Amate
Amate (
Amate paper was extensively produced and used for both communication, records, and ritual during the
Through this and other innovations, amate paper is one of the most widely available Mexican indigenous handicrafts, sold both nationally and abroad. Nahua paintings of the paper, which is also called "amate," receive the most attention, but Otomi paper makers have also received attention not only for the paper itself but for crafts made with it such as elaborate cut-outs.
True paper
There is some uncertainty as to whether or not the Mesoamerican paper can be considered true paper owing to the thorough destruction of their civilization by the Spanish. The Maya used a writing material called huun starting from the 5th century. It was made from the inner bark of the wild fig tree. It was cut and stretched thin rather than made of randomly woven fibers, which according to one source, disqualified it as true paper. The Maya made codices out of huun. The
History
Amate paper has a long history. This history is not only because the raw materials for its manufacture have persisted but also that the manufacture, distribution and uses have adapted to the needs and restrictions of various epochs. This history can be roughly divided into three periods: the pre-Hispanic period, the Spanish colonial period to the 20th century, and from the latter 20th century to the present, marked by the paper's use as a commodity.[4]
Pre-Hispanic period
The development of paper in
The oldest known amate paper dates back to 75 CE. It was discovered at the site of
Arguments from the 1940s to the 1970s have centered on a time of 300 CE of the use of bark clothing by the Maya people. Ethnolinguistic studies lead to the names of two villages in Maya territory that relate the use of bark paper, Excachaché ("place where white bark trusses are smoothed") and Yokzachuún ("over the white paper"). Anthropologist Marion mentions that in
Amate paper was used most extensively during the
Little is known about the paper's manufacture in the pre-Hispanic period. Stone beaters dating from the 6th century CE have been found, and these tools are most often found where amate trees grow. Most are made of volcanic stone with some made of marble and granite. They are usually rectangular or circular with grooves on one or both sides to macerate the fibers. These beaters are still used by
As a tribute item, amate was assigned to the royal sector because it was not considered to be a commodity. This paper was related to power and religion, the way through which the
Amate paper was created as part of a line of technologies to satisfy the human need to express and communicate. It was preceded by stone, clay and leather to transmit knowledge first in the form of pictures, and later with the
However, paper also had a sacred aspect and was used in rituals along with other items such as incense, copal, maguey thorns and rubber.[20] For ceremonial and religious events, bark paper was used in various ways: as decorations used in fertility rituals, yiataztli, a kind of bag, and as an amatetéuitl, a badge used to symbolize a prisoner's soul after sacrifice. It was also used to dress idols, priests and sacrifice victims in forms of crowns, stoles, plumes, wigs, trusses and bracelets. Paper items such as flags, skeletons and very long papers, up to the length of a man, were used as offerings, often by burning them.[21] Another important paper item for rituals was paper cut in the form of long flags or trapezoids and painted with black rubber spots to depict the characteristic of the god being honored. At a certain time of year, these were also used to ask for rain. At this time, the papers were colored blue with plumage at the spearhead.[22]
Colonial period to 20th century
When the Spanish arrived, they noted the production of codices and paper, which was also made from maguey and palm fibers as well as bark. It was specifically noted by Pedro Mártir de Anglería.[23] After the Conquest, indigenous paper, especially bark paper lost its value as a tribute item not only because the Spanish preferred European paper but also because bark paper's connection to indigenous religion caused it to be banned.[15] The justification for the banning of amate was that it was used for magic and witchcraft.[7] This was part of the Spaniard's efforts to mass convert the indigenous to Catholicism, which included the mass burning of codices, which contained most of the native history as well as cultural and natural knowledge.[14]
Only 16 of 500 surviving codices were written before the Conquest. The other, post-conquest books were written on bark paper although a few were written on European paper, cotton, or animal hides. They were largely the work of missionaries, such as
Although bark paper was banned, it did not completely disappear. In the early colonial period, there was a shortage of European paper, which made it necessary to use the indigenous version on occasion.
Later 20th century to the present
By the mid-20th century, the knowledge of making amate paper was kept alive only in a few small towns in the rugged mountains of Puebla and Veracruz states, such as San Pablito, an Otomi village and Chicontepec, a Nahua village.
