I KNOW HOW TO MAKE POTS BY MYSELF: SPECIAL REFERENCE TO LOCAL KNOWLEDGE TRANSMISSION IN SOUTHWESTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to determine the characteristics of local knowledge transmission between mothers and daughters by analyzing the learning order of pottery making, the hand and finger movements involved, the different patterns of pottery making, and the interaction between mothers and daughters in a pottery workshop. According to observations of 12 mother-daughter groups for a period of nine months, between November 1998 and March 2002, knowledge transmission between mothers and daughters has three main characteristics. First, the daughters started making pots, the mothers do not teach their daughters with verbal communication; they observe their daughters' trials and errors when making pottery without giving any advice. Second, mothers relate the physical growth of their daughters to the number and size of pots they have made themselves. Thirdly, daughters learn pottery making techniques under various conditions and diversify and create their own pottery making procedures, which are different from their mothers. The characteristics of the learning processes of potters that are the result of the interaction of the potters with their natural environment and their social relationships keep creating new techniques in pottery making and new shapes of pots.