Pottery making methods among the Eile tribe at Gelib, Somaliland.

The potter and his wife. The woman puddles the clay. The man makes the pots on a simple wheel, shaping the top part first from sausages of clay. The walls are shaped and smoothed and then the rim is made. The pot is scraped, patted smooth and then polished. Pots are put aside until an entire batch reaches this stage, when they are completed in turn (112). Patterns are cut into the surface. The pot is stood on its rim while the base is added and shaped, and finished pots are left in the shade to dry (159). Before firing next day the pots are warmed by the sun and by proximity to the fire. They are then placed on the fire which is built over them. After firing the pots are lifted out with long sticks. Examples of finished pots with the tools used (206ft). [16mm].