Paraguay · Traditional wooden hunting bow making
Arco Aché
The Aché people, forest-dwelling hunter-gatherers of eastern Paraguay, make traditional wooden hunting bows whose craftsmanship has drawn specific international recognition among traditional-archery specialists. In 2012, Susana Kóvacs, president of the Federación Paraguaya de Tiro con Arco, traveled to South Korea to present a small multiethnic collection of Paraguayan indigenous bows — including Ayoreo and various Guaraní examples — at the World Traditional Archery Federation's International Academic Seminar, 'Present Situation of Traditional Archery as Intangible Cultural Heritage,' alongside leading international specialists including Bede Dwyer (Australia), Pan Wook Kim (Korea), Roland Bohr (Canada), and Pal Posta (Hungary). Among the pieces presented, the Aché bow specifically caused the greatest impression on the international delegation; Kóvacs separately received the award for excellence for best arrow at the same event. Documentary footage of Aché artisans demonstrating traditional bow-and-arrow construction has circulated publicly, framing the technique as ancestral art still actively practiced.
Risk level: Endangered · Not Applicable — no direct UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage inscription exists for this specific craft at time of writing, though it was specifically presented within an international seminar explicitly framed around traditional archery's status as intangible cultural heritage, organized with support from the Government of Korea
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