Maribel Sánchez Grijalba, originally from San Vicente, Nicoya, Guanacaste, remembers her childhood surrounded by curiol -pigments- and mud, from the lands where she grew up. His mother and grandmother transmitted to him the knowledge and passion for creating Chorotega ceramic pieces, a cultural heritage that he shares today with his community.
“I really liked making small pieces. I was always next to my mother and even though I was just observing, she taught me and explained step by step. At 10 years old, I started making my own pieces. Currently I make everything, including pre-Columbian replicas, jars, pots, comales and everything traditional that I learned with my mother,” said Sánchez.
In 2013, the declaration of intangible cultural heritage for the artisanal tradition of manufacturing ceramic objects with a Chorotega motif, in the communities of Guaitil de Santa Cruz, San Vicente and Las Pozas de Nicoya, Guanacaste, was published in La Gaceta. The declaration recognizes the characteristics that distinguish this craft and the knowledge and know-how for obtaining, preparing raw materials, manufacturing techniques, decoration and pigments, associated practices and beliefs, which are transmitted orally from generation to generation, added to the creativity and skills developed by artisans.
Sánchez explained that the natural pigments used, known as curiol, are usually red, white and black, which are obtained from a hill with the same name. “Extracting the curiol is quite a ritual. You have to climb the mountain for several hours, which is dangerous due to the presence of snakes. Furthermore, it is essential to remain silent during the extraction so as not to scare away the pigments; If the moon is favorable, red stones sprout,” Sánchez added.
The Santa Cruz Cultural Inventory 2019, prepared by the Heritage Directorate of the Ministry of Culture and Youth (MCJ), explains that the process of creating ceramics with the Chorotega artisanal style includes the preparation of the clay, molding and polishing, application of the white curiol, painting the design, outlining and finally baking in the oven; a process that requires multiple traditional tools such as leather, molds, cobs, gourd spoons, brushes, stones and blades.
Safeguarding the manufacture of Chorotega ceramics
Sánchez preserves the tradition of making Chorotega ceramic pieces after almost 60 years, she is also president of the board that manages the Chorotega Ceramic Ecomuseum and a member of the San Vicente y Guaitil Artisans Cooperative (Coopesanguai).
This artisan led the project “Rescue of the painting of Chorotega ceramics”, together with the anthropologist Adriana Méndez González, financed with the Workshop Scholarship fund of the MCJ Sociocultural Management Directorate, an initiative that developed workshops during 2022, in which 20 people from the communities of San Vicente, Las Pozas, Guaitil, Santa Cruz and Nambí, Guanacaste participated.
The workshops included sessions for making the pieces, such as kicking the clay and modeling techniques; Next, the painting process and techniques were carried out; and ended with a tour to the Curiol hill, to learn about the route, as well as how to recognize and extract the material. The tradition was approached comprehensively and with the aim of involving more people in the craft.
Luz Day Contreras Victor was one of the participants in the workshops. “I feel proud of my roots; It comes from generation to generation. My business is called ‘Jaguar Workshop’ and it is an initiative where I involve my children, whom I have been teaching since they were little,” Contreras mentioned.
The production of Chorotega ceramics, in addition to representing a cultural heritage of the native peoples, is a source of economic income for families, a tourist attraction for the region and a meeting point for the people of these communities.
“My mother worked with ceramics and my father had oxen and carts, he pulled the clay, firewood and sand for my mother and other women who made ceramics in my community. In addition, my mother’s brothers sometimes went to Curiol Hill to extract the pigments,” said Sánchez.In addition to the declaration as cultural heritage, efforts have been made from different sectors to safeguard the tradition.
The MCJ has provided economic and technical support through competitive funds from the Sociocultural Management Directorate, with the purpose of disseminating, preserving and promoting this intangible heritage. In addition, from the Directorate of Cultural Heritage, the Our Traditional Crafts Contest, 2019 Edition “The Spirit of Clay” was held, with the purpose of valuing, recovering, strengthening and safeguarding techniques, knowledge and knowledge of Chorotega ceramics and reclaiming this important job.
First cooperative of Chorotega ceramic artisan women
The first cooperative of Chorotega ceramic artisan women and also Coopesanguai was founded from the communities, with the purpose of strengthening, rescuing and promoting Chorotega ceramics, from the Guaitil area of Santa Cruz, San Vicente and Las Pozas de Nicoya.
Additionally, in 2007 the Chorotega Ceramic Ecomuseum of San Vicente de Nicoya opened its doors, a community project to rescue and preserve the art and culture of the Chorotega ancestors. It currently has 57 artisan members and is open to all artisans who want to bring products for display and sale.
According to Sánchez, in 2023, this community museum received more than 600 students from the Nicoya High School, who participated in workshops and demonstrations, with the aim of keeping alive the knowledge and knowledge for the production of Chorotega ceramics in the future generations.
“The Ecomuseum was born to not lose tradition and to bring more information every day through workshops to children and young people. For me, Chorotega ceramics mean a lot and I would not want it to be lost, that is why we want to preserve it,” Sánchez emphasized.
Furthermore, from the communities there are people like Sánchez, who have assumed the commitment to transmit all their knowledge to keep this cultural heritage alive. “I was moved to see them with so much interest in learning and so much enthusiasm. This allows young people to get more involved, even if they don’t dedicate themselves to it, it provides the opportunity for them to maintain the tradition and share it with new generations and take ownership of their roots,” said the Chorotega ceramist.
You can learn more about Chorotega ceramics in the audiovisual series “Tradiciones. From Guaitil to San Vicente: Chorotega ceramists”, prepared by the State Distance University. Also learn about the creation of Chorotega ceramics in the community of Puerto San Pablo de Nandayure, in the document: “The tradition of clay crafts in Puerto San Pablo de Nandayure”, a project prepared through competitive funds from the Management Directorate Sociocultural of the MCJ.
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