Variations in Pottery Making by Ari Potters in Southwestern Ethiopia: Analysis of the Finger Movement Patterns Used in Forming Pots

Abstract

In this paper, I describe pottery making by examining fine finger movements, with a focus on both shared finger movements common among potters and on unique pot-forming procedures developed by each maker. I regard Ari pottery making as a community-based technology (CBT) that creates commodities necessary for people’s basic daily needs, and consider how pottery makers create new sizes and shapes of pots based on two-way relationships between users’ demands and makers’ trials and errors. I describe the pot-forming process by (1) analyzing the fine movement of potters’ hands and fingers, (2) identifying each maker’s pot-formation processes, and, (3) analyzing the process of creating new shapes by focusing on relationships between makers and users.

Observations and analysis revealed four main characteristics. First, I found that Ari pottery makers exhibit 20 patterns of common finger movements and follow four stages in making pots. Second, observations focused on finger movement patterns showed that each maker develops a different procedure to form pots. Variations in pottery making are related to the weight and thickness of each pot and the customer’s evaluation of the durability of the pots. Third, each potter follows her own procedure in forming pots. Finally, potters may invent new finger movement patterns (FMPs) to create new sizes and shapes for pots to accommodate orders by preferred customers (jaala). Pottery making in the Ari area is one aspect of Ari society, and potters have developed their pottery making techniques on the basis of social relationships.