Initiation
A girl can only become a potter after excision. The excision ceremony takes place in the field where the pots are fired. The girls are checked that their virginity is still intact. If she fails, she is not allowed to become a potter. During initiation, girls learn the history, technique and behaviors associated with pottery (Herbert 209).
The Women
Bamana pottery is created by women. These potters are often the wives of blacksmiths, but see themselves as much more. Making pottery is a very demanding profession. It requires great artistic skill as well as physical endurance. Their character derives These women often provide the primary income for their extended families. A woman does not choose to become a potter, she is born into a family of blacksmiths and potters (Frank 26). Potters are also responsible for preparing sacrificial meals, dressing hair on special occasions, and are also occasionally consulted as healers. The best potters do the large majority of their work on commission, but do often produce a surplus that they will sell at weekly markets around the region. They usually prefer to sell their pots for cash, but will often accept items such as grain, peanuts, or cloth in exchange.
Diversity in Techniques
Every potters creates their pots differently depending on the origins of different traditions. The production of pottery showcases a specialized knowledge passed from one generation to the next. Potters may create new forms upon request of a client, but the process itself rarely changes. How and why they create their pots is more distinct to their culture than the style of the pots
A girl can only become a potter after excision. The excision ceremony takes place in the field where the pots are fired. The girls are checked that their virginity is still intact. If she fails, she is not allowed to become a potter. During initiation, girls learn the history, technique and behaviors associated with pottery (Herbert 209).
The Women
Bamana pottery is created by women. These potters are often the wives of blacksmiths, but see themselves as much more. Making pottery is a very demanding profession. It requires great artistic skill as well as physical endurance. Their character derives These women often provide the primary income for their extended families. A woman does not choose to become a potter, she is born into a family of blacksmiths and potters (Frank 26). Potters are also responsible for preparing sacrificial meals, dressing hair on special occasions, and are also occasionally consulted as healers. The best potters do the large majority of their work on commission, but do often produce a surplus that they will sell at weekly markets around the region. They usually prefer to sell their pots for cash, but will often accept items such as grain, peanuts, or cloth in exchange.
Diversity in Techniques
Every potters creates their pots differently depending on the origins of different traditions. The production of pottery showcases a specialized knowledge passed from one generation to the next. Potters may create new forms upon request of a client, but the process itself rarely changes. How and why they create their pots is more distinct to their culture than the style of the pots
Herbert, Eugenia W. Iron, Gender, and Power: Rituals of Transformation in African Societies. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1993. Web.
Frank, Barbara E. More than Wives and Mothers: The Artistry of Mande Potters. African Arts Vol. 27 No. 4, 1994.
Frank, Barbara E. More than Wives and Mothers: The Artistry of Mande Potters. African Arts Vol. 27 No. 4, 1994.