and protecting their rainforest lands.
The Wounaan and Embera People
The Wounaan ("wow-nahan") and Embera are indigenous people inhabiting remote rainforest which span the border between Panama and Colombia. The Wounaan and Embera are master artisans known for their fine baskets and high quality carvings in wood and tagua.
The rainforest lands of the Indians are being invaded and destroyed by cattle farmers, gold miners and loggers. This is a serious problem for the Wounaan and Embera, whose daily life depends on resources from the rain-forest.
Income from baskets making is the only significant source of cash income for the Wounaan and Embera women, unless they leave their native villages, move into cities, and become menial laborers. A source of cash income is vitally important to mothers who have lost their husband. Earning an income from their traditional skills allows them to stay in their villages with their families, buy food when crops fail, buy medicine when their children are sick and buy books so their children can obtain an education.
The Art of the Wounaan and Embera
The tightly
woven baskets are made from two different kind of palm fiber. A layer of fine
chunga palm fiber is tightly sewn over a core of nawala palm fiber. The common
English name for chunga palm is "black palm" or "spiny palm"
because of the brittle 4 to 6 inch spine along the trunk. The scientific name is
Astrocaryum
standleyanum. Only the newly emerging spear leaf of the chunga palm is used
for these baskets. The common English name for nawala is "Panama hat
palm," with the scientific name Carludovica palmata.
Dyes are made from rainforest plants and earth. The following are the most common dyes and their sources: Brown and orange-brown are made by boiling shavings of cocobolo wood (rose-wood) in water. Black and bluish fruit of the jagua tree. This same dye is used for body painting. Yellow is derived from native tumeric. Purple and pink are extracted from leaves of pucham, a violet jungle plant. Olive green is derived from organic-rich swamp oil.
HOME PAGE FABRICS BEDSPREADS RUNNERS PILLOWS MOLAS
