The last potter of Masiaca fights for the survival of the May technique

The last potter of San José Masiaca, a pottery town of the Mayo ethnic group, located in Sonora, will inaugurate this month a kiln built with the support of the National Ceramic School (ENC), the first that this community will have, thanks to which Juany Gámez, master ceramist, will be able to teach more young people the traditions and techniques she learned from her grandmother.

When I was about seven years old, my grandmother dedicated herself to making clay pieces at home; They were only for domestic use, but I always watched her and then she let me make little pieces. It is something that brings back many beautiful memories for me. Over time I left pottery, because other things attracted mehe said in an interview for The Day.

Now, Juany Gámez is a mother, and together with her husband and children, she strives to ensure that those techniques inherited by generations are not lost in oblivion, so they created a small workshop where they teach the little ones the techniques, the work and the taste for handling clay and figures, in what could be a salvation for the pottery technique of that town.

The Mayo ethnic group is known for its artistic work for emblematic festivals, such as the Deer Dance performed by the Seri people, in the southern part of Sonora.

I come from a family of artisans; My dad carved wood and my grandmother made wool blankets, and she was also a potter. More than artistic, they did it out of necessity, because the jars were used a lot here, but for me it is a pride to be able to continue using what my grandparents taught me.said Gámez.

However, the passage of time was relentless: My grandmother died and the ladies who also worked with ceramics died about five years ago, and their relatives were not interested. Young people do not see this job as something profitable, that is why they abandon itassured the master ceramist.

It took a decade for Juany Gámez to return to pottery; Shortly after, her children were born and she discovered in them a source of inspiration that made her have a new focus on her work.

“I really liked that my work has caught the attention of children; They remind me of me.

There are about 30 little ones in my workshop; Since there are many of them, I divided them into teams, and I make them work on their pieces together and have fun playing. Everyone comes happy on their bicycles, with their bottles of water, because it is almost a kilometer of distance that they have to travelshe says happily.

The workshop is in the patio of his house. Under a roof of wood and palm, the little ones learn on Mondays and Thursdays to handle clay: “The mothers notice that the children come home excited with their pieces, made by themselves; They are very creative.

When they tell me about it, it makes me very happy, because people are becoming interested in ceramics again. Now even mothers want to learn. I want them to learn more about the culture of our people and do our part so that they can live our traditions. I am very proud of what we do and who we are.commented Juany Gámez.

She has the support of her husband and two children, who also learn ceramics: My child is 14 years old; He helps me extract the mud, look for firewood; My husband prepares the burning that we do in the open air and the pieces for cooking. This is all work and family lifeheld.

The potter assures that it is essential “to capture our essence as a people, because that makes children and adults know more about our cultures. I feel very proud of our roots and customs, because they are our way of life.

“I dedicate my works to ‘those from before’. I do not want to lose my knowledge, what my grandparents taught me, since I inherited my talents from them; Now, as a community, we have them more present, and we have to thank them for everything,” he commented.

The May technique

Mayo ceramics are made from a mixture of a powder extracted from ant nests, red and black clay; With this, the pieces are shaped and polished; that is, a carving that allows them to acquire a characteristic shine, and then they are left dry; Subsequently, they are burned in a kiln from which the ceramic is obtained.

To burn, Gámez places the pieces in a hole in the ground in which he places small grills, and covers them with mats. However, this technique puts many of the pieces at risk, because it is very difficult to calculate the cooking of the clay, which causes the fire to break most of the pieces, added to the strong air currents that exist in Masiaca, which It alters the temperature and ends up fracturing many others, or causing them to come out raw.

A new oven

Due to the conditions of traditional firing, carried out in a ground-level oven, the pieces come out uneven or without adequate cooking. For this reason, Juany Gámez tried to see other options to make a new one. It was then that the National Ceramic School became involved, which supported her in learning how to build it.

“When I approached them, they were always very friendly, and immediately showed interest in supporting us in finding a way to create an oven; The problem is that they are very expensive, both for materials and labor.

The solution was that they proposed to us to learn how to build it ourselves, and it is wonderfulassured Juany Gámez.

This new oven will make it easier to leave behind burning at ground level, in which a large number of pieces are lost because there is no way to control the heat during cooking.

Originally designed by the Japanese ceramist Masakazu Kusakabe, although modified and adapted for Mexican pottery by the master Yusuke Suzuki, this new installation will allow us to learn more about temperature and make burning safely.

The building also has a large and long chimney that allows the smoke to escape to a considerable height, which facilitates better ventilation with the passage of air and that it does not reach directly to the potters’ lungs; In addition, a thermometer can be placed on them to better control the cooking status of the pieces.

I met members of the National Ceramic School when they were making a kiln for members of the Seri tribe; There I told them about the ceramic work, they were very interested and offered to support us with the construction of the kiln; My husband even went with them to learn how to make it from scratch.he stated.

Juany Gámez said she felt very excited, because With this new kiln, more people will be excited and we will revive the art of ceramics together. This project is very important to me, and I hope that we can generate more interest from people towards this discipline..

According to schedule, it will be this month when the oven for Juany Gámez’s workshop will finally be ready, which will allow him to carry out work at a faster pace and with higher quality. This will help the community get even closer to Masiaca ceramics, which will bring in more economic resources and, at the same time, preserve its historical memory, all dedicated to those from beforebecause his heritage lives on.