A alquimia da terra e a arte com barro na visão das louceiras da comunidade do Ligeiro de baixo Serra Branca (PB).

Abstract

The clay, raw material of the ceramic activity or crockery, is a material that provides diverse creative opportunities, due to the malleability and flexibility that it presents. The production of clay crockery is an ancient activity, making up customs and values of humanity, present in the various localities, especially in rural environments, and in spite of the beauty of the pieces and the importance of the activity as an art and generator of work and in come, the devaluation of the potters is expressive. The objective of this research was analyze the perceptions of the rural community of Ligeiro de Baixo in Serra Branca/PB about their art, their knowledge and their difficulties and potential, in the light of ethnopedology, a science that studies the relationship between people and the soil. The methodology used was based on the ethnographic record, where it was chosen to use unstructured interview, giving the researcher the freedom to go beyond the answers, the way the qualitative research works, with the aspirations, beliefs, values and attitudes, focusing on understanding and explanation of the dynamics of the social relations involved. The verified results indicate that the maidens remain firm in defining themselves as artisans and that, even though they find it difficult to support the strengthening of this activity, it is necessary to emphasize that the handicraft whit clay in Cariri survives on its own, even though it encounters obstacles for this.