Northeast Brazilian Handicrafts

Art is one of the oldest manifestations of human beings, originating in the Palaeolithic era (12,000 BC), when primitive man lived in nomadic bands and depended on hunting and gathering food to survive. Peking Man and the Neanderthals, for example, knew how to paint and manufacture stone, bone and wooden instruments. Proof of this are the walls of the grottoes and caves of France and Spain (Lascoux, Niaux, Altamira and many others), representing the fauna of the time (horses, bison, mammoths and reindeer).

With the arrival of Portuguese artists and artisans in Brazil during the 16th century, artisan production was no longer just an art form but had professional status. The expression ‘folk art’, however, was first used by the Japanese researcher Soetsu Yanagi in 1926. He created the term mingei (min = people; gei = art) to designate the work produced by unknown folk artists which had simplicity and a state of disengaged spirit of the idea of beauty or ugliness in common.

Today, scholars of the subject define a handicraft as any marketable object, the fruit of predominantly manual work done with the help of simple machines or rudimentary tools, which is based on popular themes and uses local or regional raw materials. Therefore to be classified as a handicraft, the object still needs to: be produced in the artisan’s own house or in a cooperative of artisans, include a small number of parts, being conceived and produced by an individual, family or group, and have been prepared without the payment of a wage for labour.

Furthermore, the Second National Handicrafts Meeting, held at the end of 1979, defines an artisan as an individual who produces objects manually without using repetitive patterns with the aid of simple tools or non-automated machines, using regional raw materials. The object created, in turn, should convey aspects of regional culture and express ethnic and geographic originality.

A remnant of the pre-industrial production process, handicraft development consists of a production system that is somewhere between popular art and small industry. Such a system is subordinate to the environment, i.e. the local abundance of certain raw materials, and represents alternative employment and income grounded in tradition: the individual produces a certain object in a certain way because their parents and grandparents did so.

In this sense, the characteristic of handicrafts is not the product itself, but the specific system through which the product is prepared, connecting the need of individualisation that human beings have, rather than standardisation, in a world that is steadily moving towards mass-production. The production of objects through primitive techniques is linked to a relatively new theme: folklore.

Brazil, for being very vast and having influences from diverse peoples, has a very rich and diverse handicraft production that varies from region to region. In the Northeast in particular, it is one of the important tourist attractions. To make handicrafts, Northeast Brazilians use various materials from the native flora and fauna, such as:

1. fibres (banana, brejauva [Astrocaryum aculeatissimum], corn);
2. jute
3. fibre from the yucca plant trunk; cattail; thread of the maguey leaf;
4. vines from bamboo, taquara [bambusa vulgaris], cipó-caboclo [davilla rugosa], cipó-imbé [Philodendron imbe Schott], cipó-uma [Banisteriopsis caapi], Arrow cane [Gynerium sagittatum];
5. bamboo;
6. loofah;
7. beeswax from stingless bees [bees of the Trigona spinipes species];
8. native plant seeds (such as Job's tears);
9. rattan;
10. coloured sand;
11. bark ink (annatto, saffron, bush indigo, mastic, golden spoon, Brazilian shaving brush tree);
12. stones;
13. shells;
14. clay;
15. coconut shell;
16. horns;
17. leather;
18. fabric;
19. feathers;
20. thread;
21. wood (cedar, viñatica [Persea indica], jackfruit, mastic, mahogany, jequitibá [Cariniana estrellensis], cinnamon and others);
22. bones;
23. teeth;
24. metal sheets;
25. tortoise shell;
26. scrap, among other elements.

Each material or group of materials gives rise to a type or variety of handmade product, where themes and templates come from the social group itself. The indigenous clay tradition, for example, along with the incorporation of experiences brought by Europeans and Africans, contributed greatly to the development of clay handicrafts. Here, it is customary to employ some elements found in the environment, such as massapé (black coloured clay), tauá (yellow) and kaolin (white), all capable of forming malleable alloys that burn safely.

Artisanal products in each State undergo changes according to the presence and/or abundance of the materials. The indigenous tribes of Maranhão, in particular, produce objects with plant fibres, wood and bird feathers. The state produces candies from native fruits, as well as juices (murici, bacuri and Buriti); figurative ceramics (in the Parnaíba Valley); utilitarian pottery (in Apiaí); pillow lace (in Guimarães, São Luís, Humberto de Campos and Praia do Raposo); basketry (in Barreirinhas); and weaving and hammocks (in Alcantara, Pinheiros, São Bento and Barreirinhas).

