hands-on amate, paper of the Aztec and Maya

Amate was being made in the Americas much earlier than Europeans knew paper. When the Spaniards arrived, they burned many thousands of amate books and forbid its manufacture, which was continued in secret until it became legal again. Even today amate is being made with the same methods and tools as it has been done for over 18 centuries!

We will share more about these events, what we know of amate books, of which less than 20 survived, how it is used today, the Hñahnu First Nation and the town of San Pablito where the tradition survived… Then we all get to make some amate using a real volcanic stone Hñahnu amate beater and jonote tree bark.

This event is supported in part by the City of Austin through the Economic Development Department’s Cultural Arts Division