PI: Bula Wayessa| Collaborators: Dereje Hinehu, Assistant Professor, Wollega University and Abdi Assefa, Lecturer, Wollega University | Project ID: 2020SG11 Location of Research: Ethiopia—Gimbi, Oromia| Host Institution: University of Minnesota
This project documented the chaîne opératoire of Gimbi Oromo pottery-making in Ethiopia, from the learning network to the production and utilization of pottery objects. Pottery technology constitutes an integral part of the region’s indigenous knowledge systems, and sociocultural factors frame the learning of the pottery maker’s art. The potters’ engagement with their wares at each stage of production reflects the active inclusion of social relationships. Clay is perceived as having agency, and potters must perform certain rituals before collecting it. Despite its traditional socio-economic position, pottery-making is rapidly declining across the region, and the techniques and technology involved may disappear over the coming years. Several developments threaten the tradition, most notably the Ethiopian land policy, which restricts potters’ freedom to collect clay, the influx of metal and plastics imports affecting demand for traditional pottery vessels, and improved economic prospects becoming available to younger generations in Ethiopia. The project has created audiovisual, documentary, and photographic records relating to this declining technological tradition to preserve it as a heritage resource for future generations. By documenting artisans’ technological choices at each stage of pottery production, the project contributes to the debate on whether the technical choices potters make in pottery production are primarily guided by social factors learned as members of a social community of artisans and consumers. The research also broadens our understanding of globalization’s influences and national and local policies on indigenous technology. What we can agree on is that a displacement that threatens one of the traditional practices of Ethiopia’s indigenous people has occurred, which is not reversible, and we have what amounts to a final opportunity to produce a permanent record of their traditional practices before the tradition dies out. This project has achieved this by generating visual, audiovisual, and text data sets and represents the first study of its kind in southern Ethiopia.
Data Collection
The data collection process developed through a combination of unstructured and semi-structured interviews, as well as participant and non-participant observations. These interviews were conducted in various settings, including participants’ homes, villages, market centres, and clay mining sites. Our selection of interviewees was designed for in-depth case study analysis. We conducted field visits to Gimbi, Dongoro, Wallo Yasus, and Enango to document the profound material knowledge involved in pottery production. To ensure comprehensive coverage, we engaged with each participant on multiple occasions. Detailed accounts of each field experience were meticulously documented using diaries, logs, and field notes. Additionally, a visual record was created by capturing images and recording videos at each stage of the pottery production process, which encompassed mining, clay transportation to the manufacturing site, clay processing, production, drying, firing, post-firing treatments, marketing, and utilization.
The overarching goal of this project was to create a comprehensive and detailed record of this practice and its associated knowledge systems before they vanish. We meticulously documented all stages of pottery production and related social practices, from learning pottery-making to raw material selection, clay mining, paste processing, vessel shaping, drying, firing, post-firing treatments, distribution, and utilization.
Mining
Production
Firing and post-firing treatments
Marketing/distribution
Utilization
Additionally, we recorded the intricate links between individuals and pottery as portrayed in society’s folklore, storytelling, and social practices connected to this tradition. Furthermore, we explored the elaborate interplay between technological and cultural practices, particularly how people are immersed in specific material existences through their daily interactions. Recognizing that the decline of pottery-making is contributing to a broader decline in traditional food processing technology (given the pivotal role of pots in this area), we also documented the use of pottery items in traditional cooking, baking, coffee-making, and the fermentation of indigenous beverages. Our research team produced audiovisual and visual recordings, as well as written records of material practices, all stored in a digital archive to facilitate the creation of bodies of knowledge and the development of related ideas.