12/9: Charmed by Nanduti Lace & Paraguay's Golden Circuit Towns!

On the afternoon of our first day with our driver cum guide exploring the small towns known as the Golden Circuit outside of Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, we headed to the town of Capiata. The town was famous for a number of reasons: for its indigenous Guarani mythology, a workshop of family santeros or saint-makers, and the folk cult of the black saint Balthazar! We began at the intriguing Museo Mitologico Ramon Elias or mythological museum that was built by artist Ramon Elias with materials recovered from 17th century colonial buildings he had collected for ten years.

Even after only being in Paraguay a number of days, we had already grown accustomed to seeing lovely colonnades like this one. After a few more days, we realized they weren't unique to the region around the capital but common throughout the rest of the country we were also lucky enough to travel to. The posts were from a very solid wood that would sink when placed in rivers.

The wooden columns were topped with carved capitals.

Elias had collected military items from the Triple Alliance War, the war that had pitted Paraguay against the triple alliance of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina and lasted from 1864 until 1870. It was appalling to learn that 3,500 children were massacred in the war by being burned alive in the fields.

There were also many items from the Chaco War that occurred from 1932-35 against Bolivia who had help from the US and the Standard Oil Company as they had an interest in the Bolivian oil fields. Chaco is a large area in Paraguay located northeast of Asuncion.

Of greater interest to us was a room devoted to items from when the Franciscans came to Paraguay in the 1540s and the Jesuits arrived in the early 1600s. Both religious groups left their mark on the country by starting missions in the southern part of the nation. Sadly, there was a burglary at the museum in mid 2009 when 25 statues of saints were stolen that were worth well over $500,000. The best items were taken but there were still some marvelous crucifixes to be admired.

In a cupboard niche were a variety of art pieces from the colonial period. If you click on the photo, you'll be able to see them more clearly.

In one crucifix, God the Father was depicted flying out from the top of the cross! 

What was most engrossing however in the museum was the collection of Guarani mythological monsters each carved by Elias. According to legend, the spirit of evil, Tau, seduced a beautiful girl, Kerana, and she gave birth to seven monsters. Here were Tau and Kerana.

Our wonderful driver/guide, Jose, with Teju Jagua, a lizard with a dog's head!

The next was a big snake with a parrot's head called Mboi Tu'i.

The scary figure of Kurupi had such a long penis he had to wrap it around his waist!

The most terrible of monsters was Luiso who looked like a large black dog but attacked like a tiger. Here he was braying at the moon.

The serpent with the spiky head and sharp teeth that reminded me of a court jester was Monai.

Jose explained to us that these monsters were representations of curses directed against someone else.

Ao Ao was a fertility god that looked a little like a sheep with sharp teeth but could walk upright. Thank goodness, we didn't have any young children with us or they would have been scared!

The church of Capiata, dedicated to Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria or Our Lady of the Candelaria, was built in the mid 18th century. Almost the entire church was original barring the facade that was redone and the wooden pillars on the side colonnades replaced with round masonry ones. A six-year renovation was completed at the end of the 20th century.

Jose told us the original interior pillars with their carved details supported the entire weight of the church and were the frame of the church! Neither of us had ever heard of that before.

The ceiling was plain except for the magnificent painted portion over the chancel which reminded us so much of ceilings in many Ethiopian churches. 

The gorgeous statue of the Candelaria had been removed during the Triple Alliance War allegedly to prevent sacrilege. It was only identified many years later as belonging to the church in Capiata when it was in the cathedral in Asuncion. It was returned with much fanfare to its rightful home in 1940.  

The Christ Child in the Virgin's Arms was later stolen but thankfully recovered and replaced in 1979.

There were large figures of the good and bad crucified thieves on either side of the entrance. 

The splendid pulpit:

It was hard not to be struck by the beauty and history of the church, especially as it was set in a park-like setting. 

Jose earned every guarani (Paraguay's currency as well as its indigenous group and language!) of his pay that day when we tasked him to find the workshop of the Rodriguez santeros or saint-makers in Capiata! We ended up going up and down street after street trying to find the home that we only had a description of with some vague reference points but Jose came through and we found the home and workshop. Candido Rodriguez was well known when he was alive, as was his own father, for being a santero. Now his children have followed in their paternal footsteps.

Esperanza and her brother Maximilian carry on the practice but each with their own distinct style. The small figures were either painted, partly painted on their faces, hands and feet, or unpainted. Each of the saints could be identified by his or her own symbol on our 'cheat sheet.' St. Peter, for instance, had keys, St. Paul, a sword. St. Andrew, a diagonal cross, etc. Steven and I spent a chunk of time admiring them and then trying to decide which one to buy. The family was obviously so desperately poor it would have helped if we could have bought several but we were concerned about space at home and one was all we 'needed' to remind us of being there. We ended up choosing Santa Dolorosa or Our Lady of Sorrows or Pain in English, not because of its meaning, but we just liked it!

It was very special visiting their home and workshop but I couldn't help but wonder how the shop survived with no signage and in a country where so few people believe in an organized religion and with a government that does little to promote tourism.

