Pottery making methods among the Bimal tribe at Danana, Somaliland.

Dry clay is collected and pounded and sifted to make a fine grit. Wet clay is carried back to the village. The clay is mixed with the grit and fine sand and puddled (90). A lump of clay is used as the base and worked into shape. Sausages of clay are added and the walls of the pot built up. Smaller rolls of clay are used for the rim. The whole pot is scraped and smoothed with water and a spatula (183). Decorative patterns are cut into the surface. Firing a small number of pots in a pile of rubble. After firing, the pots are sprinkled with varnish before they cool. Other pots are stacked in a pyre of seaweed and fired in large numbers. Meanwhile, bark is pounded to produce a varnish. When the pots are removed from the fire they are sprinkled with the boiled varnish while they are still hot. Finished pots are loaded onto a donkey for transport to the market. Examples of pots and tools used in their manufacture (225ft). [16mm].