Ceramistas de Santarém – herdeiros de uma tradição ancestral

Abstract

The present work aims to illustrate the factors that lead Santarém potters to identify themselves as heirs of the Tapajós tradition and highlight them from the perspective of the potters. Currently, Tapajônica ceramics are produced by independent potters, who, through their own means, have to finance their ceramic production, without external assistance. The ceramics produced along the Tapajós River went through a series of changes, resulting from European exploration in the Amazon. Seen in this way, integration between peoples resulted in a series of cultural exchanges between Europeans, indigenous people and Africans. These cultural exchanges influenced modern ceramic production and led to new ways of producing ceramics. With the help of interviews from ceramists, Mestre Elves and Jefferson Paiva, this work seeks to identify the importance of ceramists working in the Lower Amazon region and highlight the challenges of maintaining Tapajônica ceramic production, highlighting the present, without forgetting the past.