Yekuana Basket

Description

The principal material used in these baskets called Wo'wa is the mamure fiber (HeteropsisSpruceana) and other fibers: "Tirite", Curagua fiber, are used as a supplement in some model of these baskets in which women have been incorporated basket maker work because this is an activity of the man Ye'kuana.
The technique used is the "stranded knitting" and "twill weave" and "square weave" depending on basket model. The colors are completely natural. Used a sheet called  "Kirayu" that at boil it loose red color.The brown is obtained by placing the leaves under mud or clay for 1 week, from there make your color palette.
These decorative and utilitarian pieces are the representation of a world expressed from the symbols of one culture where reflected figures of various shapes ranging from zoomorfas to the kinetics and represents a world of infinite wisdom. In the baskets you can see the use of some symbols expressed through zoomorphic forms, and certain landscapes representing rivers, mountains, roads, stars, among others. Within the zoomorphic patterns are much presented in Figure "Wadiisidi" (Monkey) who is considered like symbol Ye'kuana and means to them "Freedom of Ye'kuana" because according to The elders sages of ethnicity group and writings of some anthropologists  : for the year 1875 when the Spanish arrived in the territory of Alto Orinoco and touch contact Ye'kuana territory there was a giant monkey on a mountain called "Jüüwütü" this monkey began to eating to Spaniards but also the Ye'kuana and when the Ye'kuana ethnicity gets up at war against the monkey and the remaining Spaniards, injuring to the monkey, who fled to the mountain and never be heard from again, he disappeared injured, and going up the mountain dropped his bag he was carrying and there were among other things the symbolism regarding magical jungle plants and wise elders they took this valuable information, the deciphered to understand the meaning of each plant for subsistence in the jungle and daily life of the people Ye'kuana. Another figure is "Kiitöö" ( frog) Maadö ( Tiger), duck, bird such as woodpecker, it is considered by the Yekuana as avatar of the Supreme Being (means in Sanskrit descent, particularly the descent of a God on earth) among others.
Its elaboration takes from 8-15 days (depending on complexity)
"The Ye'kuana basketry is considered to be within the category of the finer in the world"
Characteristics of  this basket:
Name: Wo`wa
Technique: Twill Tissue in Two points
Material: Mamure Fiber
Color: natural fiber and black
Model: basket bell-shaped woman's body with zoomorphic figure cachicamo