In terms of lace – a Portuguese heritage – the Northeast produces the following types: bobbin, drawn thread, crochet, Irish, renaissance and Filé lace. On the other hand, the most common types of embroidery are: cutwork, counted cross stitch, filling stitches, Mountmellick, Richelieu and drawn thread. Following a tradition arising from colonial times, brides continue to order lace and embroidered pieces for their bridal trousseau.

In the municipalities of Marechal Deodoro and Pontal da Barra in Alagoas, women embroider on white linen. In Caldas de Cipó and Tucano, it is possible to appreciate the making of lace (bobbin, drawn thread and Filé lace), and ornamental weaving. In Palmeira dos Índios, Porto Real do Colégio, Água Branca and Igreja Nova, clay pieces are manufactured: pots, coloured vases with red and white stain and pitchers in anthropomorphic shapes. And the municipalities of Tanque d’Arca, Penedo and Passo de Camaragibe produce ceramic pieces.

Many fishing artefacts are manufactured by 34 municipalities in Alagoas, particularly in Coqueiro Seco, Marechal Deodoro, Santa Luzia do Norte and Paripureira: 13 kinds of fishing nets, cover pots and dip nets to catch crustaceans and small fish. Igaci and Lagoa do Félix also produce some musical instruments (such as the bombo and zabumba drums). In rudimentary looms, Delmiro Gouveia manufactures cotton hammocks and Girau do Ponciano fibre hammocks. São Sebastião produces bobbin lace and in Maceió, drawn thread weaving. A lace known as Filé is produced in Pontal da Barra and Marechal Deodoro. In Ilha do Ferro, located 18km from the town of Pão de Açucar, the main activity of women is the “Good Night” embroidery, the only one in Brazil.

In Catolé do Rocha, Paraíba, artisans produce batik, painting done with paint based on ink and beeswax, and a variety of lace and hammock. São Mamede manufactures a special ceramic, where the clay is glazed by nature itself. Clay pieces, which are playful (oxen, horses, elephants, toys and children’s furniture), can be found in Patos. Quality toys, made of wood, can, or leftovers from other materials, are manufactured in Itabaiana. Juarez Távora and Juripiranga produce basketry, braided and weaving (sieve stitching, drawn thread and lace). Braided ones can also be appreciated in Salgado and Serra Redonda.

Piauí (Pedro II, Simplício Mendes, Parnaíba, Oeiras, Floriano and Teresina) has the major production centres of decorative ceramics: jars, pots, bowls, dishes and pans. The state also manufactures objects with fibres of buriti, cattail, tucum, carnauba and agave (in Campo Maior and Piracuruca). Baskets and weaves are produced in Parnaíba (the largest production centre). The municipality of Pedro II is the most significant weaving craft centre. On the banks of the Parnaíba River is a variety of handicrafts made with coconut husk fibres, as well as carnauba or babassu leaf mats to function as room partitions in modest homes. Carnaubeira palm trunks, in turn, are worked to serve as seats or food containers.

Other municipalities of Piauí manufacture wooden objects: bowls, pestles, wooden spoons, saints and angels. Teresina, Picos and Campo Maior also produce leather goods (bags, harness, cowboy clothes). The state manufactures fabrics with vegetable fibres, as well as lace, drawn thread, embroidery, crochets, quilts, rugs and towels.

In Sergipe, the municipality of Neópolis is the main production centre for ceramics, known as ‘carrapicho’ ceramics, where the objects have a background with motifs of fish skeletons, outlines of birds and bird wings painted with black paint and fine friezes. Itabaianinha manufactures a lot of ceramics, as well as weaves and baskets (from coconut straw); and in Divina Pastora women make Irish lace.

In Ceará, Cascavel is the largest production centre for ceramics, but the municipalities of Juazeiro and Sobral also make clay objects (such as Padre Cicero figures and painted oxen with flowers). In Fortaleza, Cascavel, São Mamede, Maranguape, Quixeramobim, Camocim and Aracati, lace and handmade objects (hats and bags) are manufactured; and Caicó produces leatherwork, including cartridge belts, saddles, hats, whips and others.

Ceará produces baskets and weaving in the cities of Limoeiro, Russas, Ipu, Aracati, Itaiçaba and Jaguarana. In Sobral, hats in particular are made from carnauba straw. Fortaleza, Aracoiaba, Pacajus and Capistrano manufacture high-quality weaving. And Juazeiro do Norte stands out for its production of leather artefacts, metal and jewellery. It is worth mentioning the coastal municipality of Itarema, where the local population are descended from the Tremembé Indians, and as one of the few northern regions that has not been impacted by tourism, you can find the manufacture of small-scale fibre hammocks done on rudimentary vertical looms.

