A group of four clay jars cool after being removed from the bonfire and dipped in bark solution. The solution carbonizes as it comes in contact with the hot surface of the pot, creating a glossy darkened surface that reduces the jar's porosity. A portion of one jar's rim has broken off during the firing and finishing process. Visible on the lower pot surfaces is the maize cob (bledjukaan in Nafaanra) roulette applied to create a roughened surface prior to firing. Shallow grooves used to decorate the upper surfaces are visible on the jar in the foreground. Pieces of bark from the bark solution adhere to the jars' surfaces. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Finished and dried clay pottery jars are carefully placed on top of firewood in preparation for firing. Previously fired broken or flawed pots are used to bank the fuel, keeping it in place. Additional fuel will be placed on top of the stacked pottery and the fuel set on fire. The resulting bonfire will be allowed to burn down, after which the pots will be removed and finished while hot by being dipped in a bark solution. Mensah Listowell, Research Assistant (blue shirt), stands by as the potters prepare to place more fuel on the stacked pottery. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A potter uses a pole to carry a hot clay jar from the smoldering bonfire (behind). She is carrying it to a pottery bowl that contains a solution of pounded bark into which she will dip the jar to create a finish. Newly fired pots are visible in the remains of the bonfire, lying on their sides. A row of upturned, previously fired but broken pots forms a bank around the bonfire's edge. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Potters place the pounded bark of specific trees (surom, layene, koko or lakroas they are known in Nafaanra) in water to create a solution used to finish pots. The red-colored solution carbonizes on the surface of hot pots just removed from the bonfire. Here, the prepared solution awaits as the pots are being fired. A plastic container floats on the surface. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A potter tends the bonfire in which clay pottery jars are being fired. She uses a long pole to adjust the grass fuel laid on top of the pots and the wood fuel beneath them. A bank of previously fired and broken pots holds the fire in place. The bonfire burns rapidly, the firing process lasting between about 30 minutes to an hour. Bondakile, October, 1982.
The remains of a pottery-firing bonfire after the newly fired pots have been removed. Most of the jars visible here were fired prior to this bonfire. Broken or otherwise flawed, they were used to create a bank around the bonfire at its base. The bonfire's fuel has been reduced to an ash layer that remains in the center. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Sheep feed on the edges of a bonfire where clay jars are being fired. Grass has been laid as fuel over the carefully stacked pottery. Wood fuel lies beneath. At the bonfire's base, the broken pots used to bank the fire are visible. The fire will be allowed to burn down, after which the jars will be removed and, while still hot, dipped in a bark solution that coats the pot with a finish. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Exterior view of a shelter constructed at farm with walls made from woven mats and a thatched roof supported by wooden poles around the shelter's perimeter. In the foreground, right, a cutlass (machete) rests on a sharpening stone. In the shade of the shelter's eave to the right of its roof-support pole are a small fired clay eating bowl, a clay cooking pot turned upside down resting on its rim, and a larger fired clay water storage pot. Farm shelters provide shade, refuge from rain and a place to rest and prepare food while families are at their farms, which may be located some distance from their homes. Farm near Ahenkro, September, 1982.
Dried clay jars are carefully placed on top of firewood in preparation for firing. Their surfaces have been textured by rolling a maize cob (bledjukaan in Nafaanra) over the jars' lower surface (maize cob roulette) and decorated with shallow arched grooves made when the pot was in a leather-hard state. Additional fuel will be placed on top of the stacked pottery before the fire is lit. After the fire has burned down the pots will be removed and finished by being dipped while hot in a bark solution. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Large, shallow blackened clay bowls with interior striations are used in cooking and for eating. Cooks use them together with a small double-sided wooden pestle to grind pepper and cooked vegetables like "garden eggs" (small eggplants) for soups. They are also used as men's eating bowls (pԑԑ in Nafaanra). Bowls with striated interiors are occasionally found on archaeological sites in the Banda area, but this particular blackened form was not common until the 20th century when it was introduced from areas to the south. Potters in the region began to produce the bowls for sale both locally and at regional markets. During the 1980s and 1990s, this became one of the most popular pots made for market sale. Ahenkro, 1986.
A woman (Yaa Nsiah Adiemu) headloads pottery that she has brought from Dorbour to the marketplace in Ahenkro, a distance of about 20 km which she has traveled on foot. She is accompanied by her niece (right). She carries in her headpan clay pots used for cooking food and making soup (sro chͻ and chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra). She sells her clay pots at the weekly market and by going house-to-house. The load that she is carrying here is at the end of a market day, after she has sold some of her pottery. Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
The clay pottery jars (sro chͻ in Nafaanra) used to prepare food vary in size. Round-based jars like these are used to boil yams and other starchy foods. They are supported by hearth stones as they sit on the fire. Their lower surface is often textured or surface-treated with maize cob roulette (visible on the largest pot on the right) which may make them easier to handle when full of liquid and food. Ahenkro, 1986.
As the bonfire burns down, a helper uses a long pole to prepare the newly fired clay pots for removal. The neatly stacked pots lie on their sides. Around the edges, a bank of previously fired and broken pots, some turned upside-down, were used to hold the fuel and pots in place as the bonfire was built. The bonfire burns rapidly, the firing process lasting between about 30 minutes to an hour. Bondakile, October, 1982.
