Agouti Pot

Red clay with glaze, 32 x 15 cm, Artist’s Collection (Photo: Edgar Kanaykõ Xakriabá)

Agoutis are rodent animals that were widely used for food by the Xakriabá. In the past, there were large numbers of this animal in our cerrado (region) in Xakriabá territory. Today it is almost extinct. They’re brown-colored, with yellow fur on the belly, and reddish fur on the back. I made the Agouti Pot for two reasons: the agouti is one of the most beautiful rodents in our cerrado; and they are the forest’s farmers. They plant seeds by burying them in the ground.

The glaze was extracted from black rock, and red toá, a very light mineral.