Thanks to Jose's infinite patience and our eagle eyes, we finally found the Oratorio del Santo Rey Baltasar as it was well set back behind a mechanic's garage and a chicken fast food joint! I had no address or phone number to assist Jose, simply certain stores that were nearby. An oratory was built in 1931 but was replaced by this larger one in 1986. 

We walked past the garage and then watched as the mechanic reverently carried the King Balthazar toward the oratory. If you studied religious ed as a child, you may recall the black king traditionally was one of the three magi who visited the Christ Child in Bethlehem.

Inside the oratory was a yellow altar with a red top with vases of red and yellow flowers. I admit to recalling it came close to being garish and gaudy but knew the king was special to people of Capiata and beyond as there were black slaves in Paraguay at least until 1824. On the saint's feast day of Epiphany on January 6th, there is a mass and a procession to a church with local children dressed as kings in red and yellow.

How lucky we were to be there when the wrought iron gates were open so we could view, not just the oratory, but the king himself. I think it was very special for Jose, as even he who knew virtually every square inch of his country, had been introduced to something new thanks to our research ahead of time.

Just a few miles down the highway was the town of Itaugua, famous for its nanduti lace. If you read the earlier posts on Asuncion, you know that nanduti is the Guarani word for spider's web. It's usually circular in shape with the circles then sewn together to make a larger piece. As you'll see in future posts on our trip to Paraguay, each town had its own 'welcome' sign. We could never forget Itaugua's with its signature nanduti sign.

Up and down Ruta 2, there was shop after shop selling nanduti items but Jose recommended that we stop at Casa Antonia as it had a large selection of very good quality nanduti items.

Hammocks seemed a little large to bring home but they were obviously very popular in Paraguay as we saw oodles and oodles of them! 

Exquisitely made baby clothes drew my eyes as our son's wife and daughter are each pregnant and due in May and August respectively, God willing, but I didn't know if they would have little girls then!

The traditional nanduti is white but Paraguayans prefer the brighter hues so nanduti has been developed into multi-colored table mats and other decorations. Each nanduti piece was stiff as it had been starched with manioc, another term for cassava. I admit to going more than a little crazy buying a table runner and mats then and even asking Jose the next day if we could return for more! 

Steven didn't care for the colored nanduti but they grew on me. I was surprised that there was absolutely no volume discount. I figure they likely saw us as rich gringos and that we didn't properly understand the number of hours creating each piece!

We'd hoped to stop at the Museo San Rafael in Itaugua as it was famous for having a collection of statues from the old church and elsewhere but it was closed. We really appreciated it when Jose assured us there would be no problem returning there another time. 

The town's church had a large and grand facade. It wasn't open but we had fun walking around the very attractive square that was so peaceful and so well tended, unlike any of the plazas in Asuncion. The sand in the plaza had been raked which showed a level of attention and care not ever seen in the capital.

Had we gone inside, we would have seen the Virgen del Rosario to whom the church was dedicated. Portrayed in pink, the Virgin of the Rosary and this mural had nanduti decorations on their dresses. 

Around the square were magnificent colonnades on old colonial houses.

In the square where the church was we noticed the second Little Free Library of our trip so far to Paraguay.

One of the key towns to visit in the Golden Circuit was Aregua as it was one of three towns specializing in ceramics close to Asuncion and the home of many artists. At the top of the town's hill was the elegant Church of our Lady.

The interior was as bright and cheery as the exterior unlike the one in Capiata whose interior was so much darker.

From the church we could see the town's allegiance to its football team as evidenced to the red, green and white team colors on the electrical poles just outside!

A great view from the church was to Lago Ypacarai in the distance. Jose said the lake's water was actually very brown but it looked a pretty shade of blue from the sky's reflection that early evening.

Jose was so concerned that these pictures of us would be so much better if taken in the morning but we assured him we were very content with these ones!

A few minutes' away was Ita'o, a stone area with the impressive sight of a huge ficus tree holding onto the stone by its roots. It was as if the roots and stone had merged together and became one! 

Next to it was a small oratory dedicated to San Miguel. On St. Michael's feast day of September 29th, an important procession is held.

Jose pointed out the lovely Villa Gisela on one of Aregua's main streets and said it was the dream of every Paraguayan to live there with its beautiful verandas and huge gardens!

Street after street in Aregua was crammed with stalls selling ceramics that we'd look at the following day. Some were unglazed flower pots but a lot we saw from the car were garden gnomes, frogs, toadstools and the like - nothing that appealed to our North American tastes! Jose said we'd see ceramic statues from Mickey Mouse to the Kuma Sutra if we looked carefully enough.

We stopped for several minutes before dinner to pick up some things for breakfast the next morning. The grocery store was enormous and would make any North American happy to shop there, especially if you like bread or rolls. What a hoot seeing these massive bins of various rolls!

At the end of that very, very long day of sightseeing, Steven was so happy digging into his big bottle of Paraguayan beer as it was 8:30. We were both exhausted after being on the go nonstop for 12 hours, so I hated to think of how beat Jose was after driving 150 kms and finding all the out of the way places!

Next post: A hike at Cerra Koi, the German settlement at San Bernardino and a lot more once again!

Posted on February 9th, 2020, from another snowy day in Denver. After no precipitation for almost a month, everyone is getting fed up with all this white stuff!