With moistened hands, a standing potter smooths the rim of a partially finished clay jar. As she works, she moves clockwise around the wooden stump that supports the palette (kpankpa in Nafaanra) on which the pot is being molded. Bondakile, October, 1982.
In the foreground are two clay pots used to prepare soup. A soup pot (chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra) has sharp-angled (carinated) shoulders and an everted rim. They are simply decorated with grooved lines above the shoulder, but otherwise plain. The larger one on the right has been blackened, a treatment that is not commonly seen on archaeological pottery from Banda sites. Ahenkro, 1986.
Clay pots of varied sizes used to store water (chͻkoo in Nafaanra). The exterior surface of these everted-rim jars is textured with maize cob roulette and their surface is decorated with shallow grooved lines. The porous walls of these pots helps keep the liquid storied inside cool. For this reason, these pots are not treated with the bark solution used to finish cooking pots. Also, the narrow opening (neck) of the jar reduces evaporation and conserves water. Ahenkro, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Water pots (chokoo); Maize cob roulette; Decoration; Water storage; Jars
Several large clay pots used for water storage (chͻkoo in Nafaanra) sit in the interior courtyard of a house next to a black metal barrel, which is also used for water storage. The surface of the two larger clay jars has been textured with maize cob roulette (bledjukaan in Nafaanra ), and one is decorated with arching grooves. The smallest jar has red-painted vertical lines on its interior rim. The small round-based jar has been placed on an enameled-ware pot for support. The larger water jar behind it rests on the upturned base of an enameled-ware headpan, re-purposed after its base rusted and it could no longer be used to carry things. A clay grinding bowl is visible in the lower left corner of the picture. Banda area, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects:
Water storage; Water pots (chokoo); Maize cob roulette; Decoration; Jars
A potter uses a draw-and-drag (direct pull) technique as she begins to mold the body and rim of a pottery jar from a lump of moist clay. The clay rests on a palette (kpankpa in Nafaanra) supported by a stump. She moves clockwise around the stump as she uses her hands to pull the clay upward and outward to form the walls of the pot. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Small clay bowls (kpokpoo in Nafaanra) used by women for eating. The bowl on the left has been blackened. Blackened pottery is a fashion that became more common in the 20th century. Similar clay bowls from the 19th century and earlier found on archaeological sites are more similar in color to the bowl on the right. In earlier times, these bowls often had a pedestaled base, creating a flat rather than rounded surface on which they sat. Ahenkro, 1986.
Adwoa Miwo (right) learns to make clay pots from her experienced potter mother, Peni Ngunu Chͻ (center), as they work together in the interior courtyard of their house. Mosi Nyuu (husband and father) looks on. Partially finished clay jars sit nearby, resting on the palettes (kapankpa in Nafaanra) on which they have been formed. The more experienced mother is making a larger jar than her apprentice daughter. Also placed around the house's interior courtyard are two dark-colored clay soup pots (chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra) and a wooden mortar (right). Thatch- and metal-roofed rooms surround the courtyard. Dorbour, 1994.
During the 20th century women from the potting villages of Dorbour, Adadiem and other locations west of the Banda hills sold their pots in markets centers to the east and the west. Here women sell clay pots in the market at Bondoukou in Côte d’Ivoire. Visible are varied-sized cooking pots (sro chͻ in Nafaanra), water jars (chͻkoo in Nafaanra), soup pots (chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra) and grinding bowls (pԑԑ in Nafaanra). Also for sale in the foreground are clay eating bowls that appear to have been fired in a kiln (?) rather than a bonfire. Bondoukou, 1994.
A potter sits on a stool as she molds the upper body of a clay water jar (chͻkoo in Nafaanra). In her right hand she uses a maize cob (bledjukaan in Nafaanra), pulling it against the exterior surface to smooth and thin the clay. In the foreground are water jars whose leather-hard upper body and rim have been joined to a rounded base, their clay bases still moist and not yet smoothed. Large wooden mortars and a headpan containing moist clay sit nearby as she works in the shade of an open-sided room. Dorbour, 1994.
Afua Donkor, a Nafana potter, uses a pestle to pound bark that will be used to make a solution to finish clay pots. In a nearby headpan, more stripped bark awaits pounding. After pounding, the bark will be soaked in water. Hot clay pots just removed from the bonfire will be dipped and turned in the solution. This colors the pots and is said to reduce their porosity. She sits on a stool as she works in the courtyard near a hearth. Nearby is a large metal cooking pot, several wooden mortars and a number of pestles. Finished clay soup cooking pots (chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra) sit behind her ready for sale. Dorbour, 1994.
During the 20th century women from the potting villages of Dorbour, Adadiem and other locations west of the Banda hills sold their pots in markets centers to the east and the west. Here women sell clay pots in the market at Bondoukou in Côte d’Ivoire. Visible are varied-sized cooking pots (sro chͻ in Nafaanra), water jars (chͻkoo in Nafaanra) and grinding bowls (pԑԑ in Nafaanra). Only the grinding bowls are blackened which was a fashion that came in sometime in the 20th century. Bondoukou, Côte d’Ivoire, 1994.
A woman inspects a clay jar for sale in the Bondoukou market. Large and small cooking pots (sro chͻ in Nafaanra) and a bowl are displayed for sale. During the 20th century women from Banda potting villages and surrounding areas headloaded their pottery to sell at Bondoukou's weekly market. Bondoukou, Côte d’Ivoire, 1994.
