Aterovi · Public domainÑai'ũpo black-clay pottery
Ñai'ũpo
Black-clay jugs and cookware shaped by hand with an ancestral technique, on UNESCO's heritage list since 2025.
What it is
The potters gather black clay (ñai'ũ) from the wetlands, mix it with powdered brick and build up the pieces with stacked coils — the coiling technique — which they smooth with a tool made of tacuara cane. They then paint with natural pigments, burnish and fire the pieces for hours in a wood kiln. The result is jugs, pots and plates for cooking over an open fire, as well as figurines. It is practiced in Itá, Tobatí and Yaguarón.
History
It is knowledge with pre-Columbian roots that women pass on in Guaraní to their daughters and apprentices. In December 2025 UNESCO inscribed ñai'ũpo on the Urgent Safeguarding List because of the master potters' age, rural migration, scarce raw materials and low incomes.
Did you know…?
In Itá, the Casa Museo de Arte en Barro holds works by potter Juana Marta Rodas (who died in 2013) and her daughter Julia Isídrez, both award-winning at home and abroad.
Where to buy
In Itá, about 35 km from Asunción: the Casa Museo Juana Marta Rodas (workshop and museum, by appointment) and Kambuchi Apó, a collective of women potters from the rural district of Caaguazú — both on the IPA's National Crafts Route. Also in Tobatí and Yaguarón.