Amates

• In San Pablito, Puebla which is in central Mexico there is a tribe called Otami Indians who believe in the power of the Amate.This mythical character gets it’s name from a regional fig tree called the Amate. If you give a good Amate to a friend it is said to bring good fortune. If a bad Amate is crated it is then hidden in the home and is said to bring misfortune to the intended receiver.

The Amate LegendThe Amate Legend

Good Amates Good Amates •Bring good Bring good fortune fortune

Bad Amates are hidden Bad Amates are hidden in the home and said to in the home and said to bring bad luck and bring bad luck and misfortunemisfortune

Good Amates Have: Good Amates Have: •Uniformed hairUniformed hair•Smile faceSmile face•Carry nice thingsCarry nice things•Are barefootedAre barefooted

Bad Amates haveBad Amates have•Wild HairWild Hair•Mean faceMean face•Carry snakes and Carry snakes and stinging insectsstinging insects•Wear boots they stole Wear boots they stole from good Amatesfrom good Amates

http://www.puebla-mexico.com/amate-paper-san-pablito-mexico/

How to Make Amate

A simple design with a pineapple spirit is shown here at the left.

http://www.puebla-mexico.com/amate-paper-san-pablito-mexico/

Good Amates Have: Good Amates Have:

•Uniformed hairUniformed hair•Smile faceSmile face•Carry nice thingsCarry nice things•Are barefootedAre barefooted

Bad Amates have:Bad Amates have:

•Wild HairWild Hair•Mean faceMean face•Cary snakes and Cary snakes and stinging inscectsstinging inscects•Wear boots they stole Wear boots they stole from good Amatesfrom good Amates

This bark paper is boiled and soaked over night until soft enough for the fibers to pull apart. It is then pounded using a rectangular rock with finger grooves until the pulp is evenly spread out in the shape the paper-maker wants.The sound of people pounding pulp into paper can be heard echoing off the hills around the town of San Pablito in the Sierra Norte in Puebla.The color and grain of the paper depends on the bark used to make it. The typical coffee color comes from the Jonote tree (ficus family), white from the Xalama Limón, and the silvery beige color from the Mora (mulberry family), to name just a few varieties. Years of practice let the Otomí artisans make different sizes and thicknesses - from poster-board to crepe-paper weight.The paper is dried in the sun on the same boards where it is pounded and shaped.

Amate Bark Paintings

• Made from the bark of fig trees.

• Soaked or boiled then smashed flat with rectangular rock

• Bright colors• Colorful borders• Organic & Geometric

Lines & Shapes

Amate Bark Paintings