Clay cooking pots (sro chͻ in Nafaanra) stacked at the Bondoukou market awaiting sale. Women have brought these pottery jars from potting villages in Banda (e.g., Dorbour) and the surrounding region (e.g. Bondakile). Bondoukou, Côte d’Ivoire, 1994.
Women headloading pottery prepare to leave Dorbour to walk to the weekly market in Bondoukou, a distance of more than 30 km. They have secured the clay pots by tying nettting or cloth around them. The women are not necessarily potters. Some women trade in clay pots but do not make them. Dorbour, 1994.
Small pedestal-based bowls like this one (called kontondԑԑ in Nafaanra) are used in funeral rituals. Women cook food and offer it to the ancestors in a funeral ceremony called 'sro waa'. Larger versions of these bowls were used in times past as women's eating bowls; however, by the late 20th century small versions like this one were only made to order for funerals. Men were prohibited from touching them. Dorbour, 1994.
Fired clay stands like these were made by potters for use in the kitchen area of houses. Grouped together in threes like hearthstones, the stands supported pots over an open fire during cooking. Some of these fired clay stands had an opening, allowing pieces of meat to be placed inside where it slow-cooked and dried as other parts of the meal were cooking. Dorbour, 1994.
Young women carry headpans loaded with blackened clay bowls as they head to market. One girl has secured her load with rope netting. Standing right is the daughter of Yao Mosi. Adadiem, 1994.
In order to transport clay pots by motor vehicle, they must be carefully packed and padded. Here, blackened clay grinding bowls packed in grass have arrived in Techiman market from potting villages in Banda. Techiman, 1994.
Unfinished clay grinding bowls dry on the palettes (kpankpa in Nafaanra) on which they were formed. After they have dried to a leather-hard state, the potter will remove them from their palettes and score their interiors. The scoring creates a grinding surface used to process vegetables which are added to soups. These bowls may also serve as men's eating bowls (pԑԑ in Nafaanra). Immediately behind the drying bowls is a hearth, swept clean of ashes. Pottery jars can be seen drying in background, right. A chicken forages nearby. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A standing potter puts the finishing touches on the rim of a clay jar that she has molded using a draw-and-drag (direct pull) technique. She has finished the body, neck and rim of the jar and will now set it aside to dry. After it has dried to a leather-hard state, she will remove the jar from the palette (kpankpa in Nafaanra) on which it has been formed and she will add a rounded base. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A standing potter molds the body of a clay jar using a draw-and-drag (direct pull) technique. As she began she drew the moist clay upward and outward from the lump with which she started. Here she shapes the jar's neck and outward flaring rim. Before doing so, she has smoothed away finger marks created as she formed the jar's body. As she works, she moves around the stump that supports the palette on which the jar is being formed. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A potter has completed the draw-and-drag (direct pull) molding of a clay jar body and rim. The surface of the jar has been moistened and smoothed. It will be set aside to dry. Once it has dried to a leather-hard state, she will remove the partially finished jar from the palette (kpankpa in Nafaanra) on which she formed it and will add a rounded base using fresh, moist clay. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A standing potter molds the body of a clay jar using a draw-and-drag (direct pull) technique. Beginning with a lump of moist clay, she has drawn the clay upward and outward with her hands. Here she begins to shape the form of the jar's neck and outward-flaring rim. As she works, she moves backwards around the stump that supports the palette (kpankpa in Nafaanra) on which the jar is being formed. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Clay pottery jars cool and dry after having been fired and dipped in a finishing bark solution. Once fully cooled, the jars will be stacked and stored before being sent to markets around the area. Jars like these (sro chͻ in Nafaanra) are used to prepare food, for example boiling yams and other tubers. To the right rear, wood is stored on a raised platform, awaiting use in cooking hearths. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Members of Gbaŋmbɛ Katoo demonstrate the use of a (partially constructed) balo or xylophone (sinyeele in Nafaanra). The instrument is played at special funerals, including those of the paramount chief. A calabash with a small hole lies beneath the instrument. Together with other calabashes of graded size (small to large), it serves as the instrument's resonating chamber when fully assembled. By striking the sinyeele's wooden keys with a mallet, a range of musical notes are produced by the differently sized calabashes. Nyua Kwadwo (male family head) holds the mallets he uses to play the sinyeele. On each wrist he wears an iron bangle or bracelet with metal jangles. To the left, a family member plays a drum made from a clay pot. Sanwa, 6 August, 1986.
A potter uses a metal spatula as she forms the neck area of clay jar which she has shaped using a draw-and-drag (direct pull) technique. The striations on the body of the jar were created by a maize cob (bledjukaan in Nafaanra) which she used to shape and smooth the pot's wall. These will be smoothed away as she continues to form the pot. She moves around the stump on which the pot rests as she works. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A standing potter molds the body of a clay jar using a draw-and-drag (direct pull) technique. Beginning with a lump of moist clay, she draws the clay upward and outward from the center as she moves clockwise around the stump that holds the movable palette (kpankpa in Nafaanra) on which the jar is being formed. The fingermarks left as she pulls and thins the clay will be smoothed over as she continues to shape the jar. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A potter uses a maize cob (bledjukaan in Nafaanra) to smooth the surface of clay jar body that she is molding by a draw-and-drag (direct pull) technique. Beginning with a lump of moist clay, she has drawn the clay upward and outward, thinning the walls as she works. Here she moves clockwise around the stump that holds the palette (kpankpa in Nafaanra) on which the jar is being formed as she draws the maize cob up, pulling it towards her body. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A standing potter molds the body of a clay jar using a draw-and-drag (direct pull) technique. Here she uses a flat metal spatula to smooth the now-formed jar's exterior surface. She places the edge of her tool at the neck and makes downward strokes to create a smooth surface on the moist clay. As she works, she moves around the stump that supports the palette (kpankpa in Nafaanra) on which the jar is being formed. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A view across a compound courtyard toward the courtyard of a neighboring house. Several hearths have clay pots resting on their hearth stones (gbunu in Nafaanra). Two wooden mortars are nearby. The house in the distance is made of sun-dried blocks, with one side of the house roofed with metal and the other side thatch. The ground is clear of plants and clean swept. Adadiem, 1994.
