page_title: Handcrafts and folk art in Michoacán
section_title: Stiff plant fibers
hierarchical_section_title: Handcrafts and folk art in Michoacán / Stiff plant fibers
caption_attribution_description: English: Basketry at the Tianguis de Domingo de Ramos in Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico
context_page_description: Michoacán handcrafts and folk art is a Mexican regional tradition centered in the state of Michoacán, in central/western Mexico. Its origins traced back to the Purépecha Empire, and later to the efforts to organize and promote trades and crafts by Vasco de Quiroga in what is now the north and northeast of the state. The state has a wide variety of over thirty crafts, with the most important being the working of wood, ceramics, and textiles. A number are more particular to the state, such as the creation of religious images from corn stalk paste, and a type of mosaic made from dyed wheat straw on a waxed board. Though there is support for artisans in the way of contests, fairs, and collective trademarks for certain wares, Michoacán handcrafts lack access to markets, especially those catering to tourists.
context_section_description: Stiffer plant fibers include reeds, bulrushes (chuspata), corn husks, corn stalks, wheat straw, palm fronds and willow branches. Most of this work is done by women, who twist, weave and glue the fibers together to create various kinds of items, in town such as Ario de Rosales, Patzcuaro, Erongarícuaro, Quiroga and Tzintzuntzan.
  One craft particular to the state is “pasta de caña,” literally “corn stalk paste.” It is a technique created by the Purépecha to create lightweight images of their gods. After the Conquest, it was then turned to making lightweight Catholic images for use in processions. It is the bundling of inner corn stalk along with the making of a paste from the same material, which is then sculpted to the desired image, which when finished, is as smooth as one made of ceramic, but considerably lighter. Today, the craft is mostly practiced in Patzcuaro.
  Another material used in Michoacan is wheat straw, introduced when the Spanish introduced the grain. The straw is bundles and tied together to create figures and other objects such as images of Christ and the Virgin Mary for altars, Christmas ornaments, hats, baskets, table mats and screens, especially in Ichupio, San Jerónimo Purenchécuaro, San Andrés Tziróndaro and Tzintzuntzan.
  More particular to Michoacán is the use of the same material, previously dyed in various colors, to create a kind of mosaic. Individually cut pieces of straw are carefully placed one-by-one pressed into a wax-covered board to create images. This manner of using wheat straw has roots in the pre-Hispanic period, when different materials where arranged with the same technique, but the current version, generally done to create religious images and landscapes has been popular since the 1960s. This craft is mostly found in Tlalpujahua.
  Dried corn husks have long been used to create dolls and other figures. More recently other items such as crowns, bells, nativity scenes and Christmas ornaments and decorations have been added. This is a common craft in Tzintzuntzan, where the husks are often dyed yellow and indigo blue.
  Working with palm fronds was introduced by the Spanish and developed during the colonial period.One major item made from the fronds are hats, with each region developing its own size and shape. Particularly noted for their hats are the communities of Jarácuario, Zacán and Urén (Cañada de los Once Pueblos). Other items made from fronds include purses, folders and tortilla baskets.
  In the Lake Patzcuaro and Lake Cuitzeo areas, reeds and bulrushes have been used to make a variety of products. One is the petate, a floor mat used in the pre Hispanic period for sleeping and still used in a number of indigenous communities. In Ichupio, Puácuaro and San Jerónimo they make also baskets, purses, tablecloths, tortilla baskets, floor coverings and a variety of decorative figures, especially birds and those representing daily life in the area.  The raw material is generally collected from the lakeshore and woven in family workshops. In San Lucas Pío, reeds are used to make hampers and baskets. In Irancuartaro, men use it to make baskets for household use as well as heavy-duty ones for picking strawberries and corn. Women weave miniatures with the same materials.
  Willow branches are used in Uripitío and San Juan Buenavista to make baskets, hats, wastebaskets and chests depending on thickness.
caption: Baskets and similar products at the Tianguis de Domingo de Ramos
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