Description
The Guajira Peninsula is an extremely harsh environment. For millennia, the Wayúu have to learned to adapt and withstand extreme weather conditions. Goats and donkeys are the animals of choice as they can stand the harsh desert conditions. Pulikeruuya represents the vulva of the donkey. Given the importance of donkeys for the community, it is even more important to have female donkeys capable of producing foals and hence why they are represented as an important element to the culture.
The use of color by the Wayúu women does not necessarily represent anything in particular. Bright colours mean in general that the artist was feeling happy and lively when she made the bag and earth and ocre tones generally mean that the artist was nostalgic, sad or melancholic.
Each plato is different for each bag. They usually depict important memories in the life of the artisan, such as their children, their joys and sorrows.
Each Wayúu Bag is a peek into the universe that each artist has within.