A woman stacks clay grinding bowls on top of wood in preparation for a bonfire firing. The bowls are placed to ensure even exposure to the heat of the bonfire. She will place additional fuel on top of the bowls before lighting the fire. Adadiem, 1994.
A man transports a clay pot, carefully strapped to the back of his bicycle and cushioned beneath by coiled grass leaves. He is returning from one of the potting villages where hs has purchased the clay jar from a potter. More often, pottery was taken to markets by headloading, sometimes sold by potters, but also by women who traded in clay pots. Banda area, 1994.
Though potters work individually when they make clay pots, they help each other when they fire their pots. In the foreground are the ashes left by earlier fires, and in the background women tend to ongoing bonfires. Stacks of firewood are visible in the background. Adadiem, 1994.
In some of the area's potting villages, women make hearths using clay pots rather than stones (gbunu in Nafaanra). Three pots are placed close to one another, with their rims turned down. A clay jar tipped on its side sits to the right and metal pots are stacked to the left. Adadiem, 1994.
Clay pots like this one, which is broken along one side, were used to cook small cakes made from bean meal. The bean cakes were often sold at markets as a form of "fast food." Banda area, 1994.
Narrow-necked clay jars like these were ideal for storing water. The exterior surface of these water jars (chͻkoo in Nafaanra) has been textured by rolling a twisted cord-wrapped stick (jar on the left) or a maize cob (jar on the right) across the surface and otherwise decorated with shallow grooved lines. The narrow opening inhibits evaporation while the porous fired clay walls keep the water cool. Bondakile, 1994.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Bondakile
Subjects:
Water pots (chokoo); Jars; Twisted cord roulette; Maize cob roulette; Water storage
Potters in Adadiem make clay jars in a variety of sizes. Those pictured here have been fired, some treated with bark solution while still hot from the bonfire firing. Adadiem, 1994.
Ten clay cooking pots (sro chͻ in Nafaanra) have been placed upside down on a bed of firewood in preparation for a bonfire that will fire the clay pots. These pots have been red-slipped (chuma in Nafaanra) before firing. In the background is the bark that will be used to cover and surround the pottery before the bonfire is lit. Once lit, the fire burns for beween 30 minutes and an hour, after which the clay jars will be useable and ready for sale. Dorbour, 1994.
A number of large and medium-sized clay jars have been placed upside down on a bed of fire wood in preparation for a bonfire firing. Several previously fired and broken clay pots together with large stones are used to bank the edges of the stacked firewood. More firewood is stacked behind the bonfire area. Adadiem, 1994.
A calabash bowl (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) containing water rests on top of a small pedestaled clay bowl (kontoŋdԑԑ in Nafaanra) used in funeral celebrations. The clay bowl is used by women to present food to the ancestors (sro waa in Nafaanra). Calabash rattles used in funeral celebrations sit nearby, some next to a basket. Dorbour, 1994.
Small clay eating bowls like this one (kpokpoo in Nafaanra) were typically used by women. This one has been blackened after a fashion that became popular in the 20th century. Similar bowls are found on archaeological sites around the Banda area, though often with a flat, pedestaled base and seldom blackened. Dorbour, 1994.
Large, shallow blackened clay bowls with interior striations are used in cooking and for eating. Cooks use them together with a small double-sided wooden pestle to grind pepper and cooked vegetables like "garden eggs" (small eggplants) for soups. They are also used as men's eating bowls (pԑԑ in Nafaanra). Bowls with striated interiors are occasionally found on archaeological sites in the Banda area, but this particular blackened form was not common until the 20th century when it was introduced from areas to the south. Potters in the region began to produce the bowls for sale both locally and at regional markets and by the 1980s and 1990s, this one of the most popular pots made for market sale. Ahenkro, 1986.
Clay pots of this shape are used for cooking soup over a hearth fire. The relatively wide opening of soup pots (chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra) makes it easy to add ingredients and stir the soup as it cooks. These soup pots are blackened, a fashion that took hold during the 20th century. Unblackened pots of similar shape are found on archaeological sites dating to the 19th century and earlier. Dorbour, 1994.
A metal headpan is loaded with clay pots ready to take to market. The darkened angular pots placed around the inside edges of the headpan are soup pots (chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra) and the rounder shaped pots are for cooking starchy staples (sro chͻ in Nafaanra). Dorbour, 1994.