What the sale of these figures did was to make the bark paper a commodity. The paper was not sacred until and unless a shaman cut it as part of a ritual. The making of the paper and non-ritualistic cutting did not interfere with the ritual aspects of paper in general. This allowed a product formerly reserved only for ritual to become something with market value as well. It also allowed the making of paper to become open to the population of San Pablito and not only to shamans.[31]
However, most amate paper is sold as the backing for paintings made by
The rise of amate paper occurred during a time when government policies towards rural indigenous people and their crafts were changing, with the latter being encourage especially to help develop the tourism industry.
Since then, while the Nahua are still the principle buyers of Otomi amate paper, the Otomi have since branched out into different types of paper and have developed some of their own products to sell. Today, amate paper is one of the most widely distributed Mexican handcrafts nationally and internationally.
San Pablito
While amate is made in a few small villages in northern Puebla, northern Veracruz and southern Hidalgo state, only San Pablito in Puebla manufactures the paper commercially.[6] San Pablito is a village in the municipality of Pahuatlán located in the Sierra Norte de Puebla. Tulancingo, Hidalgo is the closest urban center. The area is very mountainous and the village itself is on the side of a mountain called the Cerro del Brujo.[25][33] The making of the paper is the primary economic activity of the community and has alleviated poverty in the village. Before the villagers only had very small houses made of wood, but now they have much larger houses made of block.[33] The paper makers here guard the process greatly and will sever contact with anyone seeking to replicate their work.[38] In addition to providing income to the paper makers themselves the craft has been employing an increasing number of people to harvest bark, over an area which now extends over 1,500km2 in the Sierra Norte de Puebla region.[6] The village manufactures large quantities of paper, still using mostly pre-Hispanic technology and various tree species for raw material. About half of this paper production is still sold to Nahua painters in Guerrero.[6][39]
Paper making has not only brought money into the Otomi population of the community but political clout as well. It is now the most important community economically in the municipality of Pahuatlán, and the last three municipal governments have been headed by an Otomi, which had not happened before.[33][40] However, most of the paper making is done by women. One reason for this is that many men still migrate out of the community to work, mostly to the United States. These two sources of income are combined in many households in San Pablito.[34][41] The economic problems of the late 2000s cut sales by about half forcing more to migrate out for work. Before the crisis, the inhabitants of the village were making two thousand sheets per day.[33]
Ritual use
While the paper has been commercialized in San Pablito, it has not lost its ritual character here or in other areas such as
Ritual paper acquires a sacred value only when
The origin of the use of these cut outs is not known. It may extend back to the pre-Hispanic period, but there are now 16th century chronicles documenting the practice. It may have been a post Conquest invention, after the Spanish destroyed all other forms of representing the gods. It was easy to carry, mold, make and hide. Many of the religious concepts related to the cut outs do have pre-Hispanic roots. However, during the colonial period, the Otomi, especially of San Pablito were accused numerous times of witchcraft involving the use of cut outs.[44] Today, some cut out figures are being reinterpreted and sold as handcraft products or folk art, and the use of industrial paper for ritual is common as well. Cut outs made for sale often relate to gods of agriculture, which are less called upon in ritual. These cut outs are also not exactly the same as those made for ritual, with changes made in order to keep the ritual aspect separate.[43]
In San Pablito, the making and cutting of paper is not restricted to shamans, as the rest of the villagers may engage in this. However, only shamans may do paper cutting rituals and the exact techniques of paper making is guarded by the residents of the village from outsiders.
Amate products
Amate paper is one of a number of paper crafts of Mexico, along with
The Otomi paper makers generally sell their production to a limited number of wholesalers, because of limited Spanish skills and contact with the outside. This means about ten wholesalers controlling the distribution of about half of all Otomi production.