Rio Grande do Norte uses the coloured sands of its beaches to enrich its handicrafts. The state also produces objects made from straw and woven liana (bags, brooms, mats, fans and baskets). Santo Antônio dos Barreiros produces decorative ceramics (multi-coloured roosters); Mossoró and Nísia Floresta produce lace and utilitarian ceramics; from Caicó comes leather goods; in Luzia, Ana Dantas and Currais Novos, sculptures of saints and animals in unpainted wood are produced; and Júlio Cassiano and Jardim do Seridó make saints and fife bands in wood.

The state of Bahia is a large centre of production for wooden, straw and silver handicrafts. The municipality of Maragogipinho produces ceramic jars, jugs and bowls, made with yellow clay and glazed inside. Lace cushion covers are fabricated in Castro Alves and Santa Terezinha; leatherwork, in Ipirá; miniature household items in Nazaré das Farinhas; fishing nets in Xique-Xique; cotton and silk quilts and sisal mops in Caldas de Cipó and Tucano. Itiúba manufactures fibre hats, ouricury palm or ariri straw items and sisal bags. Basketry and weaving are generally produced in the Middle São Francisco region.

There is a wide variety of handcrafted products in Salvador’s Mercado Modelo: carvings, statues, berimbaus, saints, rosaries, musical instruments, pestles, fruits, dishes, wooden spoons; and a number of metal items such as knives, bells, rattles, spurs, candlesticks, bells, daggers, coats of arms and others. Also found there are wooden pestles and spoons from Porto Seguro; rag dolls, trucks, jeeps and ox carts made of buriti wood from Barra.

The state of Pernambuco has a large production of handicrafts. In central Recife’s House of Culture and the Mercado da Ribeira in Olinda, you can enjoy a sample of this production. Going up towards the northern beaches, the famous Casa Caiada tapestry has been developed by local artisans.

The largest ceramics production centre is Tracunhaém, a municipality located in the Forest Zone, 58km from Recife. There, each house is a workshop where people live with their hands in clay, shaping and/or carving objects. Goiana also produces many clay objects (especially saints in standard sizes).

From Ibimirim, a municipality in the Moxotó semi-arid region located 380km from Recife, come religious images in wood made from the trunks of the umburana tree; from Passira, 109km from the capital, comes embroidery; and Caruaru, in the Pernambuco agreste, clay dolls are produced, the legacy of the famous Mestre Vitalino school, as well as a number of other ceramic, straw and wooden objects. Every Saturday at the Caruaru Market all kinds of handicrafts as well as a wide range of leatherwork, such as typical cowboy costumes, gloves, belts, sandals, sheath for knives, harnesses for horses, can be found on display.

In Bezerros, you can follow the production of xilography (carved woodcuts printed on paper or cloth) made by Amaro Francis and J. Borges. Itamaracá produces numerous objects from ox horns: rings, figas, animals, birds, ships, fish, handles and other items; basketry and weaving, and objects made of stones and shells. Itamaracá and Fazenda Nova also produce objects made from shells and stones; Pesqueira and Poção make sweets from guava and tomato, lace and embroidery; while Timbaúba and Taracatu manufacture hammocks.

Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, located 215km from Recife, deep in the Pernambuco agreste, has had one of the strongest economies in the State for the last four decades. At the Sulanca fair are the Northeast’s cheapest clothes and fabrics. The city has 1280 shops, and from them approximately 1 million metres of denim weekly and 500 tonnes of fabric per month go out to the rest of the region. Santa Cruz do Capibaribe has 38,000 inhabitants and 40,000 sewing machines.

On the outskirts of Fazenda Nova, still in the state’s agreste, is Sculpture Park: a set of 21 granite sculptures, produced by artisans, that weigh between 10 and 20 tons each.

The National Program for Handicraft Development, a project under the Ministry of Labour, has brought new professional, economic and social opportunities for a million artisans. These people now have a number of rights: a recognised profession, welfare assistance, cooperative associations, tax exemptions and authorisation to exhibit and sell products at fairs and markets.

Producing handicrafts, despite being an intensely time-consuming manual labour activity in the Northeast, is but a secondary and complementary occupation for those who do it. The chain of middlemen, moreover, extending from the producer to the customer, contributes to diluting the artisan’s small profit margin. The creator of the wealth thus becomes the one who enjoys it the least. To be compensatory, from an economic point of view, artisanal production needs to become economically viable, and no longer merely for subsistence.
Recife, 24 July 2003.
(Updated on 18 September 2007).
Translated by Peter Leamy, July 2016.

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