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This paper describes the technical activities of the contemporary makers of the royal pots of Buganda and the social context of this technology and its products, alongside the symbolic world of which these are a part. The ethnoarchaeological research presented here suggests that Ganda pottery was not only a technical and functional product, but was...
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... kingdom of Buganda, located on the northwest shore of Lake Victoria in south- central Uganda (Figure 1), emerged in the mid-second millennium AD and rose to become one of the most politically powerful and populous kingdoms in the region by 66 J.D. Giblin and K. Remigius the late nineteenth century (Ray 1991;Reid 2002). Initially Buganda was a small kingdom, but during the seventeenth century it underwent territorial expansion, combined with the development of a centralised political system and a powerful military (Oliver and Crowder 1981, 128;Reid 2002, 3). ...
Citations
... Similarly, pottery conveyed power and identity. Among the Ganda, pottery symbolized societal values and the Kabaka's health, while for the Acholi, it connected people to their ancestors and the earth, embedding stories and wisdom in its production and use (Giblin, 2012;Sancho, 2023). ...
The research article sets out to unveil the challenge of preserving traditional design concepts within contemporary spaces. Its objectives are to examine how Acholi material culture items inspire functional and aesthetic concepts in modern interiors, explore methods to incorporate traditional pottery in contemporary spaces, and create prototype pots that integrate Acholi design elements. It sets out on the premise that blending traditional artefacts with modern interiors fosters cultural identity and pride among space owners and enhances visitors' appreciation. Its methodological considerations are qualitative, using a parallel prototyping design, with two potters and five culturally knowledgeable elders selected for insights. The research is theoretically informed by the concepts of cultural identity and preservation within modern aesthetics. Its key findings reveal that traditional material culture enriches product design, creates a sense of ownership, and fosters community pride, while also generating income for artisans. Furthermore, the use of traditional designs supports cultural continuity by exposing younger generations to their heritage. It recommends incorporating indigenous knowledge and practices to create spaces that are distinctive and culturally communicative, enhancing modern living while celebrating traditional values.
... Moreover, group selection if not driven but pre-convinced ideas of prehistoric people, but rather by the value of the purposed theme of the subject, i.e., hunting, farming, fishing, excelling craftsmanship, production of stone tools, and other practices of which only some societies have knowledge. As an example, Giblin & Remigius (2012) propose a 'symbolic ceramic ethnoarchaeology' that looks at its technical, functional, and symbolic value. ...
There is nothing new in the idea of looking at living societies to help interpret the past. In the 19 th century and early 20 th centuries, European archaeologists often turned for inspiration to research done by ethnographers among societies in Africa (bushmen in the Kalahari Desert) or Australia (Australian aboriginals). But the 'ethnographic parallels' or 'analogies' that resulted in a situation where archaeologists often simply and crudely likened past societies to present ones; tended to stifle new thought rather than promote it. Some scholars have impulsively criticized the use of analogies in archaeological context. Since the existing dynamic of the past societies, we would never be able to resemble one society to another in an evolutionary perspective. Some scholars have strongly argued analogy is an approach or strategy, rather than being static lawlike assumption. Nevertheless, we could never be able to measure the dynamics of societies. The problem with ethnographic parallels is what it has always been: the application of oranges (living cultures) to apples (ancient past). Therefore, Analogies are being used in the global archaeological context as a tool for theory building. It helps to bridge the gap between data and theory in archaeology. This paper aims to justify using ethnographic parallels in the case of archaeological interpretations of material culture. Under this intellectual umbrella of 'ethnoarchaeology', it is aimed to keen clarify how ethnoarchaeologists, by extension all archaeologists would imply their present-day observations to interpret human behaviors and cultural adaptations in the past human societies. For research purposes, a wide range of literature including journals, books, debates, and case studies being used for analysis by subscribing itself to the structuralist persuasion and wishes to study the parallels and differences over the meaning and use of analogy in ethnoarchaeological reasoning, from the point of view of its synchronic and diachronic aspects in an integrated way. This research is a compiled text of this subject matter while emphasizing 'how far the practices of a living society can reflect the past' from an epistemological perspective. This study is strengthened when data is descriptive rather than critically presented.
... This may suggest that the potter's wheel and wheel-made pottery was regarded as an urban specialism, perhaps a "royal monopoly" similar to how iron workers were considered at that time (Ting and Humphris, 2020, pp.141-160;Humphris et al., 2018, pp.291-311). The potter's wheel may have been maintained to just produce finewares for the elites of Musawwarat es-Sufra, as had been the case for the 4 th dynasty Pharaohs (Doherty, 2015;Gibli and Remigius, 2012) and in the Levantine city states (Roux, 2008;Roux and de Miroschedji, 2009). ...