However, about 50 percent of all Otomi paper production is still done in standard 40 cm by 60 cm size and sold to Nahua painters from Guerrero, the market segment which made the mass commercialization of the product possible.[51] Seventy percent of all the craft production of these Otomi and Nahuas is sold on the national market with about thirty percent reaching the international market.[52] As most amate paper is sold as the backing for these paintings, many consumers assume the Nahua produce the paper as well.[53]
The amate paper paintings are a combination of Nahua and Otomi traditions. The Otomi produce the paper, and the Nahua have transferred and adapted painting traditions associated with ceramics to the paper. The Nahuatl word "amate" is applied to both the paper and the paintings done on the paper. Each Nahua village has its own painting style which was developed for ceramics, originally commercialized in Acapulco and other tourist areas as early as the 1940s. The adaption of this painting to amate paper came in the 1960s and quickly spread to various villages until it became the primary economic activity in eight Nahua villages in Guerrero, Ameyaltepec, Oapan, Ahuahuapan, Ahuelican, Analco, San Juan Tetelcingo, Xalitla and Maxela.[54] The paper is that it evokes Mexico's pre-Columbian past in addition to the customary designs painted on it.[55]
The success of these paintings led to the Nahuas buying just about all of the Otomis' paper production in that decade. It also attracted the attention of the government, which was taking an interest in indigenous crafts and promoting them to tourists. The FONART agency became involved for two years, buying Otomi paper to make sure that the Nahua had sufficient supplies for painting. This was crucial for the development of national and international markets for the paintings and the paper.[54] It also worked to validate the "new" craft as legitimate, using symbols of past and present minority peoples as part of Mexican identity.[55]
The paintings started with and still mostly based on traditional designs from pottery although there has been innovation since then. Painted designs began focusing on birds and flowers on the paper. Experimentation led to landscape painting, especially scenes related to rural life such as farming, fishing, weddings, funerals and religious festivals. It even has included the painting of picture frames.
While the Nahua paintings remain the most important craft form related to amate paper, the Otomi have adopted their elaborate cut out figures to the commercial market as well. This began with shamans creating booklets with miniature cut outs of gods with handwritten explanations. Eventually, these began to sell and this success led to their commercialization in markets in Mexico City, were the Otomi connected with the Nahua in the 1960s.[34] The Otomi still sell cut outs in traditional designs, but have also experimented with newer designs, paper sizes, colors and types of paper.[53] These cut outs include depictions of various gods, especially those related to beans, coffee, corn, pineapples, tomatoes and rain. However, these cut outs are not 100% authentic, with exact replicas still reserved to shamans for ritual purposes. Innovation has included the development of books, and cut outs of suns, flowers, birds, abstract designs from traditional beadwork and even Valentine hearts with painted flowers. Most cut outs are made of one type of paper, then glued onto a contrasting background. Their sizes range from miniatures in booklets to sizes large enough to frame and hang like a painting.[59] The production and sale of these paper products have brought tourism to San Pablito, mostly from Hidalgo, Puebla and Mexico City, but some come from the far north and south of Mexico and even from abroad.[60]
Manufacture
While there have been some minor innovations, amate paper is still made using the same basic process that was used in the pre-Hispanic period.
From the beginning of commercialization, the making of a paper brought in most of the village's population into the process in one way or another. However, in the 1980s, many men in the area began to leave as migrant workers, mostly to the United States, sending remittances home. This then became the main source of income to San Pablito, and made paper making not only secondary, but mostly done by women.[66] The basic equipment used are stones to beat the fibers, wooden boards, and pans to boil the bark. All of these come from sources outside San Pablito. The stones come from Tlaxcala. The boards come from the two nearby villages of Zoyotla and Honey and the boiling pans are obtained by local hardware stores from Tulancingo.[67]
In the pre-Hispanic period, the bark was first soaked for a day or more to soften it before it was worked. An innovation documented from at least the 20th century is to boil the bark instead, which is faster. To shorten the boiling time, ashes or
The softened fibers are kept in water until they are processed. This needs to be done as quickly as possible so that they do not rot.[69] At this stage, chlorine bleach may be added to either lighten the paper entirely or to create a mix of shades to create a marbled effect. This step has become necessary due to the lack of naturally light bark fibers.[70] If the paper is to be colored, strong industrial dyes are used. These can vary from purple, red, green or pink, whatever the demand is.[71]
