From north to south, Chilean craftsmanship speaks of our people, their talent, traditions and territory. In conjunction with the Artesanías de Chile Foundationwhich works with a network of almost three thousand artisans throughout the country, from whom it buys and sells its art under the principles of Fair Trade, we present 10 pieces of traditional Chilean crafts, made by artisans who keep alive this cultural heritage of the country.
Aymara Chuspa
In Chile, the Aymara people live mainly in the regions of Arica-Parinacota and Tarapacá. Heirs of pre-Hispanic knowledge, of those who have lived in Andean territories since pre-Columbian times, their traditional weavings are defined by their very tight weavings, made with few and simple tools. Their technique and style are developed following a careful process that starts with the selection of alpaca wool, animals bred by the same families of artisans. After selecting the fiber, they meticulously fix it and give rise to the tradition: they weave it in a waist or four-stakes weave (pre-Hispanic tools). The weavings are the fabric where they capture elements of their identity and are made mainly of camelid fiber, which the artisans fix and weave in different types of weavings, classified according to their size. In them they make traditional pieces such as belts, chuspas (in the photo), bags and flaps.
Combarbalá Stone Sculpture
In the town of Combarbalá, in the Limarí province, Coquimbo region, the artisans work with a hard rock, unique in the world, which they extract no more than ten meters below the ground, among a mixture of minerals known as combarbalite. Almost all of them in different colors, with it they make capes, figurative pieces of the flora and fauna of the region and useful pieces such as cups and glasses.
Arpilleristas
Burlap emerged as a craft in Chile in the 1970s, given the need of many women to have an income to support their families due to the situation of vulnerability that the context of the dictatorship had generated. It developed mainly in urban areas such as Santiago, the capital. This craft, which consists of pieces of cloth joined by means of embroidery, became a way of expressing their stories, sounds and social demands.
Talagante Ceramics
The polychrome pottery of Talagante, a rural town located in the Metropolitan Region, is a local tradition that was born during the Colonial period by the sisters of the convent of Monjas Claras, responsible for transmitting to the community, for six generations, this popular expression that portrays characters of the popular and religious culture of Chile at that time in brightly painted clay.
Cestaria Crina de Cavalo
Rari is a rural town located in the Maule region, in central Chile, where women learn from childhood the craft of microcestaria de crina: hand-knitting miniatures using as raw material the hair of the horse's tail. In them they usually represent their rural environment: flowers, beetles, insects. The use of the pieces is usually ornamental.
Quinchamali Ceramics
The pottery of Quinchamalí, a city located in the region of Ñuble, in central-southern Chile, is recognized for its red clay, a color that the artisans obtain in the burning process, which is made first in a fire with boar guano and then with cow guano. The pieces are decorated in low relief, made by the artisans with an agulha and then painted with white clay that they obtain in the same area.
Chemamüll
The chemamüll, wooden people in Mapudungun, are large sculptures carved in a piece of wood, a trunk, by Mapuche artisans. And they correspond to reproductions in small format of the statues that formerly were placed in the tombs of the Mapuche cemeteries. Their purpose was to reflect in them the spirit of those who were buried there and to accompany them on their journey to life after death.
Trarikamakuñ
The design of the Manta Cacique or Trarikamakuñ is achieved by firmly tying the areas of the warp (Bromelia sphacelata) creating a zigzag design. The areas reserved with ties prevent the pigment from entering at the time of dyeing, leaving white and colored areas. The craftswomen go back the warps dyed with the design of the trarikan and weave the blanket in the technique of treliça.
Pilwas of Puerto Saavedra
Hundreds of years ago, the Mapuche Lafquenche people of Puerto Saavedra and the coastal city of Budi, in the Araucanía region, used to weave pilwas (bag in Mapudungun), mainly to transport food. Men and women weave them with chupón fiber, a native plant that they clean, dry and twist until they obtain a strong cord with which they weave pilwas of various sizes and shapes.
Cestaria of Chiloé
The quilineja is one of the most valued vegetable fibers by the artisans of Chiloé. To obtain it, they enter the forest until they find it emaranched in the trees. By means of a ritual, they ask permission to the spirits to extract it, always carrying a tooth of alho to frighten the Trauco, creature of the Chiloé mythology. With the quilineja they make those long walks through dense trails, they make baskets and vases.
To get to know and show the Chilean handicrafts, go to Handicrafts of Chile.