Spanish is only a second language for the Ayuuk...

ESPIRITU SANTO

The old nation of the Ayuuk peoples lies in the southern Sierra Madre mountains of Oaxaca, encircling the high cloud-wreathed peak of Zempoatepetl. In the 1300's, in search of a holy mountain, the Ayuuks settled in these highlands after an immense trek from Peru.

The Ayuuk were well settled into their mountain stronghold when Cortez' soldiers marched up the rugged canyons, only to be repelled time and again. The Ayuuk prevailed, and even today Spanish is only a second language for them, and a large part of the population speaks no Spanish at all.

It is in this setting that the pottery of Espiritu Santo flourishes as a tradition, intact and essential to the mountain communities. In this village and surrounding Ranchos, the majority of the women are potters. Unique to this pottery is the often rough, striated surface texture that comes from being scraped with a corn cob.