Wooden boards are sized to the paper being made. They are rubbed with soap so that the fibers do not stick. The fibers are arranged on wooden boards and beaten together into a thin flat mass. The best paper is made with long fibers arranged in a grid pattern to fit the board. Lesser quality paper is made from short masses arranged more haphazardly, but still beaten to the same effect.[72] This maceration process liberates soluble carbohydrates that are in the cavities of the cell fibers and act as a kind of glue. The Ficus tree bark contains a high quantity of this substance allowing to make for firm but flexible paper.[62] During the process, the stones are kept moist to keep the paper from sticking to it. The finished flat mass is then usually smoothed over with rounded orange peels. If there are any gaps after the maceration process, these are usually filled in by gluing small pieces of paper.[73]
Remaining on their boards, the pounded sheets are taken outside to dry. Drying times vary due to weather conditions. On dry and sunny days, this can take an hour or two, but in humid conditions it can take days.[74] If the dried sheets are to be sold wholesale, they are then simply bundled. If to be sold retail, the edges are then trimmed with a blade.[75]
The production process in San Pablito has mostly evolved to make paper as quickly as possible, with labor being divided and specialized and new tools and ingredients added towards this end.[76] Almost all production facilities are family based, but the level of organization varies. Most paper making is done inside the home by those who are dedicated to it either full or part-time. If the paper is made only part-time, then the work is done sporadically and usually only by women and children. A more recent phenomenon is the development of large workshops which hire artisans to do the work, supervised by the family which owns the enterprise. These are often established by families who have invested money sent home by migrant worker into materials and equipment.[77] Most of the production of all these facilities is plain sheet of 40 cm by 60 cm, but the larger workshops make the greatest variety of products including giant sheets of 1.2 by 2.4 meters in size.[78]
Ecological concerns
The commercialization of amate paper has had negative environmental effects. In pre-Hispanic times, bark was taken only from the branches of adult trees, allowing for regeneration.[12] Ficus trees should be optimally no younger than 25 years old before cutting. At that age the bark almost peels off by itself and does less damage to the tree. Other trees such as mulberry do not have to mature as much.[57] The pressure to provide large quantities of bark means that it is taken from younger trees as well.[12] This is negatively affecting the ecosystem of northern Puebla and forcing harvesters to take bark from other species as well as from a wider range, moving into areas such as Tlaxco.[12][33][79]
Another problem is the introduction of caustic soda and other industrial chemicals into the process, which not only gets into the environment and water supply, can also directly poison artisans who do not handle it properly.[79][80]
Fondo Nacional para el Fomento de las Artesanías, the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, the Universidad Veracruzana and the Instituto de Artesanías e Industrias Populares de Puebla have been working on ways to make amate paper making more sustainable. One aspect is to manage the collection of bark. Another is to find a substitute for caustic soda to soften and prepare the fibers without losing quality. Not only is the soda polluting, it has had negative effects on artisans' health. As of 2010, the group has reported advances in its investigations such as ways of including new types of bark from other species.[79][80][81]
In addition, the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social is urging a reforestation plan in order to implement a more sustainable supply of bark.[33]
See also
Notes
- ^ Kurlansky 2016, p. 138-141.
- ^ Kurlansky 2016, p. 142-145.
- ^ Kurlansky 2016, pp. 149–150.
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, pages 8, 80
- ^ a b Lizeth Gómez De Anda (September 30, 2010). "Papel amate, arte curativo" [Amate paper, curative art]. La Razón (in Spanish). Mexico City. Archived from the original on December 27, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f López Binnqüist, pages 2-7
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "El Papel Amate Entre los Nahuas de Chicontepec" [Amate paper among the Nahuas of Chicontepec] (in Spanish). Veracruz, Mexico: Universidad Veracruzana. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ Benz et al. 2006
- ^ a b Miller and Taube (1993, p. 131)
- ^ Annalee Newitz (12 September 2016). "Confirmed: Mysterious ancient Maya book, Grolier Codex, is genuine: 900 year-old astronomy guide is oldest known book written in the Americas." Ars Technica. Accessed 12 September 2016.
