Who can't adore this? Tigua art is typically referred to as naïve art. However, it is extremely detailed and expresses much of the life and beliefs of the indigenous Ecuadorian. Scenes include people working in the fields, growing corn and other vegetables, herding farm animals, practicing religious rituals, and showing local scenery, which usually includes one or more of the volcanoes. The indigenous artists of Tigua, Ecuador are renowned for their paintings. Tigua is located in the Central Andes of Ecuador where the Indian community resides between the Cotopaxi volcano and the Quilotoa crater. In their village Tigua the Quechua Indians maintain a tradition of paintings on sheepskin. On the paintings they depict their daily lives and their landscape. They show you the majestic Cotopaxi volcano (5981 m, the world’s highest active volcano) and the Quilotoa crater with its green lake. You see them herd their sheep and llamas, spinning wool, weaving cloths, and harvesting potatoes, barley and maize. You'll be shown their medicine men and their typical feasts (The Danzantes). Traditionally, the Quichua people of the highlands decorated drums and masks for festivals and fiestas. Painting on a flat surface is a relatively recent development. Despite their lack of formal training, the artists of Tigua, have gained renown throughout Ecuador and beyond for the vitality of their paintings and detailed rendering of nature and traditional life in the remote highlands. Tigua paintings are available almost everywhere. You’ll see them in any market you visit.
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