TAPIRAPÉ HAND CARVED BOWL

Botanical: Lagenaria sicerariaOrigin: Mato Grosso, Amazon Jungle, BrazilTribe: Tapirapé A traditional indigenous bowl carved from wild Amazonian calabash gourd by the Tapirapé, a Tupi-Guarani people who inhabit the region of the Urubu Branco at the mouth of the Tapirapé and Araguaia rivers in north-eastern Mato Grosso, Brasil.The bowl’s exquisite detail and geometric design are engraved with handmade tools. Black paint on the inside of the bowl, commonly referred to as ‘genipap’ or ‘huito’, is extracted from Genipa americana, a species of trees in the Rubiaceae family whose unripe fruit yields a black liquid commonly used as a dye for skin painting, tattoos, craftwork and insect repellent. A natural varnish obtained from mawata peel forms a protective coating on the inside of the bowl, which has been used for centuries for drinking, cooking and bathing. The Tapirapé live in a region of tropical forest, divided by open fields and cerrado, or low vegetation. Craftwork has become their mo