Doherty (2015) has previously investigated the origins of the potter’s wheel in Egypt in depth. However, how the potter’s wheel came to be used in Sudan has not yet been properly analysed. This paper will present the author’s initial investigations into the pottery industry of Sudan and the manufacturing techniques employed by Sudanese potters. Evidence seems to suggest that rather than being an indigenous invention, the potter’s wheel came to Sudan as part of the colonisation of Sudan by Egypt during the Middle-Late Bronze Age. Throughout this period, various Egyptian towns were founded along the river Nile. One such town was Amara West (inhabited c. 1306–1290 BC). By the Middle Bronze Age, Sudanese potters had well-developed pottery techniques, principally coil- and slab-building. Amara West and other Egyptian colonies used the by then well-established wheel-throwing and coiling techniques (RKE) to manufacture their pottery, principally imported from Egypt. However, these colony towns contained both Sudanese and Egyptian vessels, sometimes in the same contexts, and occasionally with blended manufacture techniques and decoration. This paper will endeavour to postulate upon the effect and legacy of the imposed technology of the potter’s wheel on the Sudanese pottery industry.
... (p. 2) This suggests that through pottery art, the unique sociocultural identity of a people is showcased and their production play functional roles in the sociocultural development of the people. John and Kigongo (2012) in a study on the royal pots of Buganda (Uganda) report that their pottery wares were "socially and symbolically constructed, reflecting the moral values of society" (p. 64). ...
The uniqueness of pottery is synonymous with its makers. The pottery art of the various ethnic groups in Ghana is inseparable from their cultural identities in that, the art is entrenched in their cultures. Notwithstanding this, much is not documented about the sociocultural contexts of Charia pottery art in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Adopting qualitative paradigm and case study design, the study purposively sampled eight (8) practising potters of not less than three decades of pottery experience in Charia. Empirical data was collected through interviews and field observation in order to reveal the sociocultural contexts of Charia pottery art. The study concluded that Charia pottery art has long historical standing, however, the art has since become women’s job in the generational life of Charia, and largely practiced by old women. The study recommends massive involvement of Charia women including the young ladies in the pottery art of Charia since the practice of pottery/ceramic has become a lucrative business venture in contemporary Ghana. Also, it emerged that Charia pottery art is a home affair. The establishment of a communal pottery centre in Charia by the potters through the formation of a formidable front is recommended. The sociocultural contexts of Charia pottery art is that which interlinks with the daily lives of the people. It is recommended that, Charia potters should continuously produce such culturally-related pottery wares to showcase, and preserve the sociocultural identity of the people to their future generations and for public admiration.
... Previous ethnoarchaeological research in Africa and elsewhere has played a pivotal role in understanding relations that possibly existed between pots, their makers, and their users, in prehistory (e.g. David & Henning 1972;Huffman 1980Huffman , 2007Bwerinofa 1990;Gosselain 1992;Collet 1993;Lindahl & Matenga 1995;Ndoro 1996;Dietler & Herbich 2006;Ogundele 2006;Hayashida 2008;Wynne-Jones & Mapunda 2008;Fredriksen 2009;Norman 2009;Ashley 2010;Haour et al. 2011;Manning 2011;Ogundiran & Saunders 2011;Giblin & Kigongo 2012;Pikirayi & Lindahl 2013). From this enlightenment, we now appreciate the life cycle of domestic pottery vessels as largely influenced by the cosmological and physical worldviews of humans (see Ndoro 1996). ...
Most of the ceramic ethnoarchaeological studies that have been undertaken in southern Africa's Iron Age have been biased towards the life cycle of household clay pots. To this end, an increased literature and understanding has been generated about their sociology. This chapter attempts to bridge this divide by providing aspects of consumption and symbolism that possibly influenced the life cycle of ritual vessels in the prehistory of the Nyanga archaeological complex which thrived in the second millennium AD. Using an emic approach, it explores two assemblages of complete and partially broken pots from the archaeological site of Mount Muozi and those produced and consumed by the contemporary Saunyama dynasty which are both situated in northeastern Zimbabwe. The comparison suggests that specific vessels had their functions exclusively embedded in ritual proceedings that ranged from chief's ordination to rain-petitioning and harvesting ceremonies. Furthermore, the study demonstrates symbolism of ritual vessels as dual, since it emanates from both producers and the consumers. Consequently, the Saunyama experience proposes ceramic sociology as probably situational in the archaeological past as it varies with space and time.
... Indeed, of all the original papers surveyed here, only two fit a basic politicised-interpretation-publication-ethic whereby contemporary politics are explicitly considered alongside primary archaeological interpretation: Pole's (2010) study of iron working in Ghana and Biagetti et al.'s (2013) research regarding Libya. Within this survey two papers that I co-authored deserve similar criticism: one uses minimal contemporary data to introduce an ethnoarchaeological study (Giblin and Kigongo 2011), while the other very briefly considers the contemporary political significance of interpreting violence in the present ). ...
