Uruguay · Carved and finished bovine-horn drinking vessel craft
Guampa
The working of cow horn into the guampa, the traditional Rioplatense vessel for drinking yerba mate. Horn is valued, as one maker puts it, because it 'reúne la condición de ser tradicional y relativamente accesible de obtener' (combines the condition of being traditional and relatively accessible to obtain), so that cultural identity is carried by both the manual tradition and a national raw material. In Montevideo the craft is documented through the Fagian-Leyton family workshop (Aída Fagian, Hugo Leyton and Andrea Leyton Fagian), photographed for 'Construcciones. La mirada colectiva, el taller artesano,' a project by the Colectivo Escala Humana and Taller Aquelarre that visited more than forty Uruguayan workshops.
Risk level: Vulnerable · Not Applicable — no UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage inscription exists for this craft at time of writing
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