Chaco caraguatá bags and palo santo carvings
Karaguata
Plant-fiber bags woven by Indigenous women of the Chaco, and plates and spoons of fragrant palo santo wood.
What it is
Chaco communities weave bags from the fiber of caraguatá leaves, hand-spun and colored with natural dyes: large crescent-shaped gathering bags that women carry on their backs, and rectangular shoulder bags for hunting. Ayoreo bags are among the most sought-after; the Ayoreo also make featherwork and carve plates and spoons from palo santo.
History
The fiber of the caraguatá, a bromeliad of the Chaco scrubland, was for centuries the basis of the nets, cords and bags of the Chaco peoples; spinning and dyeing it by hand takes days of work.
Did you know…?
The Nivaclé people, of the Mataguayan language family, numbered around 14,800 in the 2012 census, concentrated in Boquerón and Presidente Hayes, in communities near Filadelfia and Mariscal Estigarribia.
Where to buy
In the Central Chaco (Filadelfia, Loma Plata and surroundings) and in the communities themselves; buying directly from the artisans or from Indigenous organizations ensures the money reaches the weaver. In Asunción, some specialist shops carry them: always ask which community they come from.