Behind the Design

Papel Amate as Home Decor

November 9, 2017

Papel Amate, or painted bark paper, is an art form with clear pre-Hispanic origins. Originally, traditional bark paper was considered a specialty of the village shaman and used only for special rituals. Later, the Otomi people of Puebla began to use bark paper as a canvas for painting. Typically, they will craft the paper from fig or mulberry tree bark, then sell or trade the homemade paper to other indigenous groups for decoration. These bark paintings, or papel amate, are not just an art form unique to the indigenous tribes of Mexico, but will add rich depth and culture to your home decor.

Amate from Nahuatl is a type of bark paper that has been manufactured in Mexico since the precontact times. It was used primarily to create codices. Amate paper was extensively produced and used for both communication, records, and ritual during the Triple Alliance; however, after the Spanish conquest, its production was mostly banned and replaced by European paper. Amate paper production never completely died, nor did the rituals associated with it. It remained strongest in the rugged, remote mountainous areas of northern Puebla and northern Veracruz states. Spiritual leaders in the small village of San Pablito, Puebla were described as producing paper with "magical" properties. Foreign academics began studying this ritual use of amate in the mid-20th century, and the Otomi people of the area began producing the paper commercially. Otomi craftspeople began selling it in cities such as Mexico City, where the paper was revived by Nahua painters in Guerrero to create "new" indigenous craft, which was then promoted by the Mexican government.

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.

Most of the Traditional Design bark paintings offered on La Fuente Imports website come from the family of Luis Cabrera Ortiz. Luis is a Nahua Indian from the village of San Augustin Oapan, in the Rio Balsas river valley of Guerrero. Luis and his family have been painting scenes of traditional village life on handmade bark paper for three generations.

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