Afua Donkor, a Nafana potter, inspects clay jars of various shapes and sizes that await firing. The liquid red slip (chuma in Nafaanra) has been applied, allowed to dry and then burnished in prepartion for firing. Visible around the courtyard are wooden mortars, a pestle and a metal cooking pot. Thatch-roofed rooms surround the courtyard. Dorbour, 1994.
Sharply angled (carinated) clay pots like this one may have been used for storing liquids. Chipping around the rim of the pots suggest that this one may have been used for some time. Dorbour, 1994.
Large, shallow blackened clay bowls with interior striations are used in cooking and for eating. They are used together with a small double-sided wooden pestle to grind pepper and vegetables like "garden eggs" (small eggplants) when making soups. These bowls may also be used as men's eating bowls (pԑԑ in Nafaanra). Though archaeological sites occasionally have potsherds with striated interiors, this particular blackened bowl form was not common until the 20th century when it was introduced from areas to the south. Potters in the region began to produce the bowls for sale both locally and at regional markets. By the 1980s and 1990s, this was one of the most popular pots made for market sale. Ahenkro, 1986.
Storing pots (jloŋgo in Nafaanra) like these were formerly used to store drinks like pito (sorghum beer) or wenyjͻ nyumu (water boiled in a pot after it has been used to make "TZ," a starchy staple). The one on the left has been blackened while that on the right may have been treated with a red slip (chuma in Nafaanra). Both are highly burnished, giving them a glossy look. Dorbour, 1994.
Fired, blackened clay grinding bowls are stacked (center). While hot from the fire, the bowls have been blackened by rolling them in dry grass or peanut (boŋgrɛ in Nafaanra) shells. To the right, a bonfire firing is in progress. The outside perimeter of the fire is banked with previously fired but broken jars. To the left, a large clay bowl contains a bark solution into which the pots are dipped while still hot from the fire. Behind that, another bonfire burns. To the right (back, center) pots have been stacked in preparation for another bonfire firing. The fashion of blackening grinding bowls began in the Banda area sometime during the 20th century. Adadiem, 1994.
These fired clay pots are specifically designed for water storage. The water jar (chͻkoo in Nafaanra) on the left was made in Adadiem and the one on the right was made by a potter in Dorbour. Unlike pottery intended for other uses, potters do not finish pots intended for water storage in a bark solution to seal and color the pot. Instead, the surface of water storage pots needs to be porous to effectively cool the water stored inside. The size of the water jar's mouth allows access to the water inside but also limits evaporation. The color of these pots is a result of firing conditions. Dorbour, 1994.
Women in the house of Brɛmawuo work together to prepare the main meal of the day. The wives of the house sit on low wooden stools as they prepare food at clustered hearths. Each hearth is made of three laterite stones which hold the cooking pot above the fire. The women use an array of metal cooking vessels, calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) and a clay pot (on the front hearth). The clay pot was likely purchased from one of the potting villages on the west of the Banda hills. Beneath the thatched roof behind the women are hearths used during rainy weather. This house was revisited in November 2018 and several of the women pictured here were interviewed about how foodways have changed over the three decades since this photo was taken. Among the women pictured are (L-R) Adwoa Hana (stirring), Yaa Yaa Dankwa (Stirring), Ama Nwotwenwaa (holding a calabash), Abena Kuma, (standing in blue cloth) and Ama Mensah (standing in red cloth). Sabiye, 15 August 1986.
Varied sizes of clay jars are stacked in the corner of a room inside a house. The adjacent wall is decorated with enamel-ware lids and plates. Several metal cooking pots and a wooden paddle used to stir food sit around the clay pots. Jneni, 1994.
The New Yam Festival (Finjie Lie in Nafaanra) marks the day when people can begin to eat the new crop of yams (finyjie in Nafaanra). Here women gather round a wooden mortar to pound cooked yam tubers to make fufu. Women pound with heavy, round-ended pestles. Working together, they use their pestles to pound and turn the fufu. Pestles hit the mortar's edge as they pound, creating a rhythmic accompaniment to their work. The musical sound of women and their helpers pounding fufu or grain was an integral part of the soundscape of village life in the earlier times. To the rear (right) calabashes (gourds, chrԑ in Nafaanra) wrapped in netting are ready to be sent to market. To the front sits a pottery grinding bowl (left), a calabash (center) and metal cooking pots (right). Ahenkro, 30 August, 1982.
Potters in Adadiem place bark over clay pots that have been stacked on top of a bed of firewood. The bonfire has been lit and the bark serves as additional fuel. More red-slipped clay pots sit behind, waiting for the next firing. One woman carries a child on her back. The bonfire will burn for between 30 minutes and an hour, after which the pots will be ready for use or sale. Abena Donkor (far right) assists while Solomon Kojo, young boy in brown shorts, looks on. Two photos. Adadiem, 1994.
Afua Donkor, a Nafana potter, selects and places fuel as she prepares to fire clay soup pots (chiin sinyjͻlͻ in Nafaanra) that have been slipped red. Other clay pots sit nearby awaiting firing, some in a headpan. The pots are carefully stacked on top of the wood and additional fuel placed on top. Additional firewood is stacked behind and in front lays the bark that she will use to cover the clay pots before lighting the bonefire. Once lit, the bonfire will burn for between 30 and 60 minutes, after which the fired pottery will be hardened, useable and ready for sale. Two photos. Dorbour, 1994.
