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Specific Techniques

Black pigment is created by mixing jenipapo fruit (Genipa americana) with coal, and red from the seeds of the shrub urucum (Bixa orellana).

Iconographic Meaning

This figure is in an older style, and represents a girl after her first menstruation.

Description

Ceramic ritxoko doll. Sitting female figure of light brown clay painted in red and black. Rolled tube of clay draped over head forms long black hair style and arms with flat ends. She is wearing a grass skirt that is threaded through a hole in her body and knotted at the back. Sharply pointed breasts and stubby conical legs have tattoo decoration.

Cultural Context

When the various Iny groups were first contacted by Europeans in the 18th century their total population was estimated to be around 9,000. Persecution and slavery led to a precipitous decline, and by the early 20th century less than 600 individuals were left, facing possible extinction. As part of the “developmental” policies of successive Brazilian governments, their lands were occupied by cattle grazers and industrial farmers, and their rivers exploited for commercial fishing. But against the odds the Iny have prospered, and by 2014 their population had rebounded to about 4,000 people.

History Of Use

The Iny (formerly known as Karaja) are known for their ceramics. Only elder women make ritxoko clay dolls, which are now an important source of income as well as a source of subjective and symbolic inspiration to redress the wounds of violent colonial occupation. Iny society is organized around extended families of three or four generations. There is a deep divide between male and female practices. As they approach puberty, young girls are offered a set of ritxoko clay dolls to play with. These represent a family and include both boys and girls of various ages. Contemporary production includes both modern and old styles. The modern style is more realistic while the old style is less complex technically, with the arms placed close to the body in female figures, for instance, and signified only by shoulders in male figures. Both old and modern painting styles are highly conventional and replicate the complex body painting the Iny use to signify status from cradle to grave. The Karajá dolls "Ritxòkò" were declared intangible cultural heritage of Brazil in 2012.