subject: Cuban Traditions - The History of Camaguey's Tinajones [print this page] Cuban Traditions - The History of Camaguey's Tinajones
The tinajon has its roots in the Catalan and the Andalusian pots, used to store grains, wines, and oils, brought to Cuba by Spanish immigrants that settled in the village by 1700. The permanent lack of water of the first settlements made the tinajones change their function from a traditional use to serve as water storage containers.
It's been assumed that the tinajones were elaborated en masse in the region since the 17th century; however, there is evidence of their elaboration and use in Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus, Jamaica, and even in Chile and Peru.
To manufacture a "tinajn camageyano", red clay from the Sierra de Cubitas mountains is used. It's been estimated that the first samples were made by the middle of the 17th century, but there is no evidence of this. The oldest discovered dates back to 1760. It's popular to believe that during the 19th century, every single house in Camagey used to have at least one tinajn. The water contained inside the fresh sides was used to drink and to cook, and toasts were usually made when visitors stopped by.
In a census conducted in 1900, there were more than 16 thousand tinajones in the city. Nowadays, there are just 2500 original samples. The majority of the ones used today in gardens and parks were elaborated after 1976, when the pottery tradition was revived.
The typical "tinajn camageyano" has a large belly, geometrical, defined lines, and a prominent crest. Its fabrication is totally artisanal and it takes weeks to model and cook each of them. It is fabricated using clay strips that start joining and forming the sides till the wanted shape is achieved.