Hearths in a Dorbour household. One of three visible hearths is in use, a metal cooking pot suspended over a fire fueled by firewood. A wooden mortar and several pestles are at ready in the background. In the foreground (right) a clay cooking pot rests on top of a metal basin that has been re-purposed as a pot stand. A large metal pot, a calabash bowl (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) and a plastic cup sit behind the clay pot. Dorbour, 1994.
A courtyard hearth in a Dorbour household. The hearth "stones" are clay pots turned upside down and embedded in the ground. A pottery cooking jar rests on the hearth, the firewood pulled away from the hearth while it is not in use. A metal cooking pot and headpan have caught the interest of a foraging goat. Dorbour, 1994.
Potters and their helpers place hot clay jars, just removed from the bonfire, into a solution made from pounded tree bark. They use their long wooden poles to carry the pots to large pottery bowls containing the bark solution. They dip and turn the pot in the solution, allowing it to carbonize on the surface of the hot jar. This finishing step colors the jar's surface and makes its walls less porous which is said to improve its cooking performance. The remains of the bonfire, banked by previously fired broken pots, can be seen in the rear center. Four photos. Bondakile, October, 1982.
Kitchen area of a household in Dorbour. Several hearths are clustered in the center of the open courtyard surrounded by low wooden stools. Several wooden mortars of varying sizes and a number of pestles are clustered along a porch. Pottery and metal pots used in cooking are near the hearth. A goat forages for food amid the hearths. Large vessels to the far left store liquid (water, or possibly pito, locally made beer). The courtyard is surrounded by thatch- and metal-roofed rooms. Dorbour, 1994.
These partially formed clay jars (chͻ in Nafaanra) are drying, resting on the palette (kpankpa in Nafaanra) on which they were formed. Once dried to a leather-hard state, the potter removes them from the plate and, using fresh moist clay, adds a rounded base to the jar. To the left, a metal cooking vessel rests nearby. Bondakile, October, 1982.
A toddler girl wearing a protective strand of beads sits beside finished clay grinding bowls that have been set aside to continue drying before firing. The scoring on the interior of the bowl provides a rough surface against which cooked vegetables can be ground into a paste before being added to a soup. These bowls may also serve as men's eating bowls (pԑԑ in Nafaanra). Bondakile, October, 1982.
Banda Research Project team member Ann Stahl sorts pottery sherds recovered through excavations at Makala Kataa. Once sorted, she will prepare an inventory of sherd forms and decorations. A group of children have gathered and look on. Ahenkro, 1990.
Banda Research Project team members Courtney Amos (left) and Molly Sugrue (right) process artifact bags containing pottery at the Banda Cultural Centre. Ahenkro, July, 2001.
Base of level 7, unit 4W 4S, Mound 5, Station 6, Makala Kataa. An area of burned soil (left), several flat grinding stones (center) and an everted rim jar are exposed at the base of the level. The unit wall shows the transition from dark soils close to the mound's surface and the lighter soils in its lower levels. Makala Kataa, 6 July, 1989.
A burned basin-like feature is visible in profile in the east wall of excavation unit 130W 26S, Mound 138, Kuulo Kataa. Clustered and adjacent to the burned area at the base of level 7 are three pottery pedestal bases, broken away from their original pots. The presence of slag and other burned features in adjacent units suggest that Mound 138 was a place where the site's occupants worked metals. A photo scale with 5 cm intervals points north. Kuulo Kataa, 14 July, 1995.
Banda Research Project archaeologists unearth two everted-rim jars in level 8 of Unit 4E0S at Station 6. L-R: Obour Bartholomew; Caesar Apentiik, ___. Makala Kataa, 16 July, 1994.
Two everted-rim jars partially exposed in level 8 of Unit 4E 0S, Mound 5 at Station 6. View looking east. Photo scale in 10 cm increments. Makala Kataa, 16 July, 1994.
Eight jar rims have been exposed in situ at the base of level 7, unit 0W 0S, Mound 5, Makala Kataa Station 6. The jar rims are broken off below the neck of the pot and appear to have been placed around a room where they were used as pot stands. In a raised area (bottom center), not excavated to the same depth as surrounding soil, a concentration of reddish soil and gravel marks the traces of a house wall. Archaeologists interpret unit 0W 0S as a part of a kitchen area where foodstuffs were likely stored. The pots and their contents have been removed, with only the pot stands remaining. In the background sits a headpan filled with soil from cleaning the 2 x 2 m unit prior to photoing. A scale arrow with 10 cm intervals points north. View to the west. Makala Kataa, 19 July, 1994.
Photo of a pottery bowl rim and body, with profile depicted (left). The bowl's interior surface is decorated with lines of red paint applied in reticulate and pendant patterns. The rim of the bowl is slightly everted. A portion of the interior surface is blackened as an effect of firing. An INAA sample ("Banda 27-11") from this bowl was assigned to the "K2" group of ceramic fabrics. It was therefore likely made from clays mined east of the Banda hills. Rim diameter: 34 cm at exterior lip. Sherd represents an estimated 20% of the bowl's circumference. Scale in cm. Site Banda 27. 28 February, 2001.
Photo of a pottery bowl rim and body, exterior surface, with profile depicted (left). The rim of the bowl is slightly everted. The bowl's exterior is decorated with several bands of red paint, one applied below the angle of the rim, one mid-way down the bowl body, and one toward the base. Blackened areas of the exterior are a result of firing. An INAA sample ("Banda 27-11") from this bowl was assigned to the "K2" group of ceramic fabrics. It was therefore likely made from clays mined east of the Banda hills. Rim diameter: 34 cm at exterior lip. Sherd represents an estimated 20% of the bowl's circumference. Scale in cm. Banda 27. 28 February, 2001.
