ESTELA DAGUA AND NANCY SANTI
Estela Dagua( b. 1951, Puyo, Ecuador) and Nancy Santi( b. 1973, Kawsak Sacha, Ecuador) are two of the Kichwa nation’ s most renowned potters. For generations, Runa warmi— Kichwa women of the Ecuadorian Amazon— have made pottery for daily and ritual use. This matrilineal practice, called awana( or“ weaving clay”) in Runashimi, reflects the same care and intricacy as textile-making and draws on ancestral knowledge. The clay, mineral pigments, and resin are sourced from the surrounding rivers and forest. These four pieces represent supai— forest spirits— and are commonly used in ritual.
Dagua’ s effigies reference other Kichwa stories and might have been created to be used in a festival. In this context, women make representations of supai, as well as contemporary subjects, to remind everyone of their shared ancestral roots in an ever-changing world. The figures take as central a role in the festivities as their makers.
As Santi recalls of her practice, " My mother told me that all of this knowledge we women have— clay, crops, and medicinal plants— were given to us by Nunguli, the goddess of fertility, and caretaker of the Earth, Allpamama.” According to this Kichwa story, a woman struggling to make crops grow followed fruit peels upstream to a bountiful garden, or chagra. There, she met Nunguli, who gave her a powerful baby and told her that as long as she keeps this baby with her, his singing will bring her what they need to sustain their family. Santi’ s two-piece work Allpamama( 2025) represents the moment in which Nunguli passes the baby to the woman, along with the inherited ability to nurture.“ My mother told me I have been touched by Nunguli. She’ s always with me, in my dreams and in my path. That’ s why I care for the land and defend my territory, life-sustaining spaces, and the guardian spirits of the Earth, along with others that make up the Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva collective.” Santi’ s commission was made in collaboration with Nina Gualinga, who also mediated conversations between Santi and curator Diana Iturralde.( DIANA ITURRALDE)
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