Item Records

This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.

The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.

These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.

  • Data
  • Data Source

This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Ceramic ritxoko doll. Figure in the shape of a sitting woman has two thick, short legs extending outward, a prominent stomach, long torso, breasts, and a small featureless face. Thick, heavy brown hair comes to a point above the forehead and falls down the back and sides past the shoulders. Large concave orange beads are added to the hair at the sides. A fringe of red and white wool falls down the figure’s front, attached to a string that passes through holes bored into either side of the neck. A large hole is bored through the pelvis front to back, and another partially through the stomach. Figure is painted with square designs in orange and dark brown.

History Of Use

The Iny (formerly known as Karajá) 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.

Specific Techniques

Chest decoration in cotton threads and beeswax. 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 represents an young woman in her teens, of marriageable age. She is made in the older style (arms close to the body), in a seated position.

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.

Item History

With an account, you can ask other users a question about this item. Request an Account

With an account, you can submit information about this item and have it visible to all users and institutions on the RRN. Request an Account

Similar Items