Photo of a pottery bowl rim, exterior surface, with profile depicted (left). The bowl is decorated with several shallow horizontal grooves above its angular carination. A row of vertical impressions marks the carination, below which is a zone of angled "dentate" impressions, bounded by a shallow groove at its lower edge. Traces of red paint appear on the upper portions of the bowl. An INAA sample ("Banda 27-1") from this bowl was assigned to the "K2" group of ceramic fabrics. It was therefore likely made from clays mined east of the Banda hills. Rim diameter: 20 cm at the interior lip. Sherd represents an estimated 15% of the bowl's circumference. Scale in cm. Site Banda 27. 29 January, 2001.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution--NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Provenance:
Banda 27, Mound 1, Unit 1, Level 3
Date:
2001-01-29
Location(s) Facet:
Site Banda 27
Subjects:
Dentate impression; Red paint; Bowl; Neutron Activation Analysis
A partially reconstructed everted-rim pottery jar excavated from Banda area site A-212, Mound 7, level 10. The jar's exterior surface is decorated below the neck with closely spaced rows of dentate (comb) impressions, intersected by a double diagonal line of dentate impressions. Double lines of dentate impression applied in a chevron pattern form a band between the upper zone of dentate decoration and jar's plain base. The jar's interior is finished with an orange-red slip. An INAA sample ("A212-16") from this jar and was assigned to the "G1" group of ceramic fabrics and therefore likely made west of the Banda hills. Rim diameter 24 cm at exterior lip. Photo scale in cm. Site A-212. 1 February, 2001.
Photo of a partial rim and neck of a mica- and red-slipped everted jar, with vessel profile depicted, left. Red slip has been applied to the rim. Overall mica slip covers the area from the neck down. The neck area is decorated with closely spaced horizontal grooves, with mica slip applied over top. A row of dentate (comb) impression marks the transition to a mica-slipped, but otherwise undecorated, body. INAA sample ("Banda 40-11") assigned to the "L" group of ceramic fabrics; therefore, likely made from clays mined west of the Banda hills. Rim diameter 24 cm at exterior lip. Neck diameter 16 cm at interior constriction. Scale in cm. Ngre Kataa (Banda 40), 30 March, 2001.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution--NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Provenance:
Ngre Kataa, Mound 4, Unit 1, Level 27
Date:
2001-03-30
Location(s) Facet:
Ngre Kataa
Subjects:
Mica slip; Red slip; Dentate impression; Jar; Neutron Activation Analysis
Photo of a reconstructed carinate globular pottery jar, with profile depicted (left). The jar was found in an upright position beneath a lens of hardened clay, its rim at 211 cm below datum and its base at 224 cm bd. The jar's mouth is small. Below its lip is a ridge marked with vertical impressions. The surface above the carinated shoulder is decorated with alternating horizontal lines of dentate (comb) impression and grooving. Below the carination, the base and lower portions of the jar are decorated with a carved roulette impression. The interior surface of the jar is heavily eroded, perhaps an indication that the jar was used to store a fermented liquid like millet or sorghum beer. An INAA sample (NA "KK 95-61") from this jar was assigned to the "K1" group of ceramic fabrics. The jar was therefore likely made east of the Banda hills. A jar of similar form, decoration, and interior wear (KK 95-693) was found one meter away and at a slightly lower level in the east profile wall of the excavation unit. Rim diameter: 8 cm. Photo scale in cm. Kuulo Kataa. 13 June, 1995.
Photo of a patially reconstructed carinate globular pottery jar, with profile depicted (left). The jar was partially exposed, sitting upright in the east profile wall of the unit. The jar broke insitu and half of the vessel was removed and reconstructed. The jar has a narrow mouth. Alternating horizontal bands of shallow grooving and dentate (comb) impression decorate the area below the lip. A horizontal grooved line and a line of dentate (comb) impression applied above the carinated shoulder meet at small circular punctate impressions. The base and lower portions of the jar are decorated with a carved roulette impression. The interior surface of the jar is heavily eroded, perhaps an indication that the jar was used to store a fermented liquid like millet or sorghum beer. A jar of similar form, decoration and interior wear was found one meter away and at a slightly higher level in the same unit (KK 95-350). Rim diameter: 10 cm. 50% of vessel reconstructed. Photo scale in cm. Kuulo Kataa. 10 July, 1995.
Photo (interior) of a reconstructed carinate globular pottery jar, with profile depicted (left). The jar was partially exposed, sitting upright in the east profile wall of the unit. The jar broke insitu and half of the vessel was removed and reconstructed. The jar has a narrow mouth. The interior surface of the jar is heavily eroded, perhaps an indication that the jar was used to store a fermented liquid like millet or sorghum beer. A jar of similar form, decoration and interior wear was found one meter away and at a slightly higher level in the same unit (KK 95-350). Rim diameter: 10 cm. 50% of vessel reconstructed. Photo scale in cm. Kuulo Kataa. 10 July, 1995.