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 81
- ^ a b c d e f g "Amate y Papiro… un diálogo histórico" [Amate and Papyrus… a historic dialogue]. National Geographic en español (in Spanish). May 2008. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ Boot, E. (2002). A Preliminary Classic Maya-English / English-Classic Maya Vocabulary of Hieroglyphic Readings. Leiden University, the Netherlands. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ^ a b c López Binnqüist, p. 80
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 90
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 89
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 121–122
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 115
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 83
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 84
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 86
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 87
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 82
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, pages 91-92
- ^ a b c d Beatriz M. Oliver Vega (19 August 2010). "El papel de la tierra en el tiempo" ["Earth" paper over time] (in Spanish). Mexico City: Mexico Desconocido magazine. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 93-94
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 94
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 94-97
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 104
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 103, 115, 105
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 103, 115, 80
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 106
- ^ a b c d e f g h Tania Damián Jiménez (October 13, 2010). "A punto de extinguirse, el árbol del amate en San Pablito Pahuatlán: Libertad Mora" [A the point of extinction:the amate árbol in San Pablio Pahuatlán:Libertad Mora]. La Jornada del Orienta (in Spanish). Puebla. Retrieved April 15, 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f López Binnqüist, page 105
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 107
- ^ Ernesto Romero (April 13, 2007). "Pahuatlán: Una historia en papel amate" [Pahuatlán:history in amate paper]. Periodico Digital (in Spanish). Puebla. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c Paula Carrizosa (December 6, 2010). "Exhiben el uso curativo del papel amate en el pueblo de San Pablito Pahuatlán". El Sur de Acapulco (in Spanish). Acapulco. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 148
- ^ a b c López Binnqüist, page 10
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 9
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 146
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, pages 99–101
- ^ a b c López Binnqüist, page 116
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 101–102
- ^ a b Martínez Álvarez, Luis Alberto (April 24, 2009). "Tributo a las deidades" [Tribute to the gods] (in Spanish). Mexico: State of Puebla. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ Helen Bercovitch (June 2001). "The Mexican art forms of ristras, papel amate and papel picado". Mexconnect newsletter. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 80, 2-7, 111
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 135
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 2-7,10,111, 114
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 111, 142
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 111, 135, 142 105
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 142
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 112
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, pages 105–106
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 109
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 110
- ^ a b c Xavier Rosado (December 3, 2002). "El arte en amate, tradición olmeca que continúan indígenas de Guerrero y Puebla" [Art in amate, Olmec tradition that the indigenous of Guerrero and Puebla continue]. El Sur de Acapulco (in Spanish). Acapulco. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ a b López Binnqüist, page 125
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 113
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 138
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 123-124
- ^ a b c d Alejandro Quintanar-Isáis; Citlalli López Binnqüist; Marie Vander Meeren (2008). El uso del floema secundario en la elaboración de papel amate (PDF) (Report). 1Depto. de Biolog´ıa, UAM-I, Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales, Universidad Veracruzana, Instituto Nacional de Antropolog´ıa e Historia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-22. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 17
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 123
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 8
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 123,125
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 130
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 124-125
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 124, 127
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 126
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 127
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 8, 124, 127
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 12, 129
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 124, 128
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 129
- ^ López Binnqüist, page 117
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 131-132
- ^ López Binnqüist, pages 129,132
- ^ FONART. April 6, 2011. Archived from the originalon March 22, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ FONART. 2010. Archived from the originalon March 22, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ Ángel A. Herrera (September 30, 2010). "Avanza producción sustentable de papel amate en San Pablito" [Sustainable amate paper production advances in San Pablito]. Heraldo de Puebla (in Spanish). Puebla. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
References
- Kurlansky, Mark (2016), Paper: Paging Through History, W. W. Norton & Co
- Rosaura Citlalli López Binnqüist (2003). The endurance of Mexican amate paper: Exploring additional dimensions to the sustainable development concept (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands. Docket 9036519004. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ISBN 0-500-05068-6.
- Benz, Bruce; Lorenza Lopez Mestas; Jorge Ramos de la Vega (2006). "Organic Offerings, Paper, and Fibers from the Huitzilapa Shaft Tomb, Jalisco, Mexico". Ancient Mesoamerica. Vol. 17, no. 2. pp. 283–296.
Further reading
- Codex Espangliensis: A modern art codex printed on amatl paper.
External links
- The Construction of the Codex in Classic- and Postclassic-Period Maya Civilization by Thomas J. Tobin. Maya codex and paper making.