Following the Foucauldian, post-colonial and archaeological post-processual critiques of knowledge construction and more recent calls for a political ethic in archaeology, this paper furthers this discussion by advocating the introduction of a ‘politicised interpretation publication ethic’ in African archaeology. This is a response to a survey of recent African archaeology publications that suggests that ethics and politics continue to be removed from archaeological interpretation. The archaeology-as-science ethic is subsequently critiqued through a brief review of two famous African archaeology examples: the controversy over Great Zimbabwe and the practice of archaeology in apartheid period South Africa. Finally, the problematic archaeology-as-science ethic in pre-genocide Rwanda is outlined and the ethical creation of archaeology today in a post-genocide situation considered as the paper moves toward a discussion of what a ‘politicised interpretation publication ethic’ might look like in contemporary African archaeology.
The study focused on the ideo-theological hermeneutics of Job 14:1-12 in relation to the Baganda's traditional concept of human life and death. The study sought to discuss the text in relation to the Baganda's traditional concept of human life and establish the ideo-theological and cultural correspondences between the text and the Baganda conceptualization of human life and death (Okufa). The theoretical frame work of the study was African Postcolonial Bible Hermeneutics, specifically Hermeneutics of Appropriation. The study carried out a detailed examination of Job 14:1-12 in its context where the background, description and analysis of the text were made, drawing out the theme of human life and death. The study further investigated the theme of human life in relation to death in the Biblical world and the Ancient Near Eastern civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Concerning the Baganda concept of death, the study entails death management rituals and their symbolism and significance to human life, and how the Baganda embody and polemicize death. The study reveals that though Job presents his lament as the universal fate of all mankind, his idea of human life is influenced by the situation circumstances in which he finds himself. His reality of death is nihility. Amidst the reality of losing all his children, he has no hope of having more given his imminent death. Job focuses much on the physical death and offers less attention to the netherworld. Put in the Baganda context, Job expected to suffer a bad death, the death of all his children rendered him childless and just like an African-the Muganda in that regard, the childless Job and his imminent physical death implied the death of his name, his memory and utmost nihility of his legacy and existence. Though Job's idea of life after death as commonly known in the Bible and African cultures is not clear in his laments, the Biblical and African cultural understanding of death is that death is a gateway to another world of spiritual existence. Nevertheless, Job's idea in the texts is the reality shared by Africans in context of a person who has suffered a bad death often associated with childlessness and other social vices. 1.1 Back ground to the Study The study focused on the ideo-theological hermeneutics of Job 14:1-12 in relation to the Baganda's traditional concept of human life and death. The study sought to discuss the text in relation to the Baganda's traditional concept of human life and establish the ideo-theological correspondences between the text and the Baganda society in relation to the conceptualization of human life and death. The study was ethnographic and comparative, describing and analyzing the Bible texts and its environment in relation to its socio-cultural resonance with the Baganda setting.
Ancient pottery from the Nyanga agricultural complex (CE 1300–1900) in north-eastern Zimbabwe enjoys more than a century of archaeological research. Though several studies dedicated to the pottery have expanded the frontiers of knowledge about the peopling of Bantu-speaking agropastoral societies in this part of southern Africa, we know little about the social context in which the pottery was made, distributed, used, and discarded in everyday life. This mostly comes from the fact that the majority of the ceramic studies undertaken were rooted in Eurocentric typological approaches to material culture hence these processes were elided by most researchers. As part of the decolonial turn in African archaeology geared at rethinking our current understanding of the everyday life of precolonial agropastoral societies, we explored the lifecycle of traditional pottery among the Manyika, one of the local communities historically connected to the Nyanga archaeological landscape. The study proffered new dimensions to the previous typological analyses. It revealed a range of everyday roles and cultural contexts that probably shaped the lifecycle of local pottery in ancient Nyanga.
Pottery surface treatments are considered essential to waterproofing and strengthening low-fired porous pots, and they add characteristic elements of colour and texture to pottery assemblages. However, surface treatments do not receive the same attention as other stages of pottery chaînes opératoires in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in terms of the social context of production, how technological treatments vary across an assemblage, contribute to flavour and address ecological concerns and ontological perspectives. This paper presents an ethnoarchaeological study of the continuum of potter and customer surface treatments that are applied to pots to specialise vessels for use in regional culinary practices in three sub-regions of Tigray Regional state in northern highland Ethiopia. The choice of surface treatments and their application methods may further protect consumers from the perceived dangers that society attributes to these marginalised artisans.
In 2016 Olivier Gosselain published a paper in Archaeological Dialogues suggesting that ethnoarchaeology should “go to hell”. His provocation misrepresents the ethnoarchaeology of the past quarter century, as is evident in a literature of which he appears largely unaware. Here we refute his charges, showing, for example, that ethnoarchaeologists neither regard the societies with which we work as living fossils, nor do we entertain naïve stereotypes regarding their workings. Our refutations are accompanied by commentaries on topics raised that introduce readers to the substantial recent literature. Far from a wreck, ethnoarchaeology, a form of material culture studies practiced by and mainly for archaeologists, has vigor and relevance, making theoretical, methodological and historical contributions that are worldwide in scope. And as we demonstrate for Africa, non-Western ethnoarchaeologists contribute substantially to the ethnoarchaeological literature.