Photo of an inward-curving (recurved) jar rim sherd, with profile depicted (left). A zone of diagonally oriented dentate (comb) impressions is bounded on upper and lower edges by a shallow horizontal groove. A mica paint/slip was applied over top of the dentate impressions. The ceramic fabric was tempered with angular quartz grit. An INAA sample ("KK NA-29") was unassigned to a specific group of ceramic fabrics, lending no insight into where the jar was made. Interior neck diameter: 18 cm. Sherd represents an 12% of the jar's circumference. Scale in cm. Kuulo Kataa. 25 June, 1995.
Photo of an everted-rim jar excavated from Ngre Kataa, Mound 1, Unit 1, levels 3-6. The jar (Vessel 1) was found upside-down, resting on its rim and in association with a cluster of several other complete (Vessels 2 & 3) and broken pots in what has been interpreted as a kitchen area. The round-based jar is decorated on its lower surface by faint twisted cord-roulette impressions. The zone of cord rouletting is separated from the undecorated surface above by three arching grooves or channels. Multiple small circular punctates mark the place where grooved lines meet. Whole pot. Rim diameter c. 30 cm at exterior lip. Photo scale in cm. Site Ngre Kataa ("Banda 40"). 5 April, 2001.
Photo of a large pottery bowl. The rim is angled inward, creating a carination where the bowl's rim and body meet. Above the carination and around the rim's circumference, the exterior surface is decorated with shallow parallel grooves. The bowl's upper body is decorated with several clusters of triangular impressions which are bounded by angled pairs of grooved lines. The interior and exterior surfaces of the bowl are burnished, giving the bowl a slight sheen. A small pedestal stabilizes the bowl at its base. The bowl is consistent in shape and size with serving/eating bowls from which several individuals (typically men) would eat. The bowl was found positioned upside-down amid a concentration of other whole and partial pottery vessels, grinding stones, charred seeds and wide-spread fire-hardened soil. The context is interpreted as a kitchen area destroyed by an incident of intense fire. Whole pot. Scale in cm. Site Makala Kataa. 4 July, 1989.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution--NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Provenance:
Makala Kataa, Station 6, Mound 5, 4W 4S, Level 7-8
Photo of a small pedestal-base pottery bowl. The rim of the bowl is broken away around the entire circumference of the bowl. The exterior surface is burnished and decorated with several triangular impressions (not visible on the surfaces in this photo). The bowl is consistent in shape and size with serving/eating bowls from which an individual (typically a woman) would eat. The bowl was found in association with several other pots and a laterite hearthstone in an area surrounded by oxidized fire-hardened sediment. The wider context of the excavation unit is interpreted as a kitchen area destroyed by an incident of intense fire. Scale in cm. Site Makala Kataa. 11 July, 1989.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution--NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Provenance:
Makala Kataa, Station 6, Mound 5, Unit 0W 4S, Level 5
Photo of a dark brown pottery jar rim, neck and body, with profile depicted (left). The rim of the jar is everted in profile. Below the neck, the body of the jar is decorated with a carved roulette rolled across the surface to create a herringbone design. The zone of carved roulette impression is bounded by a horizontal shallow groove. A curvilinear groove cuts across the roulette impression. The ceramic fabric contained both laterite and white grit, as well as finely crushed iron slag. INAA analysis ("NA B-143-8") assigned this jar to the "K1" group, with the implication that it was likely made on the east side of the Banda hills. Rim diameter: 22 cm at interior lip. Sherd represents an estimated 25% of the circumference of the jar. Scale in cm. Site B-143. 14 March, 2001.
Photo of a red-painted and mica-slipped bowl rim, with profile depicted (left). Toward the lip, multiple horizontal bands of grooving and dentate (comb) impression are overlaid by red paint. Below this is a zone with horizontal lines of wavy line impression and grooving overlaid by a mica slip. The lower zone is red-painted. The ceramic fabric includes finely crushed white grit which includes some quartz. An INAA sample ("A94-8") was assigned to the "L" group, indicating that the bowl was made from clays mined west of the Banda hills. Rim diameter: 14 cm at the interior lip. Sherd represents an estimated 15% of the bowl's circumference. Scale in cm. Site A-94. 21 February, 2001.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution--NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Provenance:
Site A-94, Mound 2, Unit 1, Level 6
Date:
2001-02-21
Location(s) Facet:
Site A-94
Subjects:
Wavy line impression; Dentate impression; Red paint; Mica slip; Bowl; Neutron Activation Analysis
Photo of the rim and shoulder of a large pottery bowl, with profile depicted (left). The bowl's exterior is decorated with a herringbone design, created by rolling a carved wooden roulette across its entire surface, except for a narrow band just below the bowl's lip. A single diagonal shallow groove was applied across the surface above the shoulder. An INAA sample (NA "A212-8") from this bowl was "unassigned" to a specific group of ceramic fabrics, lending no insight into where the bowl was made. Rim diameter: 20 cm at the interior lip. Sherd represents about 11% of the bowl's circumference. Scale in cm. Site A-212. 18 February, 2001.
Photo of an everted-rim jar. The round-based pot is decorated on its lower surface by maize cob impressions, created by rolling a kernel-less maize cob over the pot's surface. The top edge of the maize-cob-rouletted zone is marked by pendant grooves or channels. Small circular punctates mark the place where pendant grooved lines meet. A single grooved line offsets this decorated zone from an undecorated zone below the jar's neck. Whole pot. Scale in cm. Site A-9. 1 Feb. 2001.