Carved Gourds

In Peru, gourds are made out of squash Lagenaria vulgaris, vegetable that grows in warm and dry regions and is used as a container. Gourds of greatest antiquity were found in the northern coast of Peru, in the region of Huaca about 2,000 B.C. The motifs the artisans carve on the gourd, geometric or figurative, are made by means of engraving, fire branding, painting or a combination of the above. The gourds are worked under different styles depending on the customs of each region.

The mate burilado (carved gourd) is made with a tool called buril – from which its name is derived – with which the craftsman or matero makes incisions on the gourd and then it is decorated by partially fire branding it in a stove made out of quiwual (a tree original form the Andes) tree branches. This technique is known as fire branding. On the other hand, the painted gourd is decorated with ink soaked brushes, when the gourd is decorated with a combination of styles, different materials are added to the decorations, such as semi-precious stones, marine shells, metals and other elements.

The gourd is a vegetable of great importance to Peruvian culture. At the start, the first ceramics of the wayra jirka style of the Kotosh culture, the craftsmen created vessels by copying the shapes on this vegetable. The Lageraria vulgaris, in its multiple shapes and cuts, has been used as porongo or a large container, plates, purses and jugs to store objects or seeds.

During the time of the Republic, the most beautiful gourds were manufactures at Mantaro Bajo, territory that divides the regions of Ancash and Huancavelica, in the gourds centers of Huanta, Churcampa and Mayocc. However, different studies indicate that nowadays gourds are no longer manufactured in those villages, but that production has been transferred to the areas of Cochas Chico and Cochas Grande (Junin), where in antiquity the Huanca culture resided, that is why the gourds are called Huanca. The gourds manufactured in those two locations are different from the gourds made in the Mantaro Bajo region. The commercial and entrepreneurial spirit of the man from the Huanca region has evolved by using new ways of decorating for the famous Fiesta de Santiago, celebrated in honor of cattle branding, and also the Fiesta de Zafa Casa (finish or roofing of the house), where gourds are decorated with scenes of daily rural life. The Huanca gourd is distinguished by fire branding technique and at times the mate is dyed before it is carved.

Recently, in a show of technical prowess, the craftsmen are using a very fine engraver with which they carve miniature designs on the gourd. In order to observe the miniature carving, it is necessary to use a magnifying glass.

We must mention the gourds that are produced in the northen region of Peru, in the towns of Catacaos (Piura), Chiclayo and Moncefu (Lambayeque). In these places the color of the gourds is achieved by the use of muriatic and sulfuric acids, which give the gourds their peculiar yellowish hue. The motifs that are painted on the gourds are varied, from mythical to simple stories. All along the country, gourds are produced such as chests, pencil holders, napkin holders, bread baskets, buttons, hair ornaments, Christmas ornaments, storage gourds, and so forth.