MAKIYKUMANTA

July 13 - July 18
10:00 am-5:30 pm

Potomac Atrium
National Museum of the American Indian
4th & Independence Ave, SW Washington, DC

Master crafters

Four Peruvian master crafters from the North, Center and South of Peru will present their experiences as a result of their own perspectives on traditions and the native teachings they received through generations, as well as their own research in their efforts to maintain alive the expressions of art of indigenous origins. Ancestral techniques of artistic production of textiles and tapestries from Cuzco and modern manifestations of them in Ayacucho, extremely exquisite carved gourds of Junin and the transformation the techniques of ceramic production from ancient times to our days are the subjects of these master conferences offered to visitors of Makiykumanta at NMAI. Their common point in their presentations is that ancestral life is strong and still present in our modern times and that this demonstrates that native cultures do not die, but tend to transform themselves.
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Artisans

Peru has the richest and diverse handicraft of Latin America. Its tradition, creativity and functionality, among other attributes, make it an artistic expression, formed through an assimilation process of the western culture combined with those of our coastal, Andean and Amazon culture. All the Inca and Colonial heritage, as well as the excellence of the Peruvian artisans is represented in our famous pottery shapes, the complex baroque style of the wood carving, the detailed scenes of life in the Andes pictures in the carved gourd (Mates Burilados), the harmony of the geometric designs of weaves, the cultural mixing and the color of the Retablos (painted wooden boxes, depicting daily life scenes of the Andes), and the fine Huamanga stone carvings, just to mention some examples.
Makiuykumanta expresses in Quechua language the production “from our hands”. The richness of Peruvian traditional art is the synthesis of the Peru’s culture. Each community, town or region, has handcrafts of their own, with a characteristic style that individualizes it, where the artisans present their particular perspective of life in every single one of their creations. The Peruvian art and crafts with their great variety of techniques and artisanal lines represent the live culture of its people. On the Northern region, the Chulucanas pottery stands out; and in the South around the lake Titicaca we find the “torito de Pucará” (Pucara Bull), as well as the knits from the island of Taquile which have been recognized by UNESCO as the Immaterial Patrimony of Humanity; whereas the “retablos” of Ayacucho are the synthesis of the Catholic and Andean believes. There are 54 Amazonic communities, each with a vast artisanal production conformed by vases and embroideries with geometric designs that show a mythic and astronomic understanding.
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Musicians

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Folk Dancers

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Gastronomy